Case Study: Unilever

Situation

Consumers worldwide buy 170 billion Unilever products each year. No matter who you are, or where you are in the world, the chances are that Unilever products are a familiar part of your daily routine. Some of their brands include Cif, Comfort, Dove, Simple, Flora, Knorr and Hellmann’s. Established in the 1890s, Unilever has grown into one of the world’s most successful consumer goods companies and their brands are trusted everywhere.

Challenge

Unilever HPCNA had a bold growth agenda when Interaction was contracted to work for several areas of the business. Having benchmarked its leaders against leadership capability in growing companies all over the world, Unilever defined eleven leadership competencies for driving growth and needed a service partner who could build those capabilities.

Solution

• Leading For Growth training and coaching to international managers in an intensive modular leadership programme
• Working with specific businesses in different countries by facilitating Boards to lead for growth and by delivering workshops that focused on development needs in those countries
• Providing the attitudinal and behavioural skills needed to build the required competencies in the business

Results

• Talent development for key senior leadership positions in Unilever businesses
• Coaching for the leader who delivered the Dove ‘real women’ campaign
• Facilitated of the marketing team to launch the Lipton brand in the UK

Impacts
‘‘I hired you because I’ve never been listened to so attentively or understood so accurately.’’
— Change Leader, Unilever
‘‘For me, it was like talking to an intelligent, incredibly honest mirror.’’
— General Manager, Unilever Dubai
‘‘At the end of the day coaching is about results, and I’ve always got results when coached by Interaction.’’
— Senior Manager, Unilever