Agile Working: A Unilever Case Study

Agile Working: A Unilever Case Study

Presented by Michelle PattisonGlobal Program Lead for Agile Working Unilever

2

Today’s presentation

•Agile Working> Business case

> Design principles

> Case Study: Unilever, UK & Ireland

•Lessons learned

•Q&A

3

In the past…

•Organizations have placed boundaries around work

> When (9 to 5)

> Where (the office)

4

Today…

•Technology makes working boundaries irrelevant

> Anytime

> Anywhere

5

Key questions

•How do we increase productivity while reducing costs?

•How do we gain competitive advantage?

•Which approach best aligns with our strategy?

Aligning approach & strategy

6

Strategic Focus

Game changing

technology innovationFacilities where people

love to be and work

together

Approach

Aligning approach & strategy

7

Strategic Focus

Delivery of effective

communication

systems

Minimization of real

estate footprint;

leveraging technology

Approach

8

Aligning approach & strategy

Strategic Focus

Highly efficient

operations for a highly

competitive environment

Singular focus on

results

Approach

9

Aligning approach & strategy

Strategic Focus

Global innovation in

partnership with

operational excellence

Enabling truly global

anytime, anywhere

working

Approach

10

Agile Working

•An approach to working with

> Maximum flexibility

> Minimum constraints

11

Enabler

WorkingPractices

Greater Flexibility;

Accountability forResults

WorkingPractices

Greater Flexibility;

Accountability forResults

12

Enabler

Technology

Virtual Collaboration;

Advanced Mobility

Technology

Virtual Collaboration;

Advanced Mobility

13

Enabler

Workplaces

Increased Utilisation;

Collaborative Focus

Workplaces

Increased Utilisation;

Collaborative Focus

14

Output

Savings

Less Travel & Real Estate

Savings

Less Travel & Real Estate

15

Output

Capability

Greater effectiveness in Big Jobs

and Virtual Teams

Capability

Greater effectiveness in Big Jobs

and Virtual Teams

16

Output

Environment

Less CO2, Energy & Waste

Environment

Less CO2, Energy & Waste

17

Output

Vitality

Increased Balance & Empowerment

Vitality

Increased Balance & Empowerment

18

Output

Talent

Attract/Retain the Best;Stronger EVP;

Increased Diversity

Talent

Attract/Retain the Best;Stronger EVP;

Increased Diversity

19

Agile Working Model

20

Working Practices

21

Agile Working practices

•Employees may work anytime/anywhere as long as business needs are being fully met

•Performance is determined by results, not ‘time and attendance’

•Managers assessed annually on how well they support Agile Working

22

Practice benefits

•Greater choice around how, when & where work is done

•Supports personal Vitality and work/life balance

•Reinforces results-based performance assessment

23

Practice benefits

•Supports diversity by making organizations more accommodating of different people

•Enhances the employee value proposition

Workplaces

24

Traditional environment

25

Agile environment

26

Office utilization

27

60% not fully utilizing their dedicated workspaces

Up to 40% less expensive to operate than traditional offices

Design principles

•Flexibility

> Mostly ‘free address’ space

•Zones

> Designed for activities, not individuals

28

Focus zone

29

Connect zone

30

Vitality zone

31

Agile workplace floor plan

32

FOCUS

CONNECT

VITALITY

Café

Quiet work area

Small conference rooms

Huddle

Large conference room

Quiet lounge

Individual workstations

Lounge

Phone rooms Storage

Cost comparison

33

Cost of Office Space for 100 Employees (€)

Traditional Agile % Savings

Required sq ft per Person 125 80 36%

Total sq ft Required 12,500 8,000 36%

Cost per sq ft 110 125 (12)%

Construction 1,375,000 1,000,000 27%

Furniture, IT, etc 667,500 562,000 16%

Total Cost 2,042,500 1,562,000 24%

Maintenance, Leases, Taxes, etc. 10,000 6,000 ~40%

Space reconfiguration/Moves 2,000 200 90%

Bu

ild

ou

t

Co

sts

Sp

ac

e

Ne

ed

s

On

go

ing

Co

sts

Technology

34

Technology principles

•Technology will be implemented that enables people to work anytime and anywhere

•Users will have a choice of tools to best fit their Agile Working style

•We will invest in training to ensure users have the skills and confidence to use Agile Technology effectively

35

Agile workstyles

36

OffsiteMobileResident

Works at the same

facility most of the time.Works in a variety of

locations – company

offices, customer locations,

at home, while travelling,

etc.

Works at a fixed, non-

company (such as a

business partner facility

or home office).

Technology types

37

Virtual Collaboration Advanced Mobility

Telepresence

38

Telepresence footprint

• 50 key locations connected via Telepresence

39

Case study

• Unilever UK & Ireland

• - An Agile Workplace

Business change

• Unilever’s UK & Irish businesses

were officially integrated in

November 2007 as part of the

global ‘One Unilever’ programme

• Three UK head office sites

(Ice-cream, Home & Personal

Care & Foods businesses) co-

located to a newly built office in

Leatherhead from November

2008

4242

Approach

• Set the principles>Leadership set the objectives

>Understood the issues

>Clearly communicated the principles

• Consult and engage>Major change – made sure employees had input

>Were clear about the non-negotiables

>Aligned with business plans and activities

>Developed clear and focused communications plan

• Establish new behaviours>Leaders led from the front

>Honesty and fairness

>Applied workstyles to meet individual needs

>Clear about the compromises and benefits

Team deep dive feedback

43

•Team of 35, based across 2 locations

•Team took a structured approached to agile working which has worked well for them

•We spoke to the Team Leader and team members to understand their journey

What worked well

Team Leader

- Equipping people to work anywhere effectively has great benefits and balance to working longer hours

- Retained more people who would have resigned due to office relocation

- Softphones – one number service works really well

- Team Assistant became the knowledge lead on technology; team became more effective users

- People feel more in control of their work pattern and hours

Team members

- Laptops allow freedom of

movement, much easier to work

with colleagues and saves on

printing

- People feel empowered

- Lots of time spent planning how

we would work as a team before

we moved, this was a worthwhile

investment

- I didn’t realise it would work as well as it does today

- Value the communication in the

office. When in the office make an

effort to talk more to people

44

Challenges and learnings

45

Team Leader

Challenges

- Retaining a sense of team when

not in the office

- Agile working requires

investment in manager time

especially for the start-up phase

and sporadically thereafter

Learnings

- New starters for the first 3

months are full time in office to

train them; they need a cultural

and work related immersion first

- Watch out for those trying agile

work and childcare

simultaneously…A big no

Team members

Challenges

- Accept that IT is a challenge and

work with what you have

- Isolation – if I work two days out of

the office I feel out of touch

- I need to make sure I stay

connected

Learnings

- Ensure we make better use of

time in the office

- It’s a journey! Need to persevere

and have structure

- It’s not easy at first to get used to

working alone

45

Other comments

46

Investment in the team is

really important to maintain team spirit

Clarity on rules of

engagement is key

Need really clear aligned

visible leadership

Everyone needs to

buy-in for it to be a

success

It’s crucial to trust people!

You need the right

technology & good support

Continue to share best

practice of agile working with new starters

It’s important to agree ways of working up

front

The overall feedback

47

66% the workplace positively

impacts my vitality

66% the workplace positively

impacts my vitality

62% the workplace is

energising and motivating

62% the workplace is

energising and motivating

65% the workplace is a

high vitality environment

65% the workplace is a

high vitality environment

81% Leatherhead is a good place

to work

81% Leatherhead is a good place

to work

44%44%

Pre-move score

Pre-move score

36%36%

34%34%

63% positive work-life

balance scores

63% positive work-life

balance scores

55%55%

Leadership view & learnings

48

49

Lessons learned

50

Are there trade-offs?

•Yes…

> Less “personal space” in the office

> Less “face to face” time with colleagues

> Potentially harder to manage boundaries around personal time

•But…

> The trade-offs can be worth it

51

3 Agile Working killers

•Improper balance—judgment is the key

> Always virtual/never available

> Always in office/never flexible

•Using space inappropriately

> Wrong activities in wrong zones

> Discourtesy to colleagues

> Camping in free address areas

•Unsupportive culture

> Inappropriate comments about how others work

> Pressure to violate Agile Working principles

52

Three success drivers

•Willingness of senior leaders to personally adopt

•Training on technologies, HR policies, etiquette, and virtual working skills

•Willingness to continually assess and adjust to ensure optimal performance

53

Your questions