UNILEVER PAKISTAN: ‎MOTIVATION FOR ‎HUMAN RESOURCES (CASE STUDY)

UNILEVER PAKISTAN: MOTIVATION FOR
HUMAN RESOURCES
(CASE STUDY)
MANAGEMENT HUMAN RESOURCES (5563)
HUMA MALIK
DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... 1
2. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 2
3. MAJOR CHARACTERS ..................................................................................... 4
3.1 Main objectives of Unilever ........................................................................ 4
3.2 Purpose & values ........................................................................................ 5
4. ORGANIZATION’S BACKGROUND .............................................................. 6
4.1 Background of Unilever Pakistan ............................................................... 7
5. ORGANIZATION’S CONTEXT & DISCUSSION ........................................... 8
5.1 Link Between Motivation and Reward ....................................................... 8
5.2 Rewards Strategies to Increase Motivation ................................................. 10
6. RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................... 13
7. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................... 16
8. REFERENCES ..................................................................................................... 17

Unilever Pakistan: Motivation for Human Resources
1
1. ABSTRACT
Organizations in the modern world have placed great importance in the development of the
human resource management. This is because organizations seek to select, hire, retain and staff
the best talent to the workforce. Rewards 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 that may occur to the employees. Different theories of
motivation were thought of to explain and analyze the behavior of employees. In addition, many
reward strategies were practiced in order to increase the motivation of employees and allure
them. The main aim of this study is to explore how multinational organization of Unilever in
Pakistan increases the motivation of their employees and deal with any dissatisfaction through
the use of reward systems as Unilever Pakistan facing HR problem of lack of proper reward
system for the motivation of employees and supervisors.
The HR managers of Unilever Pakistan believe that Maslow’ Hierarchy of Needs is the most
appropriate vehicle for testing the impact of rewards. Adam’s equity theory and Hertzberg five
motivators are also discussed to support the motivation factor in human recourse management.

2
2. 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
pertaining to 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 in the development of the
human resource management. This is because organizations seek to select, hire, retain and staff
the best talent to the workforce. Rewards 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 that may occur to the employees. Different theories of
motivation were thought of to explain and analyze the behavior of employees. In addition, many
reward strategies were practiced in order to increase the motivation of employees and allure
them. The main aim of this study is to explore how multinational organization of Unilever in
Pakistan increases the motivation of their employees and deal with any dissatisfaction through
the use of reward systems as Unilever Pakistan facing HR problem of lack of proper reward
system for the motivation of employees and supervisors.

3
Since the constraints of the situation are demanding that the study was conducted as the HR
managers of Unilever Pakistan thought that Maslow’ Hierarchy of Needs is 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.

4
3. MAJOR CHARACTERS
3.1 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. Prior to 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
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.

5
3.2 Purpose & values:
Unilever’s Corporate Purpose states that to succeed requires "the highest standards of corporate
behaviour towards everyone we work with, the communities we touch, and the environment on
which we have an impact."
Always working with integrity: Conducting the operations with integrity and with respect
for the many people, organisations 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 engage with society.
Continuous commitment: Committed to continuously improving the way it manages its
environmental impacts and are 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 its 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.

6
4. 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. In order to learn about the
perspective of its employees, Unilever carried out self-assessments of employees, external audits,
and trainings. 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 of 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 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 in order 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 on a daily basis. The employees were

7
required to input their mood to 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 command center in London, and their 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 that Unilever has its 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.

8
5. ORGANIZATION’S CONTEXT & DISCUSSION
Unilever Pakistan had been facing HR problem of lack of 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 reward system in Unilever are as
follows:
5.1 LINK BETWEEN MOTIVATION AND REWARD:
To assess the link between motivation and reward of 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 emphasis on positive reinforcement as
it is the most successful mean to motivate preferred behavior. By positive reinforcement at
Unilever Pakistan people put in more effort in work so that they may achieve a reward of their
hard work and reward system ensure that their hard work doesn’t go uncompensated. A well
planned and efficient reward system when managed effectively would result into smooth
organization’s change process hence positive reinforcement of the desired behavior would
enhance the performance which proves our research objective of extensive link between
motivation and reward.
Whenever the word ‘Motivation’ is used, the first theory that hits the thought is the Abraham
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He investigated the human behaviors and pointed out five basic
needs of human psychology and existence in a hierarchy. These basic needs (physiological,

9
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 elaborate 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 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 every
one, but the realization of the need only comes when the human fulfils the general criteria to get
qualified for that specific need. In-fact, the real variable that builds the ground for the
qualification is the satisfaction of previous needs.
Some prior researches have proved that the 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 at workplace. They perceive
the job itself and the company as ambiguous factors while the compensation and working
conditions as the hygiene factors. Supervisors are apt to be less displeased with their rewards.
One of the most rejoiced solution of this HR problem is that rewards by the employees at
Unilever Pakistan can be awarding them with paid leave by their supervisors as the
acknowledgement of their commendable performance. Along with that Supervisors must be
rewarded with salary increment within the approved salary range of their positions.

10
Organization at Unilever Pakistan must facilitate their supervisor to have an authority to reward
their employees with annual merit increment due to their praiseworthy work which has brought
about considerable benefit to the organization or department.
5.2 REWARDS STRATEGIES TO INCREASE MOTIVATION:
Unilever Pakistan implementing performance management process must also not lose track of
variables which are critical for its success and evaluate them at pre defines regular intervals.
Feedbacks must be depicted in charts in timely manner; performers must be valued through some
token of appreciation. Performers’ reviews must be use as an opportunity to reflect 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 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 made for their work.
Secondly, the theory suggests that employee compare their input and output with and the benefit
they received with other employees input and output. Finally, if an inequality is existed then this
will lead to the dissatisfaction of the employees. Therefore, this theory gives HR manager some
guidelines in to design a reward system that can be perceived as equable by employees and avoid
any dissatisfaction.

11
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 achieving job satisfaction in the long run but hygiene factors are focused on
short term satisfaction of the employees.
HR managers use different strategies to reward different class of employees depending upon
their job nature, competencies, skills, knowledge, performance and their contribution in 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.

12
Rewards are given to emphasize or reinforce the 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.

13
6. RECOMMENDATIONS
The following sets of criteria are needed to be catered in designing and evaluating programs at
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 and hence
strengthening the overall program.
 Meaningful: The rewards must be specified for an achievement which has any
significant impact on organizational progress as well as performer’s personal or
professional life.
 Achievable: Goals must fall within the boundary of achievable. It goals are
unrealistically high to achieve then those propagates 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 which are specified in the
program’s design.
 Timely: 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’ appraisal are top of the list when it comes to positively
reinforce and motivate the employees. Supervisors at Unilever Pakistan must acknowledge
employees contribution both verbally and in written either personally or with an electronic aid

14
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 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 would develop new skills,
organization can have additional benefit 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 which 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
which 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 which
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 were of the opinion that there are two categories of motivational factors:
Intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors refer to the inner feeling that a person has about

15
the place of work. Extrinsic factors are the external factors which 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 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.

16
7. CONCLUSION
It is analyzed that to achieve Unilever Pakistan 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 keep intact but also flourish. To
attain this environment and to stimulate their motivation it is figured out that positive
reinforcement through rewards and 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 to enhance motivational environment of the
organization, here are list of 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 in practice.
 Analyze own set of factors that keeps 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 a
survey forms.
 Work with each employee to include their motivational factors into the reward system.
 Improve interpersonal relationship with each employee and try to nurture the skill to
delegate in every employee.
 Rewards must not be lingered for long. They must be awarded as soon as the desired
behavior or the reward criteria is achieved by the employees. Late rewards have negative
impact on motivation of the employees.

17
8. 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

UNILEVER PAKISTAN: ‎MOTIVATION FOR ‎HUMAN RESOURCES (CASE STUDY)

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