Introduction
The functioning of any company depends on numerous factors that should be considered to create its strategy for future expansion and growth. Thus, human resources are viewed as one of the most valuable assets, as the aligned work of teams is the key to better performance and the ability to overcome rivals. Under these conditions, morale and the correct human resource (HR) management acquire the top priority as the tools necessary for promoting positive change and supporting employees. For instance, for Unilever, effective HR planning and management can help to create a potent strategy to support its dominance, empower global presence, and create the basis for new achievements crucial regarding the fierce rivalry peculiar to the market where the company works.
Unilever’s State
At the moment, Unilever is one of the global leaders with a strong position. Moreover, it generates around 54% of sales in emerging markets, meaning it has perspectives for future growth and development (Unilever, 2020). However, the size of the company, its structure, its global nature, and the fierce rivalry in the market means that there are several risks the brand should consider to create the basis for growth. Moreover, they can affect morale and employees’ performance and influence the brand’s future rise. For this reason, creating, discussing, and integrating the strategy focusing on these aspects and improving the HR aspect, is critical.
Morale
In this regard, the HR management strategy, or the approach to working with workers, should be created focusing on the company’s strengths and the necessity to continue their cultivation. Following the existing view, morale is one of the major components influencing organizations and their ability to evolve (Kotler, 2021). Its improvement demands specific actions and tools to ensure employees are ready to engage in new projects and contribute to its development. Thus, it is vital to communicate current Unilever’s position and outline the next goals. It will help to inspire workers and make the top management’s position clear (Lussier and Hendon, 2021). Second, morale can be boosted by emphasizing the achieved goals and the organization’s successes (Valentine et al., 2019). Unilever (2020) is proud of its focus on sustainability and recognition of community needs to address them. Moreover, it builds successful customer relations to ensure they are satisfied and are ready to continue cooperation (Valentine et al., 2019). Finally, it has specific positioning helping the brand to survive and overcome rivalry. These factors should be emphasized to boost the employees’ morale and introduce them as areas for future development.
Human Resource Planning
A practical strategy should also be supported by human resource planning (HRP). It can be determined as the continuous process of analyzing the existing terms and conditions to attain the most optimal use of available employees (Lussier and Hendon, 2021). It ensures that specialists distribute tasks and responsibilities effectively to avoid shortages, surpluses, or underperformance (Lussier and Hendon, 2021). For Unilever, it is vital to plan considering its strong aspects and the main risks the company faces at the moment. It means that sustainability, supply chain, and customer relations management should be viewed as the major priorities. It implies additional encouragement and inspiration for employees working in these areas to motivate them and focus on attaining the goals in this sphere (Lussier and Hendon, 2021). This purpose can be achieved by correctly formulated goals, clear communication, and delegation. The most effective and outstanding workers should be delegated tasks in the outlined areas with career growth and rewards opportunities. It will motivate them and contribute to the improved Unilever’s work.
Planning and Strategy
Unilever also needs an improved plan for the future to ensure the company remains at the same level and can compete with rivals. As stated previously, its dominant position does not mean it can stop and benefit from the current state. Thus, the managers at the company should plan for the future, considering the current risks presented in the annual report. These include the constantly developed and sophisticated supply chains, sustainability issues, and customer relations and service, along with the diversification of their needs (Unilever, 2020). The better consideration of these areas demands improved data collection to possess relevant information about the planned change, strong relations with suppliers to avoid potential delays, and cooperation with communities and clients to consider their needs.
In such a way, the company should implement a strategy focusing on boosting employees’ morale and creating the basis for the future. Such categories as reward, motivation, engagement, and involvement should be given specific attention as they are fundamental for promoting positive change and outlining existing goals (Valentine et al., 2019). The available HR resources should be organized regarding the outlined risks and the emerging necessities of responding to new threats and challenges (Valentine et al., 2019). For Unilever’s managers, it means closer cooperation with employees to consider their current fears and needs to create offerings that would help to move to another performance level and contribute to the stable growth of the corporation. The motivation can also be boosted by emphasizing the leading positions of the brand and cultivating the feeling of belonging.
Finally, Unilever’s planning for the future should consider the global nature of this business and the possible alteration of external factors influencing the functioning of the brand. The increased flexibility levels can be attained if management and teams are aware of the current goals and possess the skills and knowledge needed to resolve possible problems (Kotler, 2021). Under these conditions, planning should also include the provision of additional training for workers to ensure they have a clear vision of the planned organizational change, purposes that should be achieved and are motivated to do their best to help the company to evolve. Only under these conditions can Unilever create the basis for continuous and positive change. It means that HRP and HRM become the major tools vital for working with the most valuable asset and transforming it to struggle against rivals.
Conclusion
Altogether, Unilever’s case shows that even global leaders have serious risks influencing their work and planning activities. For international corporations, such threats become even more significant because of the scope of the challenge and the need to employ multiple resources to address them. Under these conditions, HRM and HRP acquire the top priority as they help to plan future development and ensure people are aware of the change and are motivated to engage in the change processes to attain positive outcomes and generate some benefits. High levels of involvement and motivation guarantee workers are ready to boost their performance and accept all possible risks linked to the further brand’s growth at the global level. In such a way, the planning stage should focus on developing human resources by providing them with additional training and inspiring them to remain part of a successful company.
Reference List
Kotler, P. (2021) Marketing 5.0: technology for humanity. New York, NY: Wiley.
Lussier, R. and Hendon, J. (2021). Human resource management: functions, applications, and skill development. 4th edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Unilever (2020) Purpose-led, future fit. Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2020. Web.
Valentine, S. et al. (2019) Human resource management. 16th edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: Cengage Learning.