Our approach

Winning with people

We believe in providing an environment where individuals can achieve their goals, both professionally and personally. In order to attract and retain the best people, we recognise the need to offer them ways to take advantage of opportunities, room to succeed and grow, and more directions in which to pursue their careers.

Our approach is founded in our values as set out in our Code of Business Principles. This describes the way in which we seek to treat our people and also the high standards of behaviour and integrity we expect of them.

A place to succeed

We are building a performance culture that rewards people who deliver. Inspiring our people and motivating them to succeed will help us deliver our growth ambition.

People, integrity and values have always been central to Unilever and will continue to be so. But within that context, we are determined to become faster, more focused and more competitive. In 2009 we updated some of our performance management tools, for example introducing a global performance and talent management system. See Developing and engaging our people for more.

Sustainability is now even more closely tied to our business strategy. Delivering this requires a workforce that is aware of the wider impacts the business has on society and the environment. We can do this most effectively if we harness people’s own passion for making a difference to help the company achieve its sustainability goals.

Our transformation process

Started in 2005, our One Unilever transformation process was nearing completion at the end of 2009. Our aim was to simplify our business structure, speed up decision-making and improve competitiveness.

We focused on three major areas: restructuring and simplifying our organisation; developing employee skills and capabilities; and embedding a performance-driven culture.

After creating One Unilever operating companies in each country around the world, we moved swiftly to establish multi-country organisations (MCOs) in all our geographies, with a single management team leading a cluster of countries. We now have a total of 24 MCOs. Our operating companies are now much leaner and better equipped to focus on serving local consumers and customers at competitive costs.

We have also been streamlining our business, and in 2010 we have created a new global business unit integrating the services of IT, Human Resources, Finance, Information Management and Workplace & Travel Services as a step towards creating an agile and cost-competitive organisation for the future. The new unit will continue to use a combination of in-house and outsourced services to meet Unilever’s evolving needs.

At times our transformation process has meant taking difficult decisions. Where job losses have been necessary we have taken a responsible approach. See Organisational change for more information.