BT ANNIVERSARY ISSUE: [7] HLL: Breaking The Pyramid

B T A N N I V E R S A R Y I S S U E

the others in the top 10
[7] HLL: Breaking The Pyramid

The empire strikes back by vesting responsibility in young managers and tweaking its comp-systems.

In a light brown jacket and an open-necked dark shirt, M.S. 'Vindi' Banga is talking about how the organisation of the future should be like an amoeba-flat but constantly mutating. He looks a lot less formal than the men who have been Hindustan Lever's chairmen before him. Banga is part of a new breed of senior managers at the once-stodgy FMCG giant, which has always been a great place to work, but was getting a bit set in its ways. That is till the mid-1990s, when a wave of aggressive new transnationals swarmed in and shook things up. The first stop for their hr managers and head-hunters was Lever. The transnationals offered hefty pay-packets and quick moves to the top for young managers. And as the exodus gathered momentum, back at Lever, it hurt. That was when the Lever brass realised it was time to change.

The others in
The Top !0

[6] LG: One= Four

[8] Compaq: The Soft Touch

[9] Asian Paints: A better Shade of HR

[10] BPCL: The Learning Organisation

And change it did. Apart from hiking salaries by what Gurdeep Singh, Director (HR & Corporate Affairs), terms a 'quantum jump', Lever re-wrote the way careers could grow. Back in 1999, as part of its Project Millennium, Lever set about on what it calls 'developing business leaders of tomorrow'. Big, monolithic businesses were broken up and re-organised on the basis of product categories. Each category got its own head-a young manager, who wouldn't have had that responsibility in the earlier scenario. With performance more tangible and measurable now, Lever introduced a higher proportion of variability in compensation, between 70-150 of the basic pay in some cases. And it recently announced a stock scheme, which offers shares of the Indian company and 'shadow shares' of parent Unilever to Indian employees.

Things have changed at the entry-level too. Upstaged by deep-pocketed consulting firms and investment banks campus-perceptions about Lever began changing. Reacting to that, in 1999, says Singh, ''we changed our product.'' First, entry-level salaries were hiked; then, at pre-placement talks (PPTs) Lever tweaked its pitch, talking about the 'thrill of doing business', stressing upon the greater responsibility that young managers in Lever could now enjoy.

'Speed' and 'velocity' are words frequently used by top Lever managers. Says Banga: ''Young people have a very different time horizon; they are looking at what they can achieve in three-four years." And while the company may fix a set of priorities and tasks for three years, that isn't enough. Not surprisingly, Lever today is trying to mirror some of the things that young managers value, like speed. Some of that is showing. If earlier a good manager took 11 years to move from management trainee to a general manager, for ace-performers today it could happen in less than eight years.

With responsibility moving down the line, Lever's legendary roster of 'listers'-a dynamic list of high potential managers-is bigger today. Last year, 99 managers made it to the list, compared to 30 in previous years. Says Banga: ''We have to be totally connected: the soul of the company has to be connected to the soul of its target employee. Only then will we continue to attract the best talent in the country.''

Why HLL is number 7

It's a comfortable feeling to be employed at HLL. All you really need to do is, well, just your job. HLL believes in looking after every aspect of an employee's life needs. Women managers may take a career break of up to two years to look after a child. Beautiful holiday homes (at a nominal cost) are available when you want to take a break; reservations (just like all other things in Lever's hr department) are done online. The company provides housing facilities. Unlimited medical benefits for the employee, his family, and dependant parents is the norm. Even post-retirement healthcare is taken care of. The company helps in getting employee's children admitted to good schools. Employees undergo training in non-work issues-how to help your child cope with exam fever or what's the latest on health and nutrition. Club membership gives you access to privileged facilities. 'Leverina' (spouses of managers) functions and office picnics keep the family engaged too. And employees can also count on help from the company in times of crisis. Not to forget-when they retire, they can hope to be hired as a consultant.

Training is a sacred activity at HLL, and the emphasis is on developing talent internally. Employees participate in regular training programmes that aim to build their 'personal equity'. The state-of-the-art training facility at Gulita, a five-month Management Trainee Programme, the compulsory rural stint, and out-bound programmes are some initiatives meant to hone employee competencies and ensure ''business growth through people growth''.

Madhavi Misra and Purva Misra, Hewitt Associates LLC

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