People Management in Unilever: Current Issues, Skills and Performance Management Techniques

This report analyses the current issues faced by line managers in people management in Unilever, identifies the skills required to manage employees effectively, and discusses the performance management techniques underpinning HR processes.

Introduction to People
Management

Executive Summary
There is discussion related people management in this report. The issues are analysed that
are faced at current time. The skills that assist in managing the employees are also identified in
this report. In the end of the report, the performance management techniques are being
underpinned.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
Current issues facing line managers relating to people management.....................................4
The knowledge, skills and behaviours to be an effective people manager ...........................5
HR processes which underpin the performance management................................................7
Recommendations............................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES:.............................................................................................................................10
Books and Journals...............................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
The business environment is dynamic and keeps on changing. There is need to manage
the people that are working in the business organisation so that overall success can be achieved.
There is need of understanding the behaviour of employees that are working in the company and
then providing them best facilities so that the company is able to achieve goals and objectives
(Leroy and et.al., 2018). The human resource management plays a critical role in understanding
the employees and motivating them. This report is based on people management in Unilever. It is
a British multinational consumer goods organisation that has its headquarters in UK. It was
established in 1929 and manage around 155000 employees around. There is evaluation of the
currents issues that are being faced by line manager. The skills, behaviour that is being required
to manage the employees in the organisation are also mentioned in the report. In the end, there is
discussion related to HR process that assist in performance management.
MAIN BODY
Current issues facing line managers relating to people management
There are certain challenges that are being faced by the line manager at the time of people
management. The Covid-19 has impacted the working pattern of the business organisation and
this causes issue for the line managers. Some of the challenges are listed below:
Demotivated employees: It is seen that the employees are demotivated due to the
pandemic situation. There are certain work related issues seen in the employees. They are unable
to deal with the situation and there is negative working environment (Smith, Yellowley and
McLachlan, 2020). The employees do not face safe while working at the workplace and this
reduces the productivity in Unilever. The line manager of Unilever, has enhanced
communication with the employees so that the problems of the employees can be heard. The
employees are also motivated with the regular communication and employee engagement
activities undertaken by Unilever.
Poor teamwork: There is problem of teamwork being faced by the line manager of the
company. This has impact on the productivity of the business organisation. There is need to
manage the employees so that there is proper coordination among them. In relation to Unilever,
they provide training to the employees so that they are able to work effectively in team. This is

necessary for the line manager to know the conflicts that are being faced by the team members
and then solve them within right time.
Time management: The problem of ineffective time management is major. It is
important to note that if the work will not be completed on time then the company has to face
major losses (Arakelyan, 2020). It is necessary for a company to carry on the assigned wok at
right time. There is no sense of working if the deadlines are missed. The new employees
generally face the issue of time management. The line manager of Unilever, understands the
capabilities of the newly hired employees and then work to assign them right work that they can
complete within right time.
Adoption of innovation: It is seen that the employees are resistant to change. They are
afraid of bring new technology and using the same. It is another challenge that lies in front of the
employees. At the current time it is necessary to use latest technology in order to attain lead over
the competitors. There is need to work in such a manner that all the goals and objectives can be
completed properly. There is need to make them understand the need of change and then
providing best assistance so that they are able to adopt the technology. There is need to provide
them technical training that would help them to carry on the work in proper manner and attain
success over the competitors.
There are several challenges that are being faced by the line manager of Unilever. It is
important to know about and work on finding solution of the issues. It will help the company to
attain goals and objectives. By providing training and proper communication among the
employees real success of the company can be achieved.
The knowledge, skills and behaviours to be an effective people manager
The people manager of a business organisation required various skills so that they are
able to manage the the employees properly. There are certain challenges that they have to face
and in order to deal with the people properly they need specialisation (Milliken and Bechky,
2020). The skills, knowledge and behaviour of people manager of Unilever are as follows:
Communication skills: There is need of proper communication skills that helps a people
manager to keep the employees engaged. There is need of proper interaction so that proper
relation can be developed. By understanding the employees the manager of Unilever is able to
manage them properly.

Motivating skills: There is requirement of motivating the employees so that the work can
be carried on properly. There is need of motivating the employees at each and every time it is
required (Kvirikashvili, 2021). By doing so they are able to complete the work properly and with
full dedication. The manager of Unilever uses motivating skills so that the employees are able to
work properly in the organisation.
Leadership skills: There is need of proper leadership skills so that the work can be
completed properly and on time. It is necessary to note that by having proper leadership skills a
person is able to encourage the employees and provide them direction so that they can carry on
the work properly. In relationship to the the manager of Unilever, they use their leadership skills
so that the team members are able to understand their work properly and use all the possible
ways to complete the same properly and on time.
Problem solving skills: There is need of problem solving skills. It assist the person in
understanding the the issue that is being faced by the employees (Zhang, 2018). In Unilever, the
problem of all the employees is being heard properly and and proper solution is given to them. It
assist them to carry on the work properly and all the barriers are being removed. The use of
problem solving skill in proper manner is necessary to retain the employees in the business
organisation.
Positivity: The manager must be positive as it will keep all the members positive as well.
There is need of creating a good and positive environment where all the employees are positive
and dedicated towards the work that is being assigned to them (Hong and et.al., 2019). There is
need to have positive behaviour in the manager of Unilever. It will help the company to keep all
the staff members ready to work and be motivated for the work that is being assigned to them.
Trust: The manager must have ability to trust. There is need of trusting the employees so
that they are also motivated and carry on the tasks assigned to them properly. The manager of
Unilever, works to build trust among the employees so that they feel confident and work
effectively. There is need to build trust so that the company is able to attain the goals and
objectives.
Understanding: It is necessary for the manager of Unilever to have proper understanding
skills. By having ability to understand the behaviour of staff members it becomes easy to manage
them. It is necessary to note that there is requirement of knowing the issues faced by the
employees and then working to solve them so that real success can be achieved.

It is not an easy task to manage the employees in a business organisation. There is need
of certain skills that will help to carry on the work properly. The behaviour and knowledge is
necessary to deal with the employees and keep them motivated to carry on the work in effective
manner.
HR processes which underpin the performance management
The human resource management of an organisation plays a crucial role. The HR of
company works as bridge among the employees and the higher authority. There is need to
manage the performance of the employees so that they are able to achieve success (Bel, Smirnov
and Wait, 2018). There are various issues that are being faced by the employees while working
in the organisation and they are being solved. It is necessary to check the performance of the
employees on regular basis so that the areas of improvement can also be analysed. The process
that underpin the performance management are discussed below:
Performance management review: It is important to regularly collaborate and
communicate with the employees. The higher authority of the company collectively plan to form
effective strategies so that real success can be achieved. There are four parts that are being
studied under this model. All the four steps that are being studied under performance
management review are as follows:
 Planning stage: It is necessary to note that planning is one of the most integral stage in
the performance review. The HR of the business organisation must work by keeping the
objectives of the company in mind (Rasdi and Chen, 2018). It is necessary to plan in
effective manner so that the goals can be achieved properly.
 Monitoring: In this stage, the goals are assigned in monthly and quarterly basis. It helps
to carry on the activities in smooth manner.
 Reviewing: In this step, the employees and management review the performance
effectively. It helps them to know of they are able to achieve the goals or not. This step in
taken in the end of financial year.
 Rewarding: In this stage, the employees are being given rewards from the management.
The overall performance is being review so that the deserving employees can be
appraisal. This has impact on the productivity of the company. It becomes essential to
check the performance of the employees so that they can be given rewards and proper
success can be attained.

360 degree appraisal: This is another method that helps to review the performance of the
employees. Herein, the feedback is taken from the peers, superiors and subordinates so that real
performance of the person can be checked (Clegg, Pitsis and Mount, 2021). There is need to
consider the feedback given by all the members in effective manner so that necessary action for
improvement can be taken. It is important to note that by taking 360 degree feedback all the
areas can be improved and the employees are able to attain success. This keeps the employees
satisfied and motivated which result in effective and efficient performance.
Recommendations
The following are recommendations that will help the company to enhance the
performance of the employees. The points are as follows:
 It is important to keep the employees motivated so that they are able to achieve the goals
and objectives successfully. To keep the employees motivated it is necessary to fulfil
their needs and wants.
 The company must work to keep the employees engaged in the organisation. It enhances
the productivity of the employees. Such activities are necessary for overall growth of
business organisation.
 It is important to provide opportunities to the employees. At the same time there is need
to check the performance of the employees on regular basis so that all the strengths and
weakness of the employees are analysed and actions can be taken.

CONCLUSION
From the above report, it is analysed that there is key role of employees in a business
organisation. It is necessary to manage the employees in effective manner so that the company is
able to complete the work properly. There are certain issues that are faced by the line manager of
the organisation and they are examined. Along with that the skills required to manage the people
of the company are also identified. In the end, the performance management techniques are
mentioned.

REFERENCES:
Books and Journals
Leroy, H and et.al., 2018. Managing people in organizations: Integrating the study of HRM and
leadership. Human Resource Management Review, 28(3), pp.249-257.
Smith, P.E., Yellowley, W. and McLachlan, C.J., 2020. Organizational Behaviour: Managing
People in Dynamic Organizations. Routledge.
Arakelyan, A., 2020. DevOps in large organizations: managing people, processes and
implementations (Doctoral dissertation, Politecnico di Torino).
Milliken, F.J. and Bechky, B.A., 2020. MANAGING ORGANIZATIONS IN A TIME OF
CRISIS.
Kvirikashvili, T., 2021, August. Organizational Triggers in Managing Employee Performance
Quality in Georgian Organizations. In Proceedings of the 23rd International RAIS
Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities (pp. 108-114). Scientia Moralitas
Research Institute.
Zhang, L.N., 2018, April. Importance of Interpersonal Skills at Work towards Managing People
in an Educational Context. In International Conference on Management Science and
Management Innovation (MSMI 2018) (Vol. 54, pp. 29-34).
Hong, P.C and et.al.,2019. Managing change, growth and transformation: case studies of
organizations in an emerging economy. Journal of Management Development.
Bel, R., Smirnov, V. and Wait, A., 2018. Managing change: Communication, managerial style
and change in organizations. Economic Modelling, 69, pp.1-12.
Rasdi, R.M. and Chen, Y.S., 2018. People management for managing employees’ retention in
the organizations. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social
Sciences, 8(12), pp.499-509.
Clegg, S.R., Pitsis, T.S. and Mount, M., 2021. Managing and organizations: An introduction to
theory and practice. Sage.