As per the latest Nielsen 'Campus Track Business School Survey', for the fifth year in a row, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has emerged as the No. 1 Employer of Choice across all sectors for the 2016 graduating batch of B-School students, across functions. In addition, HUL retains the 'Dream Employer' status for the seventh year running and continues to be the top company considered for application by B-School students.
HUL has also been ranked No. 1 for Marketing as well as No. 1 FMCG in Finance. HUL has been ranked significantly higher than other companies on all the employment drivers. This is the 16th year of the Nielsen Campus Track B-school study.
Mr. BP Biddappa, Executive Director, Human Resources, HUL, said "This achievement is a recognition by students of the consistent actions HUL has taken over the years to build mutually beneficial relationships and engagements with the student and academic community. The company believes in a 365-day relationship with the students, investing senior leadership time and effort in bringing alive its employer value proposition on campuses."
"We ensure that we attract the best talent and our processes help lay a strong foundation early in their career. HUL has a clearly defined career philosophy which revolves around job rotation and diversity of experiences in an individual’s career. We also ensure that we have progressive people policies in place for our employees to enable them to perform their best at all life stages. We continue to review our policies and practices to keep them relevant to the changing needs of our workforce," he added.
HUL's value proposition
The Company's strong employer value proposition is rooted in its unique positioning as a 'School of CEOs' – offering big jobs early on in career to groom for functional and leadership responsibilities.
HUL's approach to grooming talent and leaders has been built over several decades where every generation of leaders has left a legacy for the future through their commitment, ownership and active participation in the talent attraction and development process.
Attracting the Best & Laying the Right Foundation Early
With its robust talent systems and processes, HUL identifies talent early and invests to build capability.
The Company offers a rigorous summer internship experience through the Unilever Leadership Internship Programme (ULIP). Interns go through an enriching learning experience by managing live projects that have a direct and huge impact on the business. In 2015, 38% interns completed projects at international locations in Unilever. HUL is also one of the first to announce Pre-Placement Offers (PPO) for interns across campuses.
Our flagship Unilever Future Leaders Programme (UFLP) – a programme highly sought after by fresh recruits and acknowledged within and outside Unilever as the best programme of its kind – is another key programme with a legacy of grooming leaders for over 60 years. The UFLP provides young managerial recruits an extensive cross functional experience through live projects and learning assignments, including rural & international exposure, within 12-15 months preparing them for bigger responsibilities very early in their careers.
What makes the programme unique is the strong support system of senior leaders who act as tutors, coaches and mentors. This regular interaction along with a robust reverse feedback mechanism on effectiveness of the support system ensures the best grooming and inputs for the trainees.
Growth through a Diversity of Experience/ International Experience
HUL has a clearly defined career philosophy which revolves around job rotation and diversity of experiences at all stages of the individual's career. International Stints, working in highly competitive D&E as well as developed markets, in- depth understanding of rural markets all form part of the diverse experiences that managers are able to acquire through thoughtfully curated career paths.
The company's focus on forging strong external partnerships helps to foster a culture of innovation and deep connect with the company's stakeholders. For example, the Unilever Foundry helps to leverage the fast evolving startup ecosystem to introduce digital innovations across the value chain of HUL's business. Our community development project Prabhat enables our talent to engage with and contribute to the development of local communities.
Building a High Performance Culture
HUL's performance management and reward processes are geared to building a high performance and execution focused culture. The objective is to inspire employees to deliver to their best potential every day by setting ambitious goals and ensuring top rewards for top performance. Periodic performance and development review and feedback discussions ensure high clarity and transparency for employees.
Capability Building
Individual development plans drawn out for each employee focus on building knowledge and skills for the immediate role and preparing them for future roles. HUL's holistic 70:20:10 capability building approach ensures blended learning with 70% capability built on the job through live assignments, 20% through coaching, short term projects and exposures and 10% through classroom, virtual and e-learning. Over and above, these there are leadership programs led by leaders through the year to build functional capabilities.
Rigorous & Transparent People Planning Processes
The Company has a rigorous and transparent 'people planning' process which is owned by leaders at each level who review and assess talent on both the 'What' and the 'How' of performance through an objective process. Capability building and career plans for talent form an integral part of this process. These plans and outcomes are then transparently shared with employees as part of the bi-annual performance and development discussions.
Focus on Leadership Development
Leadership development at HUL is about building leaders through a combination of disciplined routines and processes: a collective expertise, honed through practice, in recognizing and developing talent. This has established HUL as a source of leadership talent, both for Unilever globally and industry in general. HUL is often referred to as a ‘CEO Factory’ having contributed over 450 CEOs within the corporate world.
Recognizing the importance of leadership in the larger communities we operate, HUL has also been extending its role in building and harnessing leadership amongst the student community. Senior leaders of the Company interact with students on campus and share leadership perspectives. The leadership development program and intervention for student leaders are part of this larger initiative which has created tangible impact on students.
Values Led & Purpose Driven
Increasingly, young men and women want to work for a company that reflects their own values. If they believe in a common vision and the larger corporate purpose, they are motivated to deliver great performance. They are looking to join organizations that are values led and purpose driven. Unilever has always been led by the philosophy of ‘doing well by doing good’ in the conduct of its business.
The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan launched in 2010 has further strengthened the Company’s value proposition with young talent. The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan embodies the Company’s values and purpose. The Plan underscores the Company’s commitment to grow its business responsibly. As part of the Plan, the Company has committed to doubling the size of its business while reducing its environmental footprint and increasing its positive social impact. What is most significant about the Plan is that it covers the entire value chain of the business from sourcing to consumer use.
About Hindustan Unilever Limited
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company with a heritage of over 80 years in India and touches the lives of nine out of ten Indian households. HUL works to create a better future every day and helps people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others.