Remote working and offshore centres to pick up because of COVID-19 and H-1B visa suspension

The recent order of US President Donald Trump to temporarily suspend certain categories of work visas could open a new route for remote projects, freelance gigs and offshore work for Indians.

While the order might have made it difficult for Indian engineers to immigrate to the US, the same level of work could still find its way into India.

Industry insiders who help Indian techies get placed in American and European companies told Moneycontrol that there is a rise in inquiries among companies from the US, the UK and Germany for hiring opportunities in India.

Some companies are looking to set up development centres here, while others are looking for techies who can take up freelance gigs from India.

While this trend was becoming popular because of COVID-19, the recent order on suspension of H-1B visas till December could speed up the process. H-1B visas are coveted by Indians who want to take up software and electronics engineering work in the US and chase the American dream. But restrictions on work permits and now a global pandemic has forced both companies and Indian engineers to look for those opportunities remotely.

“We have already seen large American companies like Microsoft, Google and Amazon setting up offices in countries like India. This way they attract major technology talent from the country and also manage visa and government restrictions on travel better,” said Vikram Ahuja, co-founder, Talent 500, which helps global companies to source highly skilled talent from across the world.

These centres are popularly referred to as GCC or Global Capability Centres, which started as cheap resource points, but are now transforming into centres for excellence for large multinational companies.

Ahuja said that while large companies have started the trend, now even mid-tier software start-ups are looking to set up centres here. Previously, there used to be a small team here and there, but now players like AirBnB, Twitter and many series B or C funded start-ups are setting up offices, he added.

Billionaire banker Uday Kotak, in a recent tweet, highlighted this. He tweeted that it will make more sense for American companies to hire talent in India for much cheaper rates than employing someone for working remotely in the US.

Neha Bagaria who founded Jobs for Her, an employment portal specifically designed for women, however, feels it is still early days. American companies hired Indian talent since they got good quality engineers at cheaper rates, but now with the restrictions in place, whether it will push companies to go remote or push them to set up larger offshore centres here is not clear yet.

Indian start-ups are not ready to let this moment go. They are looking at this as a fresh opportunity. Global companies need talent and they need to scale up the tech teams quickly. Indian entrepreneurs are playing the role of a facilitator, where they can source tech talent from across the country and get them to work for these projects, either like a temporary gig or as a permanent employment.

Raghu Bharat, who co-founded GoScale, is positioning his platform to help global companies hire freelancers and remote gig techies. Bharat has a simple theory: not all American companies can invest in setting up a GCC; for them GoScale can manage the pay roll, hiring and compliance. This way they can get the work done and at avoid legal hassles.

“To hire someone in India, you need an entire stack, a registered office, tax compliance system, hiring capabilities, and companies also need data protection, IP protection and more. We can manage all that,” he said.

The bootstrapped Bengaluru-based GoScale has facilitated around 180 engineers to work on projects remotely. Itcomp has a base of over 2 lakh engineers on the platform already.

Moneycontrol had written on February 26, 2020, about how many Indian techies prefer to work remotely from their hometowns and also participate in cutting-edge technology projects.

Highlighting the reasons for this move by companies, Aditya Nagpal, who recently started Wisemonk, said that COVID-19 has anyway caused business uncertainty, which is forcing companies to hire talent for short-duration projects rather than permanent employment.

Secondly, in this era of technology innovation, companies need to hire talent quickly and the regular hiring system is time-consuming.

Platforms like Wisemonk help speed up the process, he said. Started earlier this year, the start-up has created a base of 2,000 engineers and marketers who can be hired by global companies.

“Now work from home has anyway pushed companies to rethink their internal processes and remote teams make more sense in this situation,” Nagpal said.

While the H-1B visa ban might be a political move, American companies need Indian tech talent. No wonder more than 70 percent H-1B visa holders are from India. After all, India is one of the few countries which can supply these companies with English-speaking tech talent at such volumes.

“There is a similar talent in Poland, Canada and a bit from Mexico, but India stands unique because of its massive technology talent base which can speak English,” said Ahuja of Talent100.