Indian Talent vs US Work Culture | Insights with Amit Sengupta, VP – Parsons Corporation

Anwesha :  Since you’ve seen India or see how the Indian work environment or the culture is. And then moving to the US, the population of Indians is quite high there, but still the work culture is very different. So what, what is the main difference that you see between the two? 

Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation

I, you know, I spent about half of my life so far in India and half here in the US.
There are some similarities. I would say, both these countries are, have tremendously hard working people. They value, the work that they do. They take pride in the work that they do, so that’s, that’s a similarity. I think where it’s a little bit different is, how we execute work. I find the managers, or the Western managers, the G7 managers to be very direct in their approach.

They cut the chase and they get straight to the point, which is good, in some instances, but I think, where Indian managers or people who grew up in India and moved to U. S., they kind of bring a little bit of more empathy, with the, with the workforce. So that way you sometimes. You know, we are in the business of people.

I mean, we don’t get things done with robots, you know, at the end of the day, it’s, it’s humans. They have sentiments and they have likes, dislikes, preferences. And, I think that empathy piece is very important, to treat people as humans, and, probably, you know, we all get so busy, particularly in the Western, Western societies. Yes. That, that, that human touch sometimes is missing. And I think it kind of got accelerated and probably it happened in India too. After COVID, things kind of became very hybrid or, or remote completely, that I feel has some significant challenges in developing future workforces because you just don’t have the, you know, partnership going on between a senior engineer and a junior engineer and, you know, you know, how that bonding happens.

So, you know, at the end of the day, you have to perform as a team. And that’s where I feel that, you know, we have to bake in the, the goods of all these cultures and come up with a hybrid culture, no pun intended there, but that’s probably the way to go. And I guess people who have exposure. to multiple countries and not just India, but you know, any other country and us, they kind of bring in those flavors and become more well rounded managers.

Anwesha: As per, you know, what are some of the biggest challenges and strategic opportunities you see in the current US market?  what, how can an Indian talent with expertise in this field, can contribute to this? address these challenges and, you know, capitalize on these opportunities. How does an Indian talent fit into that?

Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: Yeah. A lot of opportunities, again, just going back, the infrastructure space is heavily, heavily dependent on, on human capital, and that’s something that India has the demographic dividend, We are now the largest, nation by population, and, we have a tremendous amount of, high quality engineers that are, graduating every year from our classrooms.

But I also think that, finding the right resources, the right talent at the right time and at the right place. Is, it’s a big problem that we are facing and then talent retention, that’s another, you know, you have, you have to retain the talent of the talent is less, there will be a fight for talent and eventually there is something called, gray tsunami that’s happening in, in us.

So there is a, that whole generation of baby boomers, they’re kind of retiring right now. And some of the large companies are facing retirement at a rate of 3000 people a year. Do you feel that Indians are adaptable that way? Because with the look, looking at the trend of Indians, getting to higher positions, gradually you see top CEOs.

There are a lot of Indians in the market right now who are at a very crucial decision making position. 

Anwesha: So does that shift the entire motion towards the Indian talent?

Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: We are very adaptive. In various senses. The kind of challenges we face just coming, stepping out of our home ground is tremendous. You know, culturally, it’s a very different country.

It’s very far, so you, you do not have the luxury to, you know, call home or go back home as needed. So, you know, you have to, you know, get over that thing, so all of that kind of makes you, extremely competitive in this market. And, and the resources that this country provides is tremendous. I think if.

If people are willing to work hard and they’re honest and take pride in what they do, the U. S. market in general has, has definitely awarded them. 

Anwesha: Post pandemic, the thing that has happened is people are much more open to the mode. So, the immigrant part of it, I feel somewhere gets ruled out as well. So as a decision maker, do you have an influence in hiring people into the infrastructure industry and is there something specific qualities that you seek in the candidate while you’re doing such, because it’s a strong decision, which you have to do because you have to have a, you know, future plan. You have to have a roadmap. You have to. Have a career trajectory. Yeah. Yeah. To have the retention also in place. So how, how do you do that? What is your process?

Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: I approach that issue of hiring, talent wherever they are located, just from a skillset point of view. And if that makes sense for the company overall. 

Anwesha: Exactly. You know, mapping the right skill to the right talent and the role. It makes retention or, the career paths for the talent quite clear. It makes more sense to both parties. Like if a company is investing as well as if a talent is also investing the time into it. How important is a candidate’s time? Understanding of this regulation of these regulations and when they’re working on projects with international clients, do you have any scenarios in mind where, an expertise is there, but it still is a deal breaker during your hiring process?

Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: We have very robust, data safety measures, both for our, both for our own employees. And, you know, we make sure we spend a lot of time and money, to make sure employees understand what the company’s protocols are. And that is also expected of any, Any company that we might be working with, like our subcontractors globally, and in some instances, our, clients also expect to have very extremely robust, you know, data privacy protocols in place.

So just to just to make sure we are not in a situation where, you know, we have to come out of a hole. So it’s extremely important. I mean, it also comes back to, you know, a little bit of common sense, I guess, on, all the employees, like, why would you click on, you know, A link, which was sent by some unknown person and not reported.

So some of those basic things and to that, adding, you know, company protocols, I think, and again, you know, you don’t have to, the common sense is common sense. It’s hard to teach anybody, but you know, on the protocol side of things, we definitely have our in house, team, which kind of grooms any, any fresh talent.

Anwesha: Is there something which, which becomes a deal breaker at any point of time, 

Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: At least for the U. S. employees, I believe, you know, there is a lot of data already out there, which a third party, you know, does the background checks for us. So we will not only cyber, we will kind of look at, you know, things like drunken driving. Have you had episodes with that? That’s, that’s something like a huge deal breaker, because at the end of the day, what we do, we all have to have a P. E. license as a professional engineering (Reference) license to, serve as engineers, for the community. And what it clearly tells us that you are serving at the pleasure of the people and there is a public safety, health and safety, attached to your, PE license. So the public should not lose faith in you through your professional or personal activities. So that’s a big thing. Like if, you know, you get tripped on any of these parameters, then even if you’re onboarded, you are. Whoever you are in the company, you immediately lose the license and that’s it. That’s over.

So it’s not only during the onboarding process, but I would say throughout your career and beyond, that, these things are extremely important in, in, in, At least in this workspace in the U. S. 

Anwesha:We screen a lot of talents and we have very thorough background checks in place. And at times companies do come back to us specifically in the U.S. saying that we need very specific tests to be done. So it can be drug tests. It can be a criminal record. So there are very specific background checks that go on. So that, that shows the kind of diligence the companies go through while screening and trying to get through the, with the talent, you know, without the, just the skill verification. So that it, it brings a lot of, you know, Faith into the system that people are just not, you know, a pile of resumes somewhere. 

Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: Absolutely. You know, I’m kind of onboarding a very senior staff. He used to be my boss. He has 40 years experience. He is now 70 years old, retired. But even he has to go through a drug test, just to come on an as needed basis.

He’s not a full time employee, nothing of that sort, but the, but the robustness of the system. ensures that I cannot or anybody cannot just randomly hire people not going through these processes. I mean, when I was hired, at Parsons or any other company that I go to, they still go back and look at all my, you know, things that I’ve done in India in terms of You know, my professional career, he transcripts, everything is, is again reviewed.

It, it takes time, but I think that due diligence is important because once you hire somebody, you have already spent a lot of money on that individual just to hire. And then we do not like to have a situation where we have to micromanage each and every employee because you’re an adult, you have been screened, you have been vetted.

We, we like you, we think you are a good skillset. And we trust you. Once that trust is built, you know, we let you do your stuff. We don’t want to, you know, make sure, are you coming in eight o’clock in the morning? Are you finishing this? Are you charging to the right? All of that should be handled by you because if me or any of the managers starts doing that, that’s going to be, that’s not why the company hired me for.

You know, higher objectives and get into the micromanagement of people. And that’s something I don’t do. And I don’t think most of the people like it. 

Anwesha: When we talk about unique skill sets or niche talent, so Indian resumes or the way the Indian profiles are, they are quite different to what, the U S. Set, you know, format is so while you’re dealing with diverse talents, how does your screening tweak it? Because most of, the hiring goes through an AI process. Mostly, most of the companies use it. Now you have a set ATS or you have a set screening process in place and not everything is standardized because AI is evolving and so is the, you know, the talents as well as the companies, how they are approaching it, we are still in the learning phase.

So, how does the screening process change when an Indian profile with a very niche skill set is presented into or introduced into the system?

Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: So I think one of the things that firms probably value a lot is, you know, first you have to have the right degrees and the right credentials. So that’s, that’s primary. And if you’re an international talent, you’re being brought in on a H1 or whatever. I think, some of the flagship engineering, institutions, let’s say IITs or the REs, you know, they, they of course offer a brand value, because people have already worked with them here before, they are comfortable. So that alumni network back in the U. S. would, would at least give you a little bit of, Extra, so you know that that’s, that’s one thing. But I think eventually what it boils down to, if you have the right talent, right degrees, you know you have worked at the right places, then that, that is an easy matchmaking.

And then, you know, we get it, we get out of the AI phase and get into the human interface where eventually, you know, depending on what kind of role it is, you know, if it is a more on the delivery side of things, we will have our technical people either, you know, lined up and talk to them and probably in some cases give them a problem, short problem to solve.

If it is more on the leadership side, we get into a different kind of engagement and we are looking for different kinds of profiles of people. So, and that’s very standardized. I think for, for anybody, whether they’re a homegrown talent or a talent we are fetching from outside, some place where we, we have to start looking at our talent, we’re growing up back home and, you know, how they can better themselves in that space.

Anwesha: I think those are. certain areas which can be groomed or taught a little better. Those are things which you pick up as you go. Like if you’re in a situation, you would learn that these are the ways or these are the works you have to do when you are part of a particular trade. But somewhere the attitude of Attitude is something which you cannot cultivate, something which you are, you know, you nurture and you bring something to the table. So do you see the difference of that sort when you are dealing with talents specifically, like from Indian origin? Do you deal with it like that?

Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: India is, you know, a diverse, very big, diverse country. You know, you might have students coming in from New Delhi, Kolkata, you know, big cities. versus tier two, tier three cities.

So you can easily pick up how they’re presenting their case. And, everybody is sharp. I mean, everybody, I believe, has, more than the basic IQ to compete globally and you take that, group. And then you also look at, kids who grew up here. And I can, I can say, for example, like just the training is so different.

Like I see my kids growing up here and I see, you know, my, my family, you know, the other kids growing up back home, they are probably putting in much more hours studying, you know, doing the math and the science and everything, but eventually when it comes to communication, standing up in front of. You know, 20 people and explaining what you even did, that’s where I, I just feel like the kids who grew up here have an advantage over Indian students.

And again, I’m not saying that everybody has that problem, but I see that to be a large problem. 

Anwesha: No, that’s a general thing because India culturally also, we are very high context and the low context thing also comes into picture where, where you have a high context. You try to tend to speak in many words to put it across.

And that way maybe, you know, Indians do a lot of reading between the lines also. So there is a lot of implied meaning. There’s a lot of context that goes across. So we are, we are innate over thinkers. So we do that. And generally we feel that the message has gone across and we feel that it’s not necessary.

Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: Yeah, that’s the thing. When we are building a team, it’s very important that, various factors are accounted for. Like if you are a team player, do you, you know, are you communicating well? Are you, in sync with what the organization is going through. So, going back to the culture point of it. So us in general is a very individualistic, community or individualistic approach of it.

People are much more, Single people. So it is just, I, I, I kind of a thing, whereas Indian culture is more of a collective approach. So it is more of we, or my team, or so does that make a difference when you’re building a team? Does that affect decision making? So definitely looking for team players and, that’s the culture that most of the company, that I’ve worked in, in us.

They encourage, the success level might vary, but, for example, at, at our company, we always, we, we do, we are like the Walmarts of engineering. We do pretty much everything. We can do, you know, send space missions to cyber defense, to water projects, to pedestrian traffic, to hosting Olympics.

We do everything now for that. You need like a global talent pool spread across diverse Geographies, time zones and everything you obviously cannot find all those talents in us. But one thing Common theme is that you’re, you’re under the one person’s umbrella and, wherever the needs are, you have to support.

If you are available and there is a need in Dubai, you are sitting in Texas, you have to support, our Dubai clients or the Dubai team. And, with that comes with some personal sacrifices. Sometimes you have to work across time zones. So you have to be flexible in, in that space. So, yeah, absolutely.

You know, being a team player and being a good communicator, regardless of where you grew up and all, we just expect that from our people. Pair that with integrity and ethics, which is, of course, super important. But, you definitely have to help your, help your team. Otherwise, you know, this, the whole company in general is not going to beat expectations.

So that’s, an inherent quality that we are looking for regardless of, you know, what your personal preferences are or what, you know, how you were raised. We are kind of blind to that aspect. So when you come to work, you know, I, I need that, you know, one family approach. 

Anwesha: Now, I would like to ask you, is there any specific area, you think NRIs, bring unique, Perspective in terms of decision making for the U.S. market. 

Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: Yeah. So, I think as soon as you have somebody like, you know, a person born abroad and they are in a decision making or even, any other non decision making, I think you automatically become the ambassadors for your country, it just, you know, your actions, your quality of work kind of reflects back on your country.

Right. And, I think Indians overall have done a, extremely, good job at, upholding the country’s image here. And I think in other parts of the world as well, but I can talk about the U. S. If you just look at the statistics, the, the most successful in terms of financial success or in terms of, you know, economic or, And even credential wise, I think Indians have the highest, you know, share in terms of household income and education.

Anwesha: The core values do reflect. And once you, once you mix with more and more people, they try picking up those values. They understand you better. So they have an understanding overall of the culture better. So that really helps. So, that brings me to a very, trivial or a fun section. So what do you prefer: early meetings or late night meetings?

Late meetings, maybe not night, but late meetings. Anwesha: Roshogolla or Mishti Doi? Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: Mishti Doi. Anwesha: Bomkesh Bokshi or Rubindranath? Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: Bomkesh Bokshi, Anwesha: Okay. working remotely with the U. S. team or collaborating in person? Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: In person. Anwesha: Do you prefer Adda or, you know, going, you know, deciphering a thick Southern U. S. accent? Oh, Adda, any day.

Anwesha:How do you explain Adda to your American colleagues? 

Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: So, Adda, basically, again, you know, you reference some, You know, Esh, but I would refer back to, where he described what ADA really means. Ada doesn’t, of course, mean, the, the, the normal thing that we typically engage in, only in the pocho, but.

That PNPC is not what I’m talking about, you know, that does happen. I mean, of course, that happens to your humans. You know, so that, that, that is definitely there, but at what percentage that’s there, that’s the biggest question at, at my, age group or career level or whatever. Our, does are a little different where we are talking about, you know, our visions in life and where do you want to go or what’s the next thing that we want to achieve?

And that’s where I kind of have the biggest pleasure. If we are at a bar or even playing golf or whatever we are doing, I think that’s what we are talking about, yes, it does, you know, there would be some, some, some PNPC, of course, baked into it. That’s, that’s just human. But yeah, other in my head, That’s just, okay, Anwesha: biryani from Kolkata or Texas style barbecue.

Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: Oh my God, biryani from Kolkata. Okay. Anwesha: Do you prefer Bollywood music? Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: Bollywood music that shows my Delhi, Delhi upbringing, I guess. I say, Anwesha: bargain at a flea market or, you know, navigate through the complex world of tipping etiquette. Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation:I can’t bargain. I just, I just. Yeah. You can. Yeah. Anwesha: So how do you explain the concept of Roshogolla to your boss or, take a day off for Durga Puja? Which would you take? Amit Sengupta – VP of Parson Corporation: I’ll definitely take a day off, explaining something to my boss. He’s a sharp guy, but, explaining Rashagolla might be quite a challenge, unless he’s there in person and, you know, experiencing it. So yes, Durga Pooja it is. I might actually take him for a Durga Pooja one day.

Oh, wonderful. Yeah. They, they, you know, I always used to tell them, they were asking me about baseball and this ball, that ball. I said, look, I’m not a very sports person. The only thing I really care about is cricket. And, that’s a religion to me. So what’s your next question? They now understand why it is.

So since it’s happening in their backyard, so. So it was really fun speaking with you. I, I have wrapped up my bunch of questions. It was really lovely, lovely connecting, talking about, US Indian culture, Indian talent and walking down a little bit of Bengali bit. Yeah. Yeah. It was lovely having you. Same here. Same here. You know, pleasure is all mine.

Appreciate, the time and the platform. It’s, it’s, it was, it was great honor and hopefully it’s some value addition to the audience.

References:

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/updeshbyuplers/episodes/Indian-Talent-vs-US-Work-Culture–Insights-with-Amit-Sengupta–VP—Parsons-Corporation-e2p6etm?%24web_only=true&_branch_match_id=1189847995844131747

https://www.parsons.com/