Techno-functional execs in demand during recession - Economic Times

A year ago, IT professionals who only had technical skills or functional expertise were much sought after. And a techie with some functional expertise (domain knowledge) was also rated high. But now, with the slowdown, it is not just enough to have technical skills or functional expertise. 

Techies with both technical skills and functional expertise (also called techno-functional professional) are in demand. The techno-functional class has not only managed to duck the recession but continues to grow in IT circles. 

“A professional with strong ‘domain/functional knowledge’ and technical knowledge is the last one to be fired. Such talent is difficult to outsource or hire again. In many cases, managers with only functional skills have been fired. That slot is taken over by a technical leader with project management and other functional skills,” says Vishwas Moudgal, founder, JobeeHive.com, an employer and salary review website.  

For product development companies, techno-functional experts have become imperative to cater to business needs. “A techie with functional and business knowledge is preferred in some areas of the business cycle. This requirement is need-based and role-based,” said Vani Sathvik, VP, HR and administration, Eka Software Solutions, a product development company. 

What makes these techno-functional professionals favourite picks is the brownie points companies score with clients. End users love techies who speak functional language as they don’t want their requirements getting lost in translation. 

“Good techno-functional guys are always in demand as they have best of both worlds (technical and functional),” says Prashant Kumar, a techno-functional professional, who started as an IT business consultant and after six months acquired technical skills. 

Further, techno-functional professionals are important in carving out product strategies and cost-cutting measures. With good all-round knowledge, they tend to see business and technical aspects in both macroscopic and microscopic levels, which is impossible for professionals with just tech knowledge. 

“Techno-functional guys can take up many roles, like leadership and client handling positions, which is desirable during a recession as it saves money for the employer,” said Vishwas. A March 2007 Forrester Research report too showed that 55% of the 280 IT decision-makers polled cited project management expertise as a missing skill among techies. 

Techno-functional professionals not only enjoy a better salary than the pure techie breed but get good job profiles and grow really fast. “A technical guy with equivalent experience and not into high tech stuff earns much less than a techno-functional guy. Perks based on performance for technofunctional guys are higher and faster,” said Karthik I, a Chennai-based IT consultant. 

But climbing up the ladder for techno-functional professionals is slippery too. “Challenge is in the first stage when you interact with the developer. You need to speak their language. If you can talk to the team in their language and see what they are doing is fine, only then can you acquire the required skill (techno-functional),” says Prashant.