Agile Working: A Unilever Case Study

Presented by Michelle PattisonGlobal Program Lead for Agile Working Unilever

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Today’s presentation

•Agile Working> Business case

> Design principles

> Case Study: Unilever, UK & Ireland

•Lessons learned

•Q&A

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In the past…

•Organizations have placed boundaries around work

> When (9 to 5)

> Where (the office)

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Today…

•Technology makes working boundaries irrelevant

> Anytime

> Anywhere

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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

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Strategic Focus

Game changing

technology innovationFacilities where people

love to be and work

together

Approach

Aligning approach & strategy

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Strategic Focus

Delivery of effective

communication

systems

Minimization of real

estate footprint;

leveraging technology

Approach

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Aligning approach & strategy

Strategic Focus

Highly efficient

operations for a highly

competitive environment

Singular focus on

results

Approach

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Aligning approach & strategy

Strategic Focus

Global innovation in

partnership with

operational excellence

Enabling truly global

anytime, anywhere

working

Approach

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Agile Working

•An approach to working with

> Maximum flexibility

> Minimum constraints

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Enabler

WorkingPractices

Greater Flexibility;

Accountability forResults

WorkingPractices

Greater Flexibility;

Accountability forResults

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Enabler

Technology

Virtual Collaboration;

Advanced Mobility

Technology

Virtual Collaboration;

Advanced Mobility

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Enabler

Workplaces

Increased Utilisation;

Collaborative Focus

Workplaces

Increased Utilisation;

Collaborative Focus

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Output

Savings

Less Travel & Real Estate

Savings

Less Travel & Real Estate

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Output

Capability

Greater effectiveness in Big Jobs

and Virtual Teams

Capability

Greater effectiveness in Big Jobs

and Virtual Teams

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Output

Environment

Less CO2, Energy & Waste

Environment

Less CO2, Energy & Waste

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Output

Vitality

Increased Balance & Empowerment

Vitality

Increased Balance & Empowerment

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Output

Talent

Attract/Retain the Best;Stronger EVP;

Increased Diversity

Talent

Attract/Retain the Best;Stronger EVP;

Increased Diversity

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Agile Working Model

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Working Practices

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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

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Practice benefits

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

•Supports personal Vitality and work/life balance

•Reinforces results-based performance assessment

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Practice benefits

•Supports diversity by making organizations more accommodating of different people

•Enhances the employee value proposition

Workplaces

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Traditional environment

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Agile environment

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Office utilization

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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

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Focus zone

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Connect zone

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Vitality zone

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Agile workplace floor plan

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FOCUS

CONNECT

VITALITY

Café

Quiet work area

Small conference rooms

Huddle

Large conference room

Quiet lounge

Individual workstations

Lounge

Phone rooms Storage

Cost comparison

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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

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Co

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Sp

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Ne

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s

On

go

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Co

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Technology

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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

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Agile workstyles

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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

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Virtual Collaboration Advanced Mobility

Telepresence

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Telepresence footprint

• 50 key locations connected via Telepresence

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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

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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

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•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

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Challenges and learnings

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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

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Other comments

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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

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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

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Lessons learned

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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

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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

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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

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Your questions