In the second week of June, I entered the Capgemini Hyderabad campus to be a part of the third batch of Capgemini E.L.I.T.E General Management Program. The 44 of us were welcomed into the program and the company with a comprehensively designed onboarding that would take us to 3 different cities.
The first two weeks in Hyderabad comprised of multiple leadership sessions that focused on Capgemini strategy, organization structure, and introduction to Financial Services as well as domain knowledge sessions by industry experts. There were sessions focused on various business domains such as primers on Insurance, Banking & Capital Markets etc., and also sessions giving a glimpse into technological horizons such as Blockchain, Big Data, and emerging FinTech trends. We also got to be a part of Pinnacle’s Intent-based Communication workshop spread across two days that equipped us with tools on how to communicate better.
But it wasn’t all work and no play, the 2018 batch of trainees had organized a scavenger hunt that took us all the iconic spots in Hyderabad and also gave us an opportunity to bond with each other. The first week also gave us a glimpse of how giving back to society is a core part of Capgemini’s DNA. All 44 of us were divided into groups of 4 and off we went to 4 different NGOs that Capgemini supports. I went to Youth4Jobs, the largest organization in India focused on skilling youths with disabilities and helping them get employed.
The next leg of the induction took us to Mumbai. The sessions planned for this week were totally different from the ones in Hyderabad, for one the sessions were centered on the technological solutions provided by Capgemini. During these sessions, leaders dealing with major clients introduced us to the critical work being done as part of these major projects and the roles that would possibly be offered to us. Four such sessions were held, and the impressive nature of the solutions that Capgemini has been consistently providing amazed me to the extent of introducing the willingness to work as part of them.
The fourth and final week took us to France, with the first three spent in the beautiful Serge Kampf Les Fontaines in Chantilly. The consulting skills workshop was conducted there. It was a great learning experience, particularly because it was heavily activity-oriented. We learned about collaborative meeting management is, its relevance, its importance and through the application, we experienced the difference such a simple tool can have on meetings.
After the workshop, we went to the Capgemini Paris office. Here we had interactions with the who’s who of the organization. The ensuing discussions were very diverse, ranging from the rationale behind the Scale-Up Foundation to inspiring journeys within the organization. We became aware of the Europe journey of Capgemini, the role India played in its success, the kind of work previous batches of ELITE did here and what opportunities await us as we begin shaping our careers in a company that embraces the entrepreneurial spirit.
A huge shoutout to all who were involved in making the induction month efficient and full of learning!