How ‘The Trinity’ From XLRI, Jamshedpur Became National Winners Of Aditya Birla Group HeadstaRt 2023

Aditya Birla Group is one of India’s most iconic business conglomerates, headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. With a global presence spread across 36 nations, it’s a force to reckon with. Naturally, we weren’t going to miss the chance to participate in its competition HeadstaRt 2023 - a challenge designed for budding HR leaders of the country. 

HeadstaRt 2023 was an opportunity for first-year students from select B-Schools to put their HR expertise to the test. The participants were tasked with managing a multi-generational workforce and developing millennial leaders to create a far-reaching impact on organizational success. The competition was engaging and grueling, with PPIs and prize money worth INR 5 lakh up for grabs. Here’s how we went about winning it: 

Aditya Birla Group HeadstaRt 2023: Competition Structure

To participate in the competition, interested students had to form a team of three members. The competition was divided into three rounds, and each round was an elimination round. Here’s a look at the detailed competition structure:  

Business Simulation Round:

• Candidates had to solve real-life problems in HR and showcase their understanding of concepts and business acumen.
• Candidates had a three-hour window to attempt this round. The duration of the simulation game was 1 hour.
  

Case Study - Showcase your HR prowess:

• Shortlisted teams worked on live case studies to showcase their HR prowess. 
• Teams were provided with two case studies and had the option of choosing one.  
• The teams had to submit a two-slider presentation (executive summary format), as per the submission template. The submission template included the format and naming conventions. 
• Once uploaded, teams were allowed to change the submission any time before the deadline. 

Grand Finale: The top 6 teams presented their ideas to the industry’s best HR Leaders. 

Laying Down The Path To Success

Our strategy involved a clear distribution of roles. To back our content with solidity we focused on research more than anything else in this process. 

Akanksha being super dedicated to research and in-depth analysis, turned out to be the ‘Google’ for the task. Zaid was rational throughout with his ideas and his knowledge of law helped us steer our boat accordingly. Hareshwar took on the part of making everything presentable so that it adds the impact it demands.

Initially, we were clueless on how to tackle the problem but then we started breaking it down. We also approached our seniors for guidance on solving case studies. Gradually, we got the hang of it. We did work on the problem for about a week. We faced the challenges of having limited resources online for a completely new issue in the case. It was also challenging to simultaneously manage time with our college assessments. We had high hopes but were realistic about the result. However, holding the trophy and being appreciated by the jury was something we'll never forget. It was our “awesome moment” from the competition. 

The level of competition: 

It was a highly planned organization of events, problem statements, and assessments. The final-day panel was extremely knowledgeable and gave crystal clear feedback to takeaway. A total of 6 teams made it to the finale. Each one of them was equally competitive and prepared for the day. Few teams brought in reputation while few brought dedication to the stage. Teams were relentless on the day and encouraged each other throughout.

What Made the Team Unique?: Dedication!

We belong to the same college, same program, same section, though different minds. We were unique in each aspect. Research, rationality, and presentation are what we will categorize ourselves into. Our team name "The Trinity" was the perfect convention for our ability.

With a team of a perfect fit, working together wasn't that difficult. We were not the ones who agreed on each point, but each one of us had a bandwidth of openness in our thoughts which helped us in conflict resolution.

Our team forte was our dedication. Knowing what we had to achieve with the limited time and resources, we tried to maximize through our skills. 

At the end of the competition, we walked away with two major learnings: The first one is that never ever doubt your abilities. You never know what stands ahead in your journey. Secondly, reaching a solution is important, but not as important as the process, or the thought put behind it.

The only advice we have is to believe in your team, especially on D-Day. Moreover, it’s important to practice in advance. But on the final day, just be yourself and be confident! 

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