UNILEVER PAKISTAN

MOTIVATION FOR HUMAN RESOURCES (CASE STUDY)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................
INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................
MAJOR CHARACTERS .....................................................................................
Main objectives of Unilever ........................................................................
Purpose & values ........................................................................................
ORGANIZATION’S BACKGROUND ..............................................................
Background of Unilever Pakistan ...............................................................
ORGANIZATION’S CONTEXT & DISCUSSION ...........................................
Link Between Motivation and Reward .......................................................
Rewards Strategies to Increase Motivation .................................................
RECOMMENDATIONS .....................................................................................
CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................
REFERENCES .....................................................................................................
ABSTRACT
Organizations in the modern world have placed great importance on developing human resource management.
This is because organizations seek to select, hire, retain, and staff the best talent to the workforce. Reward
strategies are one of the main functions of human resource management. Indeed, these functions are set to
increase the motivation of their workforce and avoid any dissatisfaction among the employees. Different theories
of motivation were thought of to explain and analyze the behavior of employees. In addition, many reward
strategies were practiced to increase employees' motivation and allure them. The main aim of this study is to
explore how the multinational organization of Unilever in Pakistan increases the motivation of their employees
and deals with any dissatisfaction through the use of reward systems as Unilever Pakistan faces the HR problem
of lack of proper reward system for the motivation of employees and supervisors. The HR managers of Unilever

Pakistan believe that Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is the most appropriate vehicle for testing the impact of

rewards. Adam’s equity theory and Hertzberg's five motivators are also discussed to support the motivation
factor in human resource management.

INTRODUCTION

Unilever is one of the largest suppliers of fast-moving consumer goods in the world. Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch
multinational corporation operating globally with subsidiaries in around 100 countries. The company owns more
than 400 brands; however, the operations of the company are mainly focused on 14 major brands which generate
collective revenues of over one billion euros. With such a wide scope of operations around the globe, an
organization may face issues with human resource management; however, Unilever has proved with its effective
human resource management strategies that it is one of the most attractive employers in the world. The company
acknowledges that its efficiency depends upon the effectiveness of its employees worldwide; therefore, Unilever
attributes high significance to the motivation of its employees. Organizations in the modern world have placed
great importance on developing human resource management. This is because organizations seek to select, hire,
retain, and staff the best talent to the workforce. Reward strategies are one of the main functions of human
resource management. Indeed, these functions are set to increase the motivation of their workforce and avoid
any dissatisfaction among the employees. Different theories of motivation were thought of to explain and analyze
the behavior of employees. In addition, many reward strategies were practiced to increase the motivation of
employees and allure them. The main aim of this study is to explore how the multinational organization of
Unilever in Pakistan increases the motivation of their employees and deals with any dissatisfaction through the
use of reward systems as Unilever Pakistan faces the HR problem of lack of proper reward system for the
motivation of employees and supervisors.

Since the constraints of the situation demanded that the study be conducted the HR managers of Unilever

Pakistan thought that Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs was the most appropriate vehicle for testing the impact of
rewards. In Unilever Pakistan, HR managers are responsible for assessing levels of motivation in the workforce
and this will normally be a subjective assessment of levels by groups and not by individuals.

MAJOR CHARACTERS

Main objectives of Unilever: 1. The main objective is to ensure that Unilever managers across the globe are
equipped with a consistent set of skills and a common language that enable them to effectively tackle the business
challenges they face. 2. Before the initiative there were as many as 650 different suppliers providing management
training, so the achievement of consistency was a key driver. 3. Following a complex selection process TACK
International was selected by Accenture as a key partner to develop the management capability for Unilever
globally over a 5-7-year period. 4. TACK was one of the few partners able to offer the consistency, breadth, and
depth of the training portfolio Unilever needed. 5. TACK’s proven track record with global blue-chip companies
and a robust infrastructure and delivery capability in close to 40 markets and 25 local languages was vital to
managing this global solution.

Purpose & Values:

Unilever’s Corporate Purpose states that to succeed requires "the highest standards of corporate behavior towards
everyone we work with, the communities we touch, and the environment on which we have an impact." Always
working with integrity: Conducting operations with integrity and with respect for the many people,
organizations, and environments our business touches has always been at the heart of its corporate responsibility.
Positive impact: Aim to make a positive impact in many ways: through its brands, its commercial operations and
relationships, through voluntary contributions, and through the various other ways in which it engages with
society. Continuous commitment: Committed to continuously improving the way it manages its environmental
impacts and is working towards its longer-term goal of developing a sustainable business. Setting out our
aspirations: Its Corporate Purpose sets out its aspirations in running its business. It's underpinned by its Code of
Business Principles which describes the operational standards that everyone at Unilever follows, wherever they
are in the world. The Code also supports our approach to governance and corporate responsibility. Working with
others: Work with suppliers who have values similar to their own and work to the same standards it does.
Supplier Code, aligned to its own Code of Business Principles, comprises eleven principles covering business
integrity and responsibilities relating to employees, consumers, and the environment.

ORGANIZATION’S BACKGROUND

Unilever is one of the companies that have set examples of efficient human resource management. The company
focuses greatly on human rights and ensures that compliance with human rights is carried out through its positive
assurance process. To learn about the perspective of its employees, Unilever carried out self-assessments of
employees, external audits, and training. The strategic management of Unilever realizes that happiness among
employees directly influences the success and growth of its business. Unilever has initiated numerous campaigns
internationally that strengthen its HRM strategy and enhance the motivation of employees. In 2013, Unilever
held a global ‘Winning with Integrity’ week that comprised surveys and interviews regarding human rights, and
it encouraged the suppliers of Unilever to operate to the standard set by the company. This campaign was
continued in the form of the ‘speaking up’ initiative in 2014, which also helped the company to learn about the
concerns of employees around the world. In 2013, Unilever also launched a ‘Social Impact Hub’ on its employee
portal which helped the company introduce its employees to social activities. This had a positive impact on the
society and linked the business with its corporate social responsibility. The hub also included information
regarding human rights to help the employees learn about their rights in the workplace. Apart from the
international human resource campaigns, the local subsidiaries of Unilever also carry out activities that are
worthy of note. For example, Unilever Klev installed a device that tracked employee motivation and job
satisfaction daily. The employees were required to input their mood into the device every day before exiting,
and this information helped the management identify whether the employees were satisfied or dissatisfied. 4.1
Background of Unilever Pakistan: Unilever Pakistan Limited is a multinational organization. Unilever PLC
London is its parent group. Unilever is a European-based company with a command center in London, and its
shares are quoted at the stock substitute of several European countries. They deal in all kinds of harvest from
animal foodstuff to foods and detergents plus other personal and consumer products. The organizational structure
of Unilever Pakistan consists of Unilever's subsidiaries in over 80 countries of the world, to which it spreads its
vast understanding and resources. Unilever has 500 working companies in 80 countries. It has 0.3 million
employees and proceeds of sales in 23000 million pounds. Unilever has around 2000 employees in Pakistan.

ORGANIZATION’S CONTEXT & DISCUSSION

Unilever Pakistan: Motivation for Human Resources Unilever Pakistan has been facing the HR problem of lack
of a proper reward system for the motivation of employees and supervisors. This study explored how Unilever
in Pakistan increased the motivation of their employees and dealt with any dissatisfaction through the use of
reward systems. The interventions relevant to the situation of the reward system in Unilever are as follows:
LINK BETWEEN MOTIVATION AND REWARD: To assess the link between motivation and reward of the
multinational organization of Unilever in Pakistan, the study indicated that there is an enormous link between
motivation and reward. At Unilever Pakistan the best way to ensure continuous growth in people’s performance
is to constituent a Reward system and the reward system must emphasize positive reinforcement as it is the most
successful means to motivate preferred behavior. Through positive reinforcement at Unilever Pakistan, people
put in more effort in work so that they may achieve a reward for their hard work and the reward system ensures
that their hard work doesn’t go uncompensated. A well-planned and efficient reward system when managed
effectively would result in a smooth organization’s change process hence positive reinforcement of the desired
behavior would enhance the performance which proves our research objective of the extensive link between
motivation and reward. Whenever the word ‘Motivation’ is used, the first theory that hits the thought is Abraham
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He investigated human behaviors and pointed out five basic needs of human
psychology and existence in a hierarchy. These basic needs (physiological, safety, social, self-esteem and self-
actualization or self-fulfillment) can be considered basic goals for any human. These basic needs or goals have
been prioritized into ranking and elaborating the pattern in which humans go for these in their lives. Man’s
foremost struggle arises for its existence and as per Maslow, physiological (hunger, sleep, sex etc.) and safety
or protection needs reflect the same efforts. As the first need is satisfied the demand for the next one arises and
gradually the aim is shifted through these needs one by one and finally reaches self-actualization. Although
virtually all of these five needs exist in everyone, the realization of the need only comes when the human fulfills
the general criteria to qualify for that specific need. The real variable that builds the ground for the qualification
is the satisfaction of previous needs. Some prior research has proved that supervisors and non-supervisory
employees differ regarding their satisfaction with job components. Supervisors see job security, attainment,
interpersonal relations, and supervision as the most satisfying factors in the workplace. They perceive the job
itself and the company as ambiguous factors while the compensation and working conditions are the hygiene
factors. Supervisors are apt to be less displeased with their rewards. One of the most rejoiced solutions to this
HR problem is that rewards by the employees at Unilever Pakistan can be awarded paid leave by their supervisors
as acknowledgment of their commendable performance. Along with that Supervisors must be rewarded with
salary increments within the approved salary range of their positions.

Organization at Unilever Pakistan must facilitate their supervisor to have the authority to reward their employees
with annual merit increments due to their praiseworthy work which has brought about considerable benefit to
the organization or department. REWARDS STRATEGIES TO INCREASE MOTIVATION: Unilever
Pakistan's implementing performance management process must also not lose track of variables that are critical
for its success and evaluate them at pre-defined regular intervals. Feedback must be depicted in charts promptly;
performers must be valued through some token of appreciation. Performers’ reviews must be used as an
opportunity to reflect on how winning can be possible in achieving goals and which practices must be adopted
and these reviews must be as frequent as possible so that the learning is fortified. Always set many closely
achievable milestones instead of quarterly achievable milestones and whenever those milestones are attained
celebrate them. There must be some other source of feedback other than annual performance appraisals. While
designing an organization’s program it must be as original and unique as possible and avoid the design to just
comprise of forms. Three assumptions formulate Adam’s equity theory. First, beliefs that are developed by
people hold that the fair they receive is equitable to the contributions they make to their work. Secondly, the
theory suggests that employee compare their input and output with the benefit they received from other
employees' input and output. Finally, if an inequality exists then this will lead to the dissatisfaction of the
employees. Therefore, this theory gives HR managers some guidelines in designing a reward system that can be
perceived as equable by employees and avoid any dissatisfaction.

Hertzberg provided five motivators in the workplace: recognition, achievement, advancement, responsibility,
and the work itself. He differentiated motivators and hygiene factors by suggesting that motivators aim to achieve
job satisfaction in the long run but hygiene factors are focused on the short-term satisfaction of the employees.
HR managers use different strategies to reward different classes of employees depending upon their job nature,
competencies, skills, knowledge, performance, and their contribution to the productivity of the organization. In
terms of best practice, different policies of HR are only suitable in different circumstances. Following are some
general practices in this regard: These rewards may be monetary as well as non-monetary.  Longevity pay plans
 Pay for performance strategies  Pay work skills and knowledge Team-based pay packages to promote team
efforts  Individual pay plans  Compensation plans for Executives  Incentives  Profit sharing in terms of
merit-based bonuses or by giving ownership share through stocks  Offering perks and fringe benefits 
Providing healthy job environment, flexible working hours, interpersonal and recreational activities, etc.
Rewards are given to emphasize or reinforce certain attributes like performance and loyalty etc. depending upon
the strategic goals of the organizations. The nature of attributes and rewards varies from organization to
organization.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following sets of criteria need to be catered in designing and evaluating programs at the multinational
organization of Unilever in Pakistan.  Specific: The instructions about the rewards and their required actions
must be simple, clear, and specific so that there is no ambiguity in implementation hence strengthening the
overall program.  Meaningful: The rewards must be specified for an achievement that has any significant impact
on organizational progress as well as the performer’s personal or professional life.  Achievable: Goals must fall
within the boundary of achievable. If goals are unrealistically high to achieve then those propagate negative
reinforcement within the employees.  Reliable: The program designed must follow its rules and procedures
accordingly. Any Exceptions must be dealt with certain pre-defined steps that are specified in the program’s
design.  Timely: The time factor is very keen in positive reinforcement. The Reward system heavily relies on
rewarding the performers at the right time for their hard work so that they can feel esteemed. Certain intervals
must be specified onto which the performers would be rewarded. At Unilever Pakistan, supervisors’ appraisals
are top of the list when it comes to positively reinforcing and motivating employees. Supervisors at Unilever

Pakistan must acknowledge employees’ contributions both verbally and in writing either personally or with an

electronic aid although the personal interaction is much more effective and employees feel valued and recognized
for their effort and contribution. Another solution is that supervisors at Unilever Pakistan must be provided with
the opportunity to increase their professional expertise and skills by letting them participate in educational
programs and workshops. It is very important for professional growth and development opportunities at Unilever
Pakistan. As employees at Unilever Pakistan develop new skills, an organization can have additional benefits
from it. Researchers provide that motivation is the inner drive that compels a person to behave in a particular
pattern. People have different needs which they require to satisfy through different means. People are motivated
when their needs are satisfied. When people are in need they seek opportunities that can satisfy them. The urge
to get satisfaction drives a person to achieve something. Therefore, the existence of needs motivates individuals
to work hard to achieve goals and objectives. Various theories of motivation explain the influence of rewards on
the behavior of individuals and teams. Motivation determines the performance of activities within the
organization. The behavior of individuals is shaped by the motivators since people seek factors that improve
their work conditions. Satisfaction of one need leads to the demand for another need according to Abraham
Maslow. There are both intrinsic and extrinsic factors that motivate an individual to behave in a particular
manner. Intrinsic factors emanate from within the person and give a person the will to achieve more. Extrinsic
factors originate from the environment in which a person lives. Some researchers thought that there are two
categories of motivational factors: Intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors refer to the inner feelings that
a person has about the place of work. Extrinsic factors are the external factors that motivate an employee.
Extrinsic factors include rewards, promotion, recognition, and others. Employees work harder when their welfare
is put into consideration by their managers. Employees are not only motivated by the wages they receive from
the organizations but also motivated by many other factors within the environment of the organization.
Therefore, in an organization, the employees have different personalities, attitudes, responsibilities and views.
Employees require different motivation strategies to ensure they improve their performance and work for a long
duration of time. Finally, reward systems are developed to cater to the requirements of any organization in a
specific manner because it is considered that they directly affect the efficiency of employees by motivating or
de-motivating them.

CONCLUSION

It is analyzed that to achieve Unilever Pakistan's goals and to bring out the required results from the employees
it is highly necessary that they are kept highly motivated and should be provided with such an environment in
which their motivation is not only kept intact but also flourish. To attain this environment and to stimulate their
motivation it is figured out that positive reinforcement through rewards and a performance appraisal system can
prove very much beneficial. While above it is discussed what kind of rewards could be employed and what
criteria should performance appraisal system must abide by to enhance the motivational environment of the
organization, here are list of a few steps that a manager can take himself apart from all the organizational process
and procedure to keep a clear check, balance and knowledge about the motivating factors of his employees. 
Don’t just stick to theory. Implement it practically because just reading the articles or research won’t help until
it is put into practice.  Analyze your own set of factors that keep you motivated in the organizations. This would
help you understand other employees’ factors as well.  Identify the factors and then take input from the
employees. It can also be done through survey forms.  Work with each employee to include their motivational
factors in the reward system.  Improve interpersonal relationships with each employee and try to nurture the
skill to delegate to every employee.  Rewards must not linger for long. They must be awarded as soon as the
desired behavior or the reward criteria are achieved by the employees. Late rewards hurt the motivation of the
employees.

REFERENCES

 https://www.hrone.lu/actualites/how-unilever-reaching-extraordinary-hr-performance

 https://www.unilever.com/about/who-we-are/about-Unilever/

 https://www.unilever.pk/about/

 https://www.unilever.pk/about/who-we-are/purpose-and-principles/

 https://www.unilever.pk/Images/code-of-business-principles-and-code-policies_tcm1267- 409220_en.pdf