The Age of Agility

This was a case study for Talent Management magazine about the evolving ways employees at Unilever clock in for work. Originally published in the May, 2012 print edition of Talent Management magazine.

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Unilever’s flexible work model changed what it means to go to work. Leaders created a place that made employees’ lives better despite increasing pressure to be more productive.

A few years ago global consumer products corporation Unilever realized it needed to expand while cutting costs and carbon output. Now, Unilever employees can work whenever they like, wherever they like, as long as their work gets done.

Unilever calls this “agile working,” and it shifts the emphasis from time and attendance to specific targets and goals, creating a location-independent concept of work. “The idea was to really transform the culture around working at Unilever so the company could be more competitive as a global entity in a very competitive global marketplace,” said Chris Raia, vice president of organizational effectiveness and leader of the company’s agile working program.

But Unilever had to figure out how to unite a workforce spread across nearly every time zone in a way that was convenient for everyone. “Unilever’s business model is one where much of the innovation that the company brings to market is generated by global teams and then implemented in operating companies around the world,” Raia said.

Continue reading at Talent Management magazine online!