Reliance Spectrum expands the knowledge spectrum with a unique employee engagement program

6 mins read

Popular as one of the most profitable companies in India, Reliance Industries Limited is a multinational conglomerate company that has been ranked 96th in the list of the world’s biggest corporations in 2020 by Fortune Global 500. Headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Reliance has businesses spread across the domains of natural resources, retail, petrochemicals, energy, textiles, and telecommunications. Also known to be the highest-income taxpayer in the private sector in the country, it recently turned into the first company to have crossed $200 billion in market capitalization in India. 

The Spectrum Tale

Reliance Industries has always looked at inculcating the habit of learning amongst its employees. With this vision in mind, the organization launched its first very edition of Spectrum in the year 2016 to encourage learning and development within its workforce. This event helped engage the employees of the company with fun activities in addition to bringing them together on a single platform to introduce them to new and effective ways of learning.

The program evolved with time. But it was in 2020 when the relevance of Reliance Spectrum actually came to light. In order to inspire its workforce and help them sail through times of duress, the company aimed at launching the first-ever virtual engagement program for its employees. But this wouldn’t have been possible without hopping onboard an execution partner, in this case, Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete). 

Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) had worked beside Reliance for various previous engagements, with most designed specifically for students. Having faith in D2C’s team and the matchless experience it provided, the team at Reliance approached Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) to devise a unique employee engagement program. Thus, with an idea to conceptualize an unconventional strategy for Reliance, Spectrum was born. Layered with two subparts, Reliance Spectrum was essentially the 5th edition of the engagement program. And to mark its inception, the theme for the year 2020 highlighted the importance of building the future readiness of their workforce.

Under the Unstop Banner

The fifth edition of Reliance Spectrum, was inarguably, different from all its previous chapters. This was the very first time that Spectrum was being organized in a 100% virtual mode, allowing employees to learn and interact anywhere and everywhere. With the addition of Unstop's (formerly Dare2Compete) flavour, the learning channels of the employee engagement program witnessed a twist in the tale. This year, the channels comprised symposia, simulations, micro-learning bytes, corporate quiz, hackathon amongst others. 

Along with this, Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) simplified the learning process by adding fun activities, enabling a gamified journey where employees could win and learn simultaneously. Also, the engagement involved a family zone with engaging activities for family members. All in all, Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) revamped the employee engagement program altogether and helped bring the Reliance family together, on a virtual platform, in the virtual world.

Launched in two sub-parts, the employee engagement program - Reliance Spectrum 5.0 had the following opportunities under its banner: 

• Inquizitive - An organization-wide quiz, it was specially put together by the team at Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) for all quiz enthusiasts, allowing them the liberty to showcase their knowledge and experience the excitement of online quizzing. Along with three qualifier rounds, Inquizitive had a quarter-final, a semi-final and a grand finale round. Participants had to first qualify the initial round to get selected for all the other rounds. 
• Escape Room - Another fun engagement activity designed by Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) especially for Reliance employees, participants here were required to don the hat of a detective and solve a murder mystery. This activity encouraged employees to collaborate, communicate and apply their critical thinking skills to complete the challenge. The team that solved a series of puzzles within a time span of 60 minutes,  moved on to the next level. Conducted for 5 days at a stretch, the employees could register for only one session. Only the team that solves all the puzzles within the allotted time won. 

Reliance Spectrum 6.0

The company updated its employee engagement program with an off-ground second sub-part (all thanks to the changes in work environment post Covid). However, reflecting on the grand success of Inquizitive, they kept it unchanged.

The sixth edition of Spectrum followed a similar format to Reliance Spectrum 5.0 with three qualifier rounds, a quarter-final, a semi-final, and a grand finale round in Inquizitive. Participants had to first qualify for the initial round to progress to the other rounds.

The Outcome

Apart from all the excitement and fun these activities presented, a number of factors came to light. 

• The engagement activities organized by Reliance in association with Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) helped employees be a part of something bigger, together with all the other members of the Reliance team. In a time when everybody missed the normalcy of going to the office due to the lockdown, Reliance Spectrum brought the office magic back! 
• The engagement activities gave employees the platform to connect better with each other and work together as a team. It helped them work on their skills of collaboration, communication, and team building. 
• The leadership at Reliance was able to convey the message that they’d stand by their employees through thick and thin and that every problem could be tackled if the team sticks beside each other. 
• An escape from their routine lives, employees from across the organization turned up in large numbers. Around 819 employees registered for Inquizitive, conducted at Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete).

Reliance as an organization has always been at the forefront of innovation, looking at novel ideas to bring about change within and beyond the organization. The sixth edition of Spectrum added another bright colour to its existing palette and sent a very strong message across the entire firm.

Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) is proud to have been a part of this unique initiative, a one-of-a-kind employee engagement program that not only enables learning and development but also allows its employees to have fun together on a common platform. It will be fascinating to see how Spectrum will evolve in the many years to come. Till then, we wish Reliance the best and hope that it chooses Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) as its execution partner in all its future endeavors.