RELOCATION
India - Hindustan Unilever (HUL) are exporting large numbers of its Indian managerial talent to key markets in Asia to drive further growth for the global fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company.
The number of HUL managers relocating from India to other operations in the region has increased from 40 in 2008, 140 in 2009 and 195 as of April 2010, reported The Economic Times. Leena Nair, executive director-HR of HUL, said Indian talent has always been valued for the "diversity of experience" they acquired from working in a big and complex market like India.
No longer confined to senior executives or career development reasons, regional assignments at HUL now occurred at every managerial level as long as it aligned with overall business objectives. Nair said, "Presently, HUL managers outside India include a cross-section across all levels - senior, middle and junior management."
The company believes that Indian managers have more well-rounded abilities, compared to their peers from other geographies because a brand manager for a soap product has to deal with consumers from different cities, towns, villages. Dealing with multiple stakeholders and competition ranging from multinational, home-grown and local has honed these managers' exposure to complex situations early in their career.
Indian managerial talent has moved to fast-growing locations such as Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Unilever's regional headquarters in Singapore. With a new office currently constructed in Singapore to house key regional business decision-makers, several senior functional heads and their teams from India are now based there. In 2009, these markets made up half of Unilever's $39 billion revenue.
The change in mindset is a result of the "one Unilever" plan, initiated by its previous CEO Patrick Cescau. It aimed to achieve "greater cohesion among the multinational's geographies" and "greater sharing of ideas and resources".
Even as HUL sees more of its Indian managers moving to other geographies, the company doesn't foresee a transition issue because "replacements are decided eight quarters in advance for every role". That minimises any possible impact on business continuity.
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