Essential Leadership Behaviors at Unilever
February 4th, 2009 Posted by Anne Marie in Employer Branding, Global LeadersFollowing a global transformation within Unilever, Mr Sandy Ogg, Global Head of HR describes 3 key leadership behaviors required to be successful in the now “centralized” global organization. Teamwork / Alignment take first place, Action rather than Debate takes second and Building Superior Talent takes third place. Talent acquisition and leadership development is a fundamental challenge for the Unilever organization.
While Unilever is a premier employer in approximately 40 countries, the challenge today is to leverage this prize position on a global basis. Unilever needs to develop visibility as an “employer of choice” in countries, critical to Unilever’s growth. Unilever’s Management Trainee Program is renowned in certain countries, nonetheless in 2004, Unilever hired only 9 talented graduates in China, as opposed to Procter & Gamble hiring 100. This unacceptable result provoked a serious challenge within the organization to analyze the employment mix and evaluate why Unilever was not seen as an Employer of Choice beside competitors such as Danone, Nestlé, P&G, etc… In 2005, Unilever increased the graduate intake in China, however, in 2006, the fruit of hard work in China was seen as Unilever hired 80 talented graduates into the Management Trainee Program (selected out of 25 000 applicants).
The ability to build a global employer brand is and will continue to be a critical differentiator for corporations in the future. Whether a corporation is centralized or decentralized, it is important to leverage the key messages, values and principals of an employer brand to the target populations, wherever they are around the world. Many successful corporations suffer, when attracting high potential talent in new unknown markets, because they fail to understand their target population, the thinking style, the education system, the geopolitical environment, the salary policies, etc…
Charles Galunic, Insead Dean of Executive MBA recently interviewed Sandy Ogg on leadership behaviors. The interview is quite long, but interesting. If you have the time, take a look.
Tags: Leadership Behaviors, Talent Acquisition, Terra connecta, Unilever
