Article: What does HUL do to build DNA for a high-performance culture

Employer Branding

What does HUL do to build DNA for a high-performance culture

HUL's approach to building and grooming talent and leaders comprises robust talent systems and processes, and investment in capability building
What does HUL do to build DNA for a high-performance culture

Facts Box:

Company Name: Hindustan Unilever Limited
Established: 1933
Total number of employees: 18,000 
HQ: Mumbai, India

A common vision, a corporate purpose, the philosophy of ‘doing well by doing good’ in the conduct of its business, and sustainability are at the heart of an organization like Hindustan Unilever. For the company, the secret of its success is embedded in attracting the best talent, providing them with clearly defined career paths that revolve around job rotation and diversity of experiences, honing capabilities, and empowering employees at all levels.

HUL's approach to building and grooming talent and leaders comprises robust talent systems and processes, and investment in capability building. Individual development plans are curated for each employee with a focus on building knowledge and skills and also preparing them for future roles. With the belief that 70 percent of learning happens on-the-job, HUL's holistic 70:20:10 capability building approach allows blended learning with 70 percent capability built on the job through live assignments, 20 percent through coaching, short-term projects, and exposures, and 10 percent through classroom, virtual and e-learning. 

Leadership development at HUL is about “Leaders building Leaders”, where leaders have the responsibility to build and groom other leaders, and a combination of processes that entail collective expertise in recognizing and developing talent. Hindustan Unilever embraced the ‘Connected 4 Growth’ (C4G) framework which entailed setting up of empowered Cluster Category Business Teams (CCBTs) with representatives from all functions. HUL has created 15 CCBTs, headed by young leaders who are given the authority and license to run the business the way they think is best. This has not only resulted in more authority being devolved, but has also resulted in more energy being released, and has made the organization far agiler and responsible. They are the mini-entrepreneurs, with full responsibility and accountability for delivering the results, including the P&L. C4G has propelled HUL to be a more future-facing organization based on – Empowerment, Collaboration, and Experimentation. 

HUL has created 15 Country Category Business Teams (CCBTs), headed by young leaders who are empowered to run the business the way they think is best. This has not only resulted in more authority being devolved but has made the organization agile and future ready

While Unilever, as an organization has been a purposeful one with an active focus on making brands purpose driven and sustainable, it recognized the importance of helping employees find their purpose. Helping employees in discovering their purpose made employees identify what energizes them, the thing that makes them stand out from the rest and the force that drives them to achieve, both inside and outside the organization. Millennial talent who is self-aware and knows their purpose is more engaged and bring more discretionary energy and effort to work.

Such initiatives have not only helped HUL in creating a strong pipeline of talent, but they have also future-proofed the organization in terms of leadership and talent pipeline. 

Photo Caption

Mr. Sanjiv Mehta – CEO & Managing Director, HUL (center, second row) and Mr. BP Biddappa – Executive Director, Human Resources, HUL (second row, far left) with their team

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Topics: Employer Branding, #HRIndustry, #AONBestEmployer, #BestPractices

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