Career Development and Performance Management Practices at Unilever

This reflective essay explores the significance of career development and performance management practices, drawing on personal experiences at Unilever. It highlights the importance of these practices for employee retention and growth, discussing various career options and support systems provided by Unilever. The essay also examines relevant tools and models, such as setting development goals, providing training, and offering job opportunities. Performance management tools like the 5As approach, real-time feedback, and personal development plans are discussed, along with global talent management strategies including workforce planning and succession planning software like SAP, Plum, and UltiPro. The essay concludes that organizations must prioritize career development to attract and retain talent, emphasizing the HR manager's role in guiding and supporting employees through training and development.

Reflective essay

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
TASK ..............................................................................................................................................3
Significance of career development and performance management practices. .........................3
REFERNCES:..................................................................................................................................7
Books and Journals:....................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
The report aims to provide understanding of career management and development within
the organisation. Career management and planning is a significant aspects that every employee
looks while working into the company. it provides opportunities to develop self capabilities and
hold higher position within own workplace(Healy, Nicholson, and Pekarek, 2017) . Therefore,
This essay will present significance of career and performance management by applying relevant
theories and model at Unilever. The company is a well known multinational firm to sell
consumer goods art worldwide level. It cover personal work experience while working into
organisation that shows effectiveness and valuable practices of talent management.
MAIN BODY
TASK
Significance of career development and performance management practices.
Every individuals desires to build their career and wants to have diversified working
environment in order to boost personal skills and capabilities to better grow into the market.
carer development and management practices plays a vital role for employees as it provides
opportunities and a reason to retain into organisation. Managing talent includes vital operation
to provide career growth, training and development and diversified areas of working in order to
get scare human resources for the long-term into organisation. There are various career options
that Unilever provides to their employees as the company works in diversified market and
regulate number of operations that creates need for skilful employees who could contribute their
efforts in achieving objectives and maintain goodwill of the firm into market.
In my personal experience, when I was working in Unilever, the managers were very
supporting in terms of clearing my doubts providing training sessions regular to analyse job role
effectively and get familiar with the environment. The company is divide into various functions
of management like planning, organising resources, implementing and taking actions and import
control over activities are all done by employees who are specialised into their field of work.
Therefore, I was working as marketing sales officer for the duration of 4 months. Keeping check
on my performance and company get good results in comparison to past sales record. Managers
entitled me appreciation and employee of the month, these are small achievement which I
undertook with my effort. after The completion of three months, the company hired me on the

position of marketing manager also with the benefits in incentive and payout which keeps me
motivated and satisfied towards working on new job position which gave me opportunities to
boost my leadership and guiding skills in order to assists my team members as well as be grate
mentor that helps their team at any point of time by resolving doubts and encourage them to
work hard for project completion before deadline (Margot, and Kettler, 2019). This
opportunities has gained my self confidence and desired for work dedication which I put in my
job role. Therefore, I could see myself on other achievements within the organisation to get
skills more prominent and develop competencies.
There are may tools and models that describes the need of career development practices. Some of
are presented effectively in which
Setting development goals is to provide career development opportunities, manager of
Unilever needs to formulate development goals in which each individual is entitled with some
activities and task as per their performance. provide training is also a worked best in Unilever as
in my experience, It is one of the best element that enable growth of an employees by enhancing
skills through taking effective training in the supervision of experts. provide job opportunities, it
is also the major factor for career development, as once employee enhance their skills and
become capable of undertake responsibilities. Unilever needs to provide more job internal
opportunities for existing employees who would made the work more easier and beneficial.
develop individual development plan consist identifying potential employees and their
performance who are capable to take career opportunities (Mott, and Cockayne, 2017). Produce
plans for their development which include required skills to perform job role within a specific
time period.
There are various performance management tool which finds results of career
development option for analysing the best suitable employee who attain much potential to take
higher job role and those who require more training will gets focused more accurately. These
tools are 5As approach to goal setting in which the goals are set by Smart objectives which
ascertain measurable aspects so that, performance of each employee will find out easily by go
through with set objectives (Sazesh, and Siadat, 2018). Taking real time feedback is also
important part of performance management in which employees will freely shows their issues
and hurdles by taking training and development opportunities. Managers provide best efforts to
deal with their problems and find appropriate solution. Also, personal development plan Is the

most famous tool for self performance check which includes skills set that must be developed
during a course of time. Therefore, it is necessary to develop PDP and work to achieve to boost
personal skill and capabilities. rewards and recognition is best way to expect an effective
performance of employee which keeps them motivated to achieve higher goals in respect of
getting rewards in return. I also worked in Unilever in the greed to take extra reward and
recognition which present my value and capabilities in front of others
There are various Tools for global talent management in which the most initial one is
workforce planning, the foremost task for HR manager to plan workforce as per departmental
requirements so that, organisation will not face overlapping and unnecessary resource to keep
focus on required individual. Making strategic plan for retaining talent into organisation which
includes plans for their welfare by promoting individuals efforts, legal obligation, opportunities
and a positive environment of working. Leadership is the vital factor to look for retaining
employees by providing them better guidance an keeping them familiar with their goals and
targets. This results in proper communication and avoiding disputes and misunderstanding at
workplace.
There are several Tools for succession planning that demonstrate SAP, Plum and UltiPro
in which SAP is known for e enabling Human capital management into organisation in which
mangers undertakes the supervision of 1000 employees at a time to provide leadership and plan
their welfare effectively (Mattis, 2018). On the other hand, Plum is known for assigning job
roles of employees as per their suitable specific skills. This will help in gaining effective
productivity though which employee will work confidently and gives their best of knowledge to
working practices. This software is integrated with AI technology to analyse what individual
wants from the organisation to undertake talent within organisation. The next best software of
succession planning is Ulti Pro in which, data and records of HR and payroll and talent
management strategies so that, organisation will take better decision in terms of remuneration
and creating equality into organisation. Therefore, all these tools are made significantly to
provide success to the organisation who looks for doing better for their employees by supporting
them in the ups and downs, keeps them financially strong and divide work according to
capabilities, it is not easy to formulate strategies for all the employees all together so that these
software will make work easy and smart.
CONCLUSION

The report has concluded that, organisation is required to provide career and development
opportunities in order to attract skilful and talent employees within organisation. It is the major
role of HR manager to retain employees and build their personality by guiding training and
development. All these concept have identified through various tools and theories of career and
performance management. Also, effective ways of talent management is necessary to boost
organisation performance.

REFERNCES:
Books and Journals:
Healy, J., Nicholson, D. and Pekarek, A., 2017. Should we take the gig economy
seriously?. Labour & Industry: a journal of the social and economic relations of
work, 27(3), pp.232-248.
Margot, K.C. and Kettler, T., 2019. Teachers’ perception of STEM integration and education: a
systematic literature review. International Journal of STEM education, 6(1), pp.1-16.
Mott, C. and Cockayne, D., 2017. Citation matters: mobilizing the politics of citation toward a
practice of ‘conscientious engagement’. Gender, Place & Culture, 24(7), pp.954-973.
Sazesh, A. and Siadat, S.A., 2018. The relationship between quantum management and
organizational agility in ministry of roads and urban development of Golestan province,
Iran. Dutch Journal of Finance and Management, 2(2), p.51.
Mattis, J., 2018. Summary of the 2018 national defense strategy of the United States of America.
Department of Defense Washington United States.