Awakening Giant: India’s Burgeoning Workforce

It was bound to happen. In the summer of 2010, India had a technology breakthrough - a $35 laptop - which promises to increase the largest democracy’s influence and power in the world. Over 100 million schoolchildren will be the first to receive the touch screen computers, which resemble Apple’s iPad.



Growing access to the World Wide Web and mobile technology through innovative devices like this one has established a greater connection in India to global news and information. Such momentous breakthroughs significantly influence literacy and education, which means the number of people brought into the global workforce increases, thus impacting the types of interaction we have at work. Learning about the people and culture of India on a deeper level will help you develop better workplace relationships that can lead to greater efficiency, satisfaction and success in the country.



Indeed, the numbers are astonishing. While the Republic of India, also known as Hindustan ("Land of Hindus” in Hindi) boasts a population of one billion people, approximately 232 million read, write and speak English, which places India second in line, after the US, for countries with the most English speakers, according to TESOL-India. According to the World Bank’s Country Summary of Higher Education, India has the third largest higher education system after the US and China. However, at the same time 34% of adults and 18% of youths were illiterate in 2007, according to UNICEF (China’s illiteracy rates are 7% and 1%, respectively) .



What cultural values and behaviors can you anticipate from people who come from a country of such dichotomy? How do Indian history, industry and education play into their workplace expectations and behaviors?



It’s no secret that organizations around the world recognize India’s enormous, educated workforce as an inexpensive labor pool. In recent years, as companies make use of educated Indian talent, they also help to develop many of India’s industries, most prominently the technology sector. This has also spurred immense growth of a middle class in cities like Bangalore (Bengaluru), an increase in university attendance and myriad other technological advances. In order to appreciate the country’s global importance, it is good to understand the scope of India’s activity in the marketplace. As international businesspeople interact with Indians on a daily basis, how can you successfully engage and collaborate within this culture?



Two of the key cultural values that characterize Indian society are a strong respect for hierarchy, (which is reflected in roles within a company as well as within one’s family), and the importance of building relationships. These values are somewhat different from values in North America and Europe, where indivdualism, freedom of expression and a transactional approach to the market is more prevalent.



Obviously, teaching cultural sensitivity requires a certain amount of generalized information. Just like a bell curve, where the majority of the data falls in the middle and the minority exists on either side of the curve, cultural attributes are distributed in such a way across communities. These areas in the middle are referred to generally as "national culture.” It is also important to recognize "personal culture,” which refers to an individual’s unique experience, linked to their core values and beliefs. While the visible signs of culture awareness, such as the way people dress, the food they eat and outward behaviors, are easy to recognize, it is the invisible signs of culture that are demonstrated with more subtlety, and are thus the most difficult to comprehend.



The following are some key values, which are pertinent to both Indian society and business:



• Respect for elders and authority

• Building trust through interpersonal relationships

• Working and learning collaboratively

• Obligation to the family before anything else, including work

• Preference to avoid giving or receiving bad news, in order to maintain harmony

• Hesitance to take undirected initiative

• Eschewing use of the word "no,” which can cause a loss of face

• Importance of building relationships and focusing on people over meeting schedules and deadlines (However, in cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore, this aspect is less apparent)



By no means is this list exhaustive, but these are many of the common workplace issues. You may face people with perspectives you’ve never experienced before, and to understand them requires adopting an intercultural lens, through which you can decipher the attitudes and behaviors you encounter.



Building strong relationships in India requires the use of various soft skills, of which many Westerners do not regularly utilize in the business context, given the transactional approach many professionals take in the West. Some simple ways to do this are to begin meetings by discussing the weather, what you did over the weekend, and inquiring about the well-being of your colleagues and their families. Take interest in the personal side of your co-worker’s lives, and allow questions to be asked of you in return. What you may consider private information is probably topic of conversation at the office in India, e.g. ages of children.



Younger generations have worked with people from around the world and have been exposed to a large body of popular Western culture, most of which comes from the UK and the US. This informs their knowledge and perspective of the West, and in a way has affected their perception of themselves, as This youth is mostly urban, and has had the chance to develop a new, more US American accent when speaking English. Indian English has generally always sounded closer to British English. Urbanization has also enabled young Indians to move into their own apartments, something typical of Western youth, but unheard of in a society where children do not move out of their parents’ home until married (some never move out, even after marrying). The opportunity to study abroad, especially in the UK and US, has also added to this younger generation’s understanding of culture.



Brainstorming and creative thinking is another area requiring a unique approach. Group-oriented cultures need the support of a team of equals in order to feel comfortable speaking openly about an issue. If you are managing a cross-cultural team, and you wish to devise a new method or product, it is best to give instructions to a group of people, rather than rely on individuals to deliver work on their own. Learning is also a collective experience, and Indian teams succeed at higher rates through group work in which members can interact and discuss what they’ve learned. Handing out printed materials and assigning reading or individualized homework will not be as effective. Reinforcing lessons through informal conversation at the workplace and through time spent outside of work is a better way to transfer knowledge.



According to Goldman Sachs’ Asia Economics Analyst, 140 million people in India will move to cities by 2020, and by 2050, 750 million will live in large urban centers. The more people make the rural-urban migration to global cities like Mumbai and growing locations like Ahmedabad and Baroda, the more connected India will be to the international marketplace. Intercultural awareness is a core competency in any industry and cross-cultural training, particularly online intercultural training is a big advantage. Additionally, the most success in global business has proven to come from culturally diverse, global teams. Are you equipped with the knowledge and experience to drive valuable collaboration across cultures?