assignment #3
UNILEVER SHEDS HR DEPARTMENT...
Unilever,the Anglo-Dutch consumer products multinational, may shed a major portion of its global human resources department as a result of the seven year HR outsourcing deal it struck with Accenture.
The outsourcing program is part of the company's One Unilever initiatives to:
*increase leverage of its scale
*improve its marketplace competitiveness
*deliver functional excellence
*create a more competitive cost-structure allowing it to focus on its consumers and customers.
Unilever has also been under tremendous performance pressure over the past few years. While the growing clout of global retailers like Wal-Mart and Tesco is gradually eroding its competitiveness and squeezing margins, Unilever has also been unable to discover new growth markets, which is forcing it to rationalize costs and turn more "lean and mean" globally.
The contract Unilever awarded to Accenture for HR outsourcing impacts about 3300 employees of the HR department across the globe, but less than 40 percent are expected to be directly impacted out which, not all may be losing their jobs and livelihood.
According to Unilever affected employees of this downsizing are:
*all those who handle the transactional side of HR
*payroll
*recruitment
But as many as 60 percent of its global HR employees that perform strategic functions may be retained and transferred to other roles within the company.
Tim Johns the Unilever Global Media Relations Vice President said that, Unilever has a long history of both buying and selling companies and brands.They have a lot of experience in managing human resources, and when they do, they manage it with professionalism and understanding for all the people affected. Unilever would try their best to find attractive alternatives for those whose roles no longer exist in the company as a result of this deal.Johns also hinted at the possibility of some of its HR employees moving to Accenture.
Shedding an important department, like HR, is not new to Unilever. Last year, in a similar seven year deal Unilever had outsourced its financial functions across Europe to IBM.
source:http://www.physorg.com/news69166509.html
www.google.com
website:http://www.unilever.com
JEALOU L. AZUCENA BSIT-3 _
_"wit beyond measure is the man's greatest treasure"_
