ABG Stratos Case Study | Innovating the recruitment process with a business simulation game challenge

In the league of Fortune 500 companies, Aditya Birla Group (ABG) is a conglomerate that’s anchored by a workforce of over 120,000 employees from 42 countries around the world. With a legacy of seven long decades, ABG businesses have grown into global powerhouses in a number of sectors including cement, metals, chemicals, pulp and fiber, textiles, carbon black, and telecom. In fact, over 50% of ABG’s revenues today flow from overseas operations that span 36 countries in total from Asia, Africa, North and South America.

The Stratos story

The Stratos journey started in the year 2015 when Aditya Birla Group came up with the idea of curating a strategy case competition in order to inculcate a spirit of innovation and competitiveness among young B-Schoolers. The thought behind the challenge was simple - ABG wanted to recruit future leaders with the skills of critical thinking and logical aptitude, who could envision themselves making crucial decisions for the organization. But this was just the first step taken by ABG to restructure its hiring process. The path ahead was a lot more intriguing and fascinating! 

ABG wanted to recruit GMTs - Group Management Trainees who could later turn into CEOs of different companies. But more importantly, ABG wanted to give B-School students an idea of the work they’ll be required to do once they join the organization, which is where it all started. 

Unstop sets all hurdles aside

ABG’s vision of laying the outlines of a unique hiring challenge was vivid and well-defined. With a clear picture of the problem statement in hand, the team at Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) rolled up their sleeves and started painting the canvas with ideas and solutions. And after a thorough analysis, Stratos was born.

The only way to ward off ABG’s concerns regarding the hiring process was to give birth to a business simulation game challenge - a once-in-a-lifetime experience that would allow students to experience real-life challenges in a virtual setup. The participants had to step into the shoes of the CEO of a company and make consequential decisions that could make or break deals. Every decision taken by a team would affect other participants.  

The results were overwhelmingly positive! A new approach to solving case studies and thinking analytically, students loved the format of the business simulation game. It gave them the opportunity to think multi-dimensionally, so much so that most participants were found analyzing their decisions and thinking about the next steps during classes and while doing other things on campus!

ABG Stratos 2019 left an indelible mark on the lives of students and today, ABG Stratos 2022 continues to inspire many to participate in simulation challenges. Open to top 15 B-Schools, the following rounds were conducted in Stratos 2022: 

Business Simulation Round - The simulation spanned 5 rounds with a total duration of 2 hours. It tested business acumen across domains: strategy, marketing, finance, operations, etc

Executive Summary Submission Round - Selected teams from the business simulation round submitted an executive summary (2-slider) of their solution to the business problem mentioned in the case. This was divided into 4 groups.

Deep Dive - The winners from the previous round then moved into the next round where they had to dive deeper into their solutions and submit a detailed 7-slider presentation for further evaluation. 

Grand Finale - The top 10 teams from the third round were then called for the grand finale where they got an opportunity to present their solutions to the jury comprising leaders from ABG. 

The outcome

The response to the online business simulation-cum-case study challenge was mind-blowing. Here are a few key factors that came to light: 

• With a business simulation game designed especially for ABG Stratos by the team at Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete), the hiring challenge caught the attention of numerous students. 
  
  
• Students from select B-Schools got the opportunity to witness the internal workings of the conglomerate from up-close, in addition to getting hands-on experience in making pivotal decisions.
  
  
• With Unstop’s execution platform and a promotion team like no other, ABG Stratos 2022 saw a reach of 14,98,636.
  
  
• The registration count topped the charts with a good 4088 registrations.

Over the years, ABG Stratos has not only won the hearts of the students but has also set a benchmark in the industry for its one-of-a-kind hiring challenge. A competition that only seems to grow every year, both in terms of numbers and popularity, ABG Stratos is all set and prepared to remodel the recruitment process in the near future. And with that in perspective, Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) is pleased to be an integral part of this unparalleled competition that only strives to get better by the day and hopes to welcome them on board for many more editions.