Tuesday 31 January 2012


My Passion Story at HCL!
How many of us ever wonder what “PASSION” is to us?  Yes, for few it may be cricket, for few it may be music and for some it may be painting but I would describe it an inner drive that will cause you to break a record, when finishing the race will do, that will make you stay up all night long, when you want to sleep, that will cause you to love, when you would rather hate....and that will defy the odds when they shadow you…..

Not a single day has passed without a bang of energy since 2009, the time when I started my stint with HCL Technologies Ltd. (my second organization). I believe that HCL has been the best thing that has happened to me in my life. Coming from a manufacturing sector, I was aware that life would take a turn; I am going to step into a big IT firm like HCL. And so did happen, I joined a team which was being incubated at that time “Strategic Initiatives”. The team started to set a foot in the organization with big initiatives and a bigger vision. Together we experimented, explored, learnt and developed these initiatives, which is but an experience of its own kind.

“The Passion within me sparked again when I got involved in an initiative that was “THE THING” to be. Actually the journey started with a precarious note and we decided to build something for the individual at HCL. Recession was hitting bad that time in 2009 and we as vibrant team wanted to convert the threats into opportunities.  With a number of brain storming rounds and sleepless weekends, we came about an initiave that strives to engage the whole person by identifying his/ her Passion Indicators…a topic close to my heart.”

In this process, we were revising the concepts of organization behavior, some team members who did not have an HR background used to get bugged…and they used to go crazy with the psychology and OB concepts… J and for me it was the revision of what I had studied for 7 years. But, the whole environment incited us to come up with Employee Passion Indicative CountTM, abbreviated as EPIC. EPIC started as an assessment tool with very basic reports and portal in 2009 (first year of its launch). It now stands as a yearlong intervention that strives to address four business challenges of Employee Engagement, Employee Productivity, Employee Development and Employee Retention. The vision is to “Create a Passionate HCL” by Creating Passionate Individuals and Passionate Teams.
EPIC as HCL’s Differentiator:  EPIC starts with an assessment, which aims to identify the Passion Indicators i.e. all those factors that drive an employee to excel at work. It goes beyond employee engagement. Passion that gives a kick to employees to step out of their comfort zones and perform innovatively. Moreover in order to engage your people you need to know your people. So we help the management know them better in order to engage them better.

We were happy to see a participation of 25,100 in EPIC 2009 launch i.e. the first year of launch. The concept picked up so fast with the masses and there from it has been taken off well with a whopping participation of 40,574 in EPIC 2010 and 51,656 in EPIC 2011. But the destination is not even close to what I want to achieve in life. Sustaining through adverse situations at work, amidst of lot of restructuring and dynamism in the organization; it was never a cake walk to achieve a target with such a small team (a team of three). We could connect with the masses (HCL, a company of approx 90,000 employees) through a neck breaking speed and innovative solutions and created impact.


The last 3.3 years have passed like a wind. It has been full of unique experiences for me – different flavors, different people, different learning. Besides helping me grow professionally, I think the exposure and learning while working here has contributed in my personal growth immensely. From day one till date I have been completely enjoying my work each and every moment. It was indeed a tremendous learning working here. The diverse and creative work assignments helped me channelize my potential to the fullest and have given me enough confidence to explore some new territories. In the process I also got an opportunity to groom few of my team members and I am confident enough that they would take EPIC to new heights“.

I have worked with many people in this firm and have undergone a tremendous phase of learning. Now that I grow up on career ladder I wish to be a Leader in the field of HR and inspire many others like me to rise up and be revolutionary leaders.

Like many, I have been through topsy turvy times as well. When the only inspiration was my aspiration to be an HR professional who stands out in the crowd through her impact and influence. A vision to be a  HR Head in the long run pull me through. I have been through tough times in my race to be where I am, but it only gives me more strength to be a determined person and focus on my goals.  As it’s said… Diamonds are made under pressure.

Whenever the pressure used to get too much I always used to keep this in mind that apart from being an employee I am also a manager, so it was very important for me to motivate myself and my team members.  I don’t know how many of you will agree with me but Managers do play a very vital role in anyone’s career, I had to make sure that I consistently keep the flame of passion of my team members burning. I have always made sure that even in the times of adversity my team’s Passion, motivation and performance does not go down.

For me right decisions at the right time and acting upon the same are very important and that’s the way I have always worked. Personally I have always admired leaders who took along their team members and maintain their integrity.

I feel that values are foremost to me and they give me a differentiated power and confidence to shine. Passion is one thing that I am not only driving but living every moment. Passionate employees will pave their own way but...but what about others?  A real leader is one who can make an " Iron SHINE like Diamond”, because a leader grows only when his team members grow, when he grows alone then he is not a true leader, he is just another Individual contributor. So, are you identifying a successor at every level?

Thanks!
Ritu Singh- On the journey of being the MOST PASSIONATE HR Practitioner!