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Unilever’s Organizational Culture of Performance Updated Aug 10, 2015 Lawrence Gregory

Unilever building in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Does Unilever have a culture of performance? How do leadership, HR structures and practices influence this organizational culture of performance? (Photo: Jim Henderson/Public Domain) Unilever is one of the largest firms in the global economy. The progress of this company is linked to its organizational culture and the kinds of activities and policies leaders have implemented over time. Organizational culture, leadership and the human resources of a firm are all interrelated. Unilever is an integrated global firm. Any change in one area leads to changes or developments in other areas. The characteristics of these components also affect each other and the rest of the organization of Unilever. Unilever is successful because of the overall effectiveness of its leaders in ing improvements in the organizational culture, which contribute to improvements in other areas, such as human resources. This article discusses Unilever’s organizational culture, leadership, and human resource structures and practices. The culture of performance is also evaluated at Unilever.

Unilever’s Organizational Culture Unilever’s organizational culture has the following characteristics: 1. Focus on performance – individual performance and organizational performance

2. Focus on quality – quality of output in all areas 3. Efficiency – efficient work through technology and other tools Unilever’s organizational culture is focused on performance and quality. This organizational culture is observable in the long history of the company. The business has grown from a small firm to a global powerhouse. Unilever’s organizational culture of performance and quality is manifested in the quality of the firm’s products. These products remain competitive in the global market despite tough competition. Unilever has also mastered efficiency through technology and innovation in its internal business processes.

Leadership Reinforcement of Unilever’s Organizational Culture Unilever’s success is partly based on the ability of leaders to a culture of performance and quality. The firm’s leaders use the market-based and results-based approaches to manage the firm and drive performance higher. Market-based management uses market data to make changes in management tactics. Results-based management focuses on the achievement of desired outcomes. These approaches used in Unilever’s leadership s business integrity. Integrity is important in mergers and acquisitions, where integration is needed for successful organizational merging. Unilever’s leadership s integrity for the continuity of the organizational culture of performance and quality even after mergers and acquisitions.

Culture, Leadership, and Human Resource Structures and Practices Leadership influences the development of the organizational culture of Unilever. This organizational culture affects the development of human resource structures and practices. Unilever’s leadership reinforces the organizational culture of performance and quality. Such reinforcement comes through leaders’ regular monitoring and evaluations, as well as commitment and . The results of evaluations are used for guiding HR practices that reinforce Unilever’s organizational culture of performance and quality.

Unilever’s Culture of Performance Unilever’s culture is a culture of performance. The different components of the business are focused on improving financial performance and quality of products. Through effective leadership, individual performance is ed. Through collaborative efforts of leaders from different departments, the firm also ensures an organizational culture of performance. Thus, Unilever’s culture of performance is manifested at the individual and organizational levels.

Some Recommendations for Unilever Unilever has room for further improvement. A recommendation is to improve policies to accommodate diversity. Higher diversity is inevitable in global business, and the company must take advantage of it. Also, Unilever can implement improvements in information technologies. These technologies can workers in all areas through advanced tools for market research, customer relations and internal communications. These improvements can help strengthen the firm’s organizational culture of performance. References

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Chow, I. H. S. (2012). The roles of implementation and organizational culture in the HR– performance link. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(15), 3114-3132.

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Jackson, T. A., Meyer, J. P., & Wang, X. H. F. (2013). Leadership, Commitment, and Culture A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 20(1), 84106.

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Jones, G. (2005, Nov. 28). Unilever: Transformation and Tradition. Harvard Business School.

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Ou, A. Y., Hartnell, C. A., Kinicki, A. J., & Karam, E. P. (2013, January). A MetaAnalytic Path Analysis of Leadership, Organizational Culture, and Unit Performance. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2013, No. 1, p. 10037). Academy of Management.

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Ulrich, D. (2014). The future targets or outcomes of HR work: individuals, organizations and leadership. Human Resource Development International,17(1), 1-9.

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Unilever (2015). Unilever Company Structure.

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Unilever (2015). Our leadership.

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U.S. Department of Commerce (2015). The Consumer Goods Industry in the United States. Select USA.

Application process

Klazien Van Vliet, Early Careers Resourcing Director

I think the Unilever Future Leaders Programme is a great opportunity for graduates around the world. It will allow you to work on great brands and you get to work with fantastic people. At the same time we offer a range of development opportunities. You will have a real responsibility from day one, so you get to develop on the job as well as through formal learning, and I think most importantly, you get to personally drive your career to wherever you want it to be and to go, be it at a local level, or around the world.

Application process summary Unilever Future Leaders Programme

“UNILEVER WAS THE SINGLE-MOST COMPANY THAT WAS REALLY PAYING ATTENTION TO ME. DURING THE SELECTION PROCESS EVERYTHING WENT VERY QUICK, VERY FAST AND THEY GAVE ME THE ATTENTION THAT I LIKED”

Jorg Brouwer, Former Graduate, now Sales Director, Customer Development, Benelux 

Application form

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Online test

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Interview

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Assessment day

Unilever Internship Leadership Programme

The application process for the Unilever future leaders programme varies per country. Please your local Unilever office for more information. Unilever Standards of Leadership

Standards of Leadership are behaviours we expect to see in our employees. They drive our performance and culture. If you make it to the assessment day stage, we’ll assess you against these, as we believe they’re also required in every graduate applying for a Unilever Future Leaders Programme position. You can get more information on the Standards of Leadership when you apply. Below are some short descriptions. Standards of leadership

Growth mindset Consumer and customer focus Bias for action ability and responsibility Building talent and teams The application form

Here’s where you tell us all the good things about you. We’ll ask for information about your degree, details of any previous work experience you may have had, any leadership positions held at university (such as student clubs) and in activities you are involved in outside university, too. This is your chance to tell us why you want to us and show us you’re up for the challenge.

Hot application tips 

Take note of all deadlines

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Answer all our questions

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Check your answers against our Standards of Leadership

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Write clearly and accurately. Use spell-check

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Include all relevant achievements

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Get : ask your friends and family for examples of your leadership skills

A detailed breakdown of the Unilever Future Leaders Programme application process

Application form Here we collect information about you, your degree, any previous work or leadership experience and your motivation for ing us. This form takes around 45 minutes complete online. Online test This 40-minute timed-test is available for completion immediately after the application form has been submitted. You have up to two weeks to take this test, depending on your country. Tests are deemed complete after the allocated time has ed. Interview A Unilever recruiter will interview you about your leadership skills and experience. This will require you to tell us about specific instances where you have displayed leadership behaviours. The interview lasts around an hour. Assessment day You will be invited to spend a day with us at a local office. You’ll be assessed in a group with other graduates and asked to discuss and solve business problems using case studies, group exercises and short presentations. This is the last round of the process and successful candidates usually receive an offer to the UFLP programme one to two weeks later.

About Unilever

On any given day, two billion people use Unilever products to look good, feel good and get more out of life

Life partners

We can no longer pretend that business can immunise itself from the rising tide of environmental challenges. Paul Polman, Unilever CEO

With more than 400 brands focused on health and wellbeing, no company touches so many people’s lives in so many different ways.

Our portfolio ranges from nutritionally balanced foods to indulgent ice creams, affordable soaps, luxurious shampoos and everyday household care products. We produce world-leading brands including Lipton, Knorr, Dove, Axe, Hellmann’s and Omo, alongside trusted local names such as Blue Band, Pureit and Suave. Responsible business Related links 

Our strategy for sustainable business

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Driving transformational change

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Unilever brightFuture

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For us, sustainability is integral to how we do business. With 7 billion people on our planet, the earth’s resources can be strained. This means sustainable growth is the only acceptable model of growth for our business. The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan sets out to decouple our growth from our environmental impact, while at the same time increasing our positive social impact. Our Plan has three big goals that by 2020 will enable us to: 

Help more than a billion people to improve their health and well-being.

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Halve the environmental footprint of our products.

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Source 100% of our agricultural raw materials sustainably and enhance the livelihoods of people across our value chain.

To embed sustainability into every stage of the life cycle of our products, we’re working with our suppliers to responsible approaches to agriculture. We’re also learning from NGOs and other organisations, recognising that building a truly sustainable business is not something we can do without expert advice. At the heart of our business is our purpose – to make sustainable living commonplace. Companies are increasingly realising the role that purpose can play and Unilever along with many others has signed up to the Blueprint for Better Business initiative, which helps business develop their purpose and embed it within the organisation, as well as move the conversation of the business sector as a whole. We believe that as a business we have a responsibility to our consumers and to the communities in which we have a presence. Around the world we invest in local economies and develop people’s skills inside and outside of Unilever. And through our business and brands, we run a

range of programmes to promote hygiene, nutrition, empowerment and environmental awareness.

Impact & innovation

We realise innovation is key to our progress, and through cutting-edge science we’re constantly enhancing our brands, improving their nutritional properties, taste, fragrance, or functionality. We invest around €1 billion every year in research and development, and have established laboratories around the world where our scientists explore new thinking and techniques, applying their expertise to our products. Consumer research plays a vital role in this process. Our unrivalled global reach allows us to get closer to consumers in local markets, ensuring we understand their diverse needs and priorities. About our brands

Unilever brands around the world

See all 400 Unilever brands and find out which brands are available in your country

View our brands

From long-established names like Lifebuoy, Sunlight and Pond’s to new innovations such as the Pureit affordable water purifier, our range of brands is as diverse as our worldwide consumer base. Unilever has more than 400 brands, 14 of which generate sales in excess of €1 billion a year. Many of these brands have long-standing, strong social missions, including Lifebuoy’s drive to promote hygiene through handwashing with soap, and Dove’s campaign for real beauty. Business facts & figures 

Our turnover was €48.4 billion in 2014

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Emerging markets now for 57% of our business

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We have 13 brands with sales of more than €1 billion a year

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More than 172,000 people work for Unilever

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We are the number 1 fast-moving consumer goods employer of choice among students in 26 countries

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43% of our managers are women

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Around 397 million people reached by end 2014 through our programmes on handwashing, safe drinking water, sanitation, oral health and self-esteem

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We have reduced our waste impact by around 11% since 2010

Employer of choice

“THE TRUE TEST OF WHETHER THIS COMPANY BUILDS CAREERS AND BUILDS LEADERS IS THAT EVERY OTHER COMPANY WANTS TO TAKE LEADERS FROM HERE” Prerana Issar, Vice President, HR, Foods

To reach our ambition of doubling the size of our business and halving our environmental footprint, we need people with a winning mindset, a ion for consumers and an appetite to drive personal performance. A career at Unilever will see you one of the world’s most attractive employers. We have gained our reputation as one of the world's most ired employers by providing an environment where individuals can achieve their goals, both professionally and personally. At Unilever we offer you more ways to take advantage of development opportunities, more room to succeed and grow, attractive reward and benefits packages and numerous directions in which to pursue a career, made by you.

Developing the world’s best talent and leaders

HR in Unilever is about HR with impact. Our growth ambitions demand that our organisation has a structure and culture that make us fit to win in a fast-changing environment. Above all, they require us to find and develop the world’s best talent and leaders. We know that an engaged organisation is an effective one. Our employees can be ionate advocates for our brands and products. HR professionals play a lead role in helping us to attract, develop and retain the right talent, develop our leaders and future leaders, create a performance culture which respects our values and further diversity within our organisation. Unilever was one of the first companies to transition from HR generalists to HR specialists.

Business partners You’ll ensure the right structure, culture, people and capabilities are in place to foster positive working relationships and meet business needs.

Expertise teams

Develop policies, processes, systems and tools that allow each business area to attract, select and develop talented individuals. You’ll connect with world-class external experts and keep us up to date with industry best practice.

Services Deliver and continuously improve services such as payroll, recruitment, pensions and benefits. You’ll also manage service performance.

Some HR achievements 

86% of our managers are proud to work for Unilever

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We are the most preferred graduate consumer goods employer in 20 countries

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In 2012 Unilever was named ‘Company of the Year’ at the European Diversity Awards

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In 2012 Unilever China won the country’s ‘Most Women-Friendly Employer’ at the Women in Leadership Forum in Shanghai.

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In 2011, 128,000 employees were ed for the Unilever Learning Academy’s courses.