Unilever’s Response to the Future of Work

Kerr, William R. and Billaud, Emilie (2020) Unilever’s Response to the Future of Work. Harvard Business School..

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Abstract

On a sunny February morning in 2020, Nick Dalton, executive vice president HR business transformation at Unilever—a British-Dutch corporation with 2019 revenues of €52 billion—hurried through the streets of London to his office. As he stopped for a coffee in the atrium of the art deco building, he couldn’t help but think about his upcoming meeting with company CEO, Alan Jope, and chief HR officer, Leena Nair. Founded in 1929, Unilever was one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, employing 155,000 people across more than 100 countries. “But the world is changing, and it is changing fast,” Dalton thought. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation would dramatically change the future of work in the next five years. Unilever needed to act swiftly. In 2016, Dalton had launched Unilever’s Future of Work initiative—an overarching plan to prepare the workforce for a digitalized and highly automated era. The plan focused on accelerating the speed of change within Unilever, reskilling staff through a culture of lifelong learning, and adopting flexible work practices. Despite success over the last three years, the program still faced significant challenges. Dalton reflected, “What we are trying to do in terms of the future of work is an integrated, almost systemic intervention. It’s not a one-off initiative. The ideas in some way are quite easy. The issue is how you link them and implement them, particularly on a global scale.” Since Unilever placed sustainability and positive social impact at the core of its strategy, the company was also determined to cushion the effects of new technologies on labor. Taking a gulp of coffee, Dalton reflected on the program and its future. Had they done enough, or should they add more? Would this make Unilever better and its workforce better?

Item Type:	Case Study
Subjects:	600 Technology (Applied Sciences) > 680 Manufacture for Specific Uses
Divisions:	Faculty of Business > Master of Technology Management
Depositing User:	Administrator UMN Library
Date Deposited:	04 Nov 2021 02:54
Last Modified:	20 Jan 2022 10:13
URI:	https://kc.umn.ac.id/id/eprint/19028

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