Job stickiness pays dividend at HUL

MUMBAI: At a time when CEO tenures have come down, Sanjiv Mehta has completed five years at the helm of Hindustan Unilever (HUL). The HUL CMD, who delivered his fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit volume growth in July-September this year, believes people should spend more time in the job to make a difference.
This is contrary to industry trends where people movement and job hopping are considered vital for a successful career.The Rs 36,000-crore FMCG behemoth is turning the trend on its head.
In an exclusive interview with TOI, Mehta said, “I believe people need to spend more time in jobs to build capabilities and make a difference. The flip side is that we need to ensure that the career progress keeps happening for good performers.”
Priya Nair, executive director — home care, has spent eight years in the category, Sudhir Sitapati, executive director — foods & refreshment, has been with the portfolio for five years, while Shiva Krishnamurthy, VP — tea & foods, has worked for seven years in this segment.
“There was a time when most organisations were paternalistic and took on the responsibility of developing careers for their people. Today, careers need to be steered by individuals themselves. We have to create an environment where people are happy to continue in a category because it gives them growth and opportunity to make the difference rather than flitting from one job to the other,” said Mehta, who is satisfied with an annual attrition rate of 6-7 per cent because it allows the company to accelerate the tracks of other employees. On the other hand, the company is recruiting a lot of people at mid-career levels with the right kind of talent profile.
People matters occupy Mehta’s mind space a lot. "If you look at my calendar for the month, the maximum time I spend is on re-imagining HUL and coaching & mentoring of our people," he said.
The results from the rewiring of the system are now visible. The time taken for an innovation to hit the market has been reduced significantly, in some cases it has been cut by one-third and in some others by half. Besides, HUL has seen a 6-7 per cent savings of turnover