Human Resource Management at Unilever

On the entry level the HR Department is mostly taking MBA graduates. According to
Unilever their belief is that "Their people are their greatest asset. The HR team takes great
pride in acknowledging the contribution of each employee. Unilever focuses a lot on HR
Development and for that the HR team ensures:
Staff of Unilever consists of world class Professionals and ensures that the right systems are
in place to encourage people to develop to their full potential
Collaborative and mutually supportive work environment is created that encourages people
to grow.
Team of professionals is built which delivers expertise by participating in business
decisions.
Performance Management and Reward Systems are developed which underlies the Business
strategy of Unilever.
A clearly defined Recruitment & Selection policy is defined.
The need for Training & Development of employees is assessed.
Compensation & Benefit plan is developed which ensures that employees are motivated.
Unilever is basically equal employment opportunity organization. Almost 70%of its
employees are male and 30% are female. The job description of each and every employee is
predefined. Performance appraisal is done on annual basis. Average age of Unilever
employee is 32 years. This shows that they prefer young and energetic people for
their middle and lower level management. High profile well experienced persons are
considered for top-level management. Average Salary is 12000 for an employee.
Management:
In Unilever the hierarchy is very lean, in general the whole setup is centralized, all the
matters are to be reported to the head office and all the policies and targets are approved at
the higher level. But at the branch level the structure is decentralized.
Personnel:
All of the employees serving at Unilever are very devoted as they are given a wonderful
learning environment to work, pay offered to them is also very attractive and ample chance of
progress motivates them to work more. The
Whenever an employee requires something from the admin, his request was put forward by
filling a simple form which includes name of the entity, its quantity, signature of the
department etc. This is known as Purchase Request.

Travel Request (TR):

If an employee needs to travel on an official job, he has to give a Travel Request by filling a
form. The form includes purpose of travel, destination, time and distance.
Visiting Card Request (VCR):
In order to print visiting cards an employee needs to send a Visiting Card Request to admin
department after being authorized by the HR department.
Medical Reimbursement Form (MRF):
When an employee desires to get his medical benefit from the company, he needs to fill in a
Medical Reimbursement Form so that his request can be put forward.
Joining Report (JR):
When a new employee joins the organization, he has to deliver a Joining Report to the HR
Department.
Means of External Communication:
Through Mail.
Through letters.
Through Post & other related services.
Through filling the survey forms from the public.
By conducting the workshop & Seminars for the promotion of Unilever company.
Through Societal marketing Practices: - etc etc.
Human Resource Information System (HRIS):
At Unilever profiles of all the employees containing data relating their payroll, leaves,
benefits etc is saved in a database known as HRIS. Unilever uses a locally procured HRIS
which is to be upgraded using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).
Human Resource Planning:
Planning provides a guideline to accomplish an activity. At Unilever the HR team plans
everything so that the outcomes and results can be perceived before the plan is actually
implemented. This makes the planning more accurate and efficient; it also saves time and
money.
Orientation:
A newly hired employee is oriented so that he can get an idea about the organizational setup
so that he may feel at home. At Unilever orientation plan covers the following points:
Visits to different department of the company
Companys Policies, Rules and Regulations

Training & Development

Training & Development involves improving the knowledge, skills and abilities of the
individuals. A continuous training is conducted inside the organization to improve the
performance of the employee. There are two types of trainings conducted at Unilever:
In-house Training - In-house training is customized training which is only for Unilever
employees.
External Training - External training is carried out through trainers in training institutes.
Before training Training Need Analysis (TNA) is conducted by the
manager of the department. And after the training feedback from the
employee is taken.

In-house Training
Learning is an integral part of life at Unilever & there are many to develop skills, both
professional & personal. So they focus on four major aspects. Those are:

Learning on the job

Coaching & mentoring
Classroom style learning
Supportive colleagues

Learning on the job

On the job learning will account for the most part of employees learning journey with
Unilever. Employeesll learn much of what they need to know by working with
knowledgeable colleagues and receiving regular coaching and feedback.
Employees will gain a wide variety of experiences by working on projects, conducting
operational visits and attending seminars and conferences. These will assist in developing
skills relevant to your job and giving you an overview of how Unilevers company works.
International exposures, working with global and virtual teams are also great ways of learning
on the job.
Coaching & mentoring
At Unilever coaching and mentoring is both a formal and an informal process. Unilevers
annual performance development cycle and regular feedback linked to it will make up the
formal portion. The regular feedback and support employees receive from peers and their
manager on a daily basis will contribute to informal learning.
Classroom style learning
Unilever make the cream of both local and foreign trainers available to their employees. They
specialize in coaching and inspiring people to develop the soft skills they need to reach out
and grasp whats in store for them.

A lot of emphasis is placed on professional skills development which are technical skills
required for your job. This usually happens through classroom; trainer led learning,
operational visits to other countries and sites along with professional certification courses.
General skills will also be developed with the aid of e-learning courses, virtual instructor led
programs and the traditional classroom style instructor led programs.

Supportive colleagues
Employees will always have their manager, HR or a supportive colleague at hand to help with
learning and development. They will encourage and support, answer questions, and help
build self-confidence and offer invaluable advice.

External Training: examples

Unilever Sri Lanka, SLIM launches Professional Selling Diploma course
Unilever Sri Lanka in association with the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) has
launched a Professional Selling Diploma course for sales representatives employed by the
companys distribution business partners and service providers who operate in all areas of the
country.

USL employees conclude CIM sales training

Unilever Sri Lanka employees recently concluded the Diploma in Sales Management
conducted by The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Sri Lanka Region exclusively for
Unilever Sri Lanka Ltd.

Ramani Fernando Training Academy with Unilever Sri Lanka and City &
Guilds to open first branch in Kandy

Unilever Future Leaders Program

Designed to turn talented graduates into managers, the program will allow to experience more
in two to three years than the employees ever thought possible.

Tried & tested

Unilevers track record for providing people with dynamic careers is a testimony to
Unilevers growth. A majority of Unilevers senior management team began their journeys as
Management Trainees, many of whom have made their mark globally. It is therefore, not
surprising that the Unilever Management Trainee program is considered to be one of the best
in the local market.

The program
Unilevers Management Trainees will choose to specialize in 1 of 6 career functions
(Marketing, Sales (Customer Development), Finance, Supply Chain (Manufacturing), Human
Resources IT and Tea). The program duration is 24 months which will include employees
induction to the company.
Focused on building leadership capability and accelerating employees development, the
program involves a number of job rotations which will help to employees, to understand the
business as a whole while gaining valuable experience.

A real job from day one

Depending on the function employees have chosen and they will be working on real business
challenges linked to business goals from day one. They will have specific personal
deliverables and work with members of their team to jointly deliver the output for their
function and the company.
With initiative and enthusiasm employees can make things happen and see the impact of their
actions within the business.

Well help you, help yourself

Unilever support to employees every step of the way, but much of the employees progress
will be up to them. As well as learning on the job, theyll have access to many structured
courses and have the advantage of being mentored and coached by some of the best in the
business.

Rewards and benefits

A very effective way to retain an employee is to give him compensation and benefits. At
Unilever following benefits are given:
The overall package
Unilever offers a market competitive rewards package thats designed to make feel an
integral part of the team and directly involved in the companys success.
The benefits we offer include:
Re-imbursement of professional subscription fees
Club membership Re-imbursements for specific grades
Medical Facility to employee and his/her parents
Gym membership
Accommodation Facility to energetic employees
Holiday bungalow facilities
Subsidized meals
Onsite medical centre
Medical insurance
Other allowance
Paid Vacations
Pay for performance
As a business, we aim to grow and create shareholder value. If you help us achieve those
goals, well reward you well. And since you help create your own objectives, you can see
precisely how your actions affect the rewards you receive.
You will receive an annual bonus based on personal and business performance. Recognizing
the delivery of strong year-on-year profitable growth, it rewards both our collective success
and your individual contribution to it. And the amount can be significant.