HUL focuses on the human factor at all levels

Not just white-collared staff, but the FMCG major has HR initiatives in place for its blue-collared workforce too....

It is not without reason that the largest fast moving consumer goods company in India, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), has been given the 'Dream Employer' status for the third time in a row by market research agency Nielsen. HUL has given India Inc some of its best managers, who have gone on to hold international positions too.

But the Anglo-Dutch giant, which has been in India for more than 100 years, is now beginning to devote its attention to its blue-collared workforce - something companies in general in India have not taken too seriously.

According to HR experts, while most Indian companies are quick to devise HR programmes for their white-collared staff, HR initiatives for the workers on the factory floor are few and far between.

Companies such as HUL are beginning to take the lead here devising programmes specifically targeted at their blue-collared workforce.

For HUL it also becomes imperative given the sheer size of its workforce. The company has almost 10,000 workers on its rolls, spread across 35 factories in the country. This is seven times the number of its managers and four times the number of its executives and supervisors - all white collared employees. Galvanising this workforce then, according to the company's executive director, human resources, Leela Nair, is imperative.

This HUL is doing using various tools from skill enhancement to educational scholarships for those keen on completing their studies as well as business engagement programmes and field trips abroad.

The endeavour, explains Nair, who has been with HUL for the last 18 years, is to be involved with the overall development of workmen - something they appreciate greatly.

"For instance," she says, "almost 10-20 per cent of our blue-collared workforce visit different factories both in India and abroad every year. This gives them a chance to understand the best practices deployed at other units and how workers there operate."

HUL has also devised a performance appraisal mechanism called Sparkle for its blue-collared workers to help them grow in the company, Nair says. "Till now, around 37 people have been promoted to the supervisor's level and 80 more people are in the pipeline," she says.

Whilst attrition at the white-collared level is close to 5 per cent, HUL has been able to cap its attrition level among its blue-collared workforce to about 2-3 per cent. According to its 2010-11 Annual Report, wastage due to loss of man hours was next to zero.

Nair says that attrition at both blue- and white-collared levels at HUL is lower than the industry average. "Attrition in the FMCG industry is closer to 18 per cent. We are in single digits," she says.

As far as the menace of poaching goes, HUL, says Nair, has been dealing with its simply by increasing its investment per employee. "We don't profess to be the best pay masters. But what we ensure is a work-life balance which you will not find in very many companies," she says.

According to company's 2010-11 Annual Report, HUL spent 6 per cent on staff costs, which was equal to the number spent the year before.