As a student of business for three decades and now as a faculty member at the University of California Berkeley, I have been truly impressed by India’s rapid ascension on the world economic stage. One of my concerns regarding the continuation of that ascent, however, is the prevalence of rapid job switching amongst India’s most educated workers.
The global success of Indian companies was originally based on labour cost advantages relative to companies in other parts of the world. As wages of knowledge workers in India rise, Indian companies must charge higher fees for their services and that original cost advantage dissipates. The challenge is that with higher fees come higher customer expectations. Customers are reluctant to pay higher fees without a corresponding increase in the quality of services they receive. Herein lies the crux of my concern. Rapid job switching raises wages, but it does not allow for the development of expertise in knowledge workers that is necessary to globally justify their higher salaries.
In my work with companies and individuals who wish to enhance their performance, I draw upon extensive academic research from a variety of fields – sports, science and the arts – that tells us why rapid job switching is bad not only for the companies who must pay higher wages, but also for those individuals who seemingly benefit (in the short-run) from higher wages. What we know is that individuals do not become top performers overnight. It is a long process lasting ten years or more before someone can become an expert in their field. But it is not enough just to spend ten years in a field. What research tells us is that individuals must engage in what is commonly referred to as Deliberate Practice. Deliberate Practice is the effortful activity of consciously trying to improve one’s performance. Deliberate Practice is not always inherently enjoyable because to improve, you must work on areas where you are not strong. You must put forth intentional and extensive effort to overcome your weaknesses. The other important aspect on top performers revealed by research is their motivation. They are not motivated by short-term monetary benefits, but instead are motivated by the longer-term desire to become one of the best in their field of expertise. So why is rapid job switching bad for India’s competitiveness and bad for the individuals who do it? Because quickly moving from one position to another is inconsistent with Deliberate Practice and the requirements of becoming a top performer. Those who switch jobs do so because of their desire for higher short-term wages, but we know that top performers are not motivated by money early in their careers. Instead it is the desire to develop their knowledge and skills over the long-term and achieve a preeminent position in their area of expertise that drives top performers
One must acknowledge that the process of moving from one company to another company is not without a loss in productivity. When someone leaves one organisation to go to another, time is spent learning about the rules, procedures and methods of the new organisation. When someone changes jobs, they must take time to get to know their new boss, co-workers and the like. All this means that at a critical point early in an individual’s career, many of India’s talented workers are not focusing on Deliberate Practice and improving their skills. Their valuable time is instead spent on efforts that will not benefit their longer-term talent development.
And one should also acknowledge that Indian companies are not without responsibility for creating the environment in which rapid job switching is encouraged and rewarded. Enlightened Indian companies realise that competitive advantage ultimately comes from their employees. Enlightened Indian companies realise that having more top performers on their payrolls leads to higher profits. And, enlightened Indian companies realise that they must do everything to recruit top performers and allow them to engage in Deliberate Practice within their organisations. Indian companies, however, ascribe that to the belief that employees “will leave soon anyway” and therefore do not invest in the development of their employees, do not create the environment in which talent can grow.
Returning to my initial and intentionally provocative statement that rapid job switching is harmful to the competitiveness of India, I hope the connection is clear. To remain globally competitive, India’s rising wages must be reflected in rising skill levels. But if Indian companies fail to provide training and work experiences to employees who wish to enhance their skills through Deliberate Practice, they are doing themselves as well as their employees a disservice. And if companies continue to promote job switching that is not supported by higher skill levels, the competitiveness of India can be at risk. Similarly at an individual level, those who are enticed by the short-term allure of higher wages should refocus their attention on a longer-term perspective that research shows is associated with top performance at companies. Their primary motivation should be the development of world-class skills. And with the development of those world-class skills will come the reward of significantly higher compensation for themselves and continued global competitiveness for India and its companies.
