How the maker of Saffola and Parachute transformed into the ‘Marico of tomorrow’
4 min read 31 Mar 2023, 05:22 PM ISTLeveraging lessons from the pandemic, FMCG major Marico has been working towards building a Marico of tomorrow. In its quest to nurture future leaders, the organisation is fostering a work culture that attracts and retains new-age professionals by understanding and prioritising their preferences
PremiumThe year 2022 saw trends such as the great resignation and the great attraction wrecking complete havoc in the labour market. The past few years have led to a dramatic shift in the talent landscape, where human resources are re-evaluating their approach towards what they seek in the workplace of the future.According to a Deloitte survey, titled ‘Striving for balance, advocating for change’, good work life balance and learning, development opportunities were the top priorities for choosing an employer. Aligning with Gen Z’s values was also key as two in five people said that they rejected a job or assignment because it did not align with their personal values.
With changing employee expectations, organisations made speedy alterations to recruiting manuals to ensure that processes are in line with hiring and retaining the best people. In its quest to nurture the leaders of tomorrow, FMCG major Marico, the maker of Parachute coconut oil and Saffola, has struck the winning formula of building a future-ready workplace that understands the preferences of new-age professionals.
As organisations enter into a race against time to keep up with the wave of change that we are all experiencing, Marico has understood the requirements and qualities of this new workforce and has transformed itself into a Marico of Tomorrow. Towards this, the company has devised a four-part framework to develop a future-ready workforce that is prepared to take on the changing dynamics of the years to come.
Culture of trust
“You trust people, you trust that they want to do the job and you trust them to do the job. It doesn’t matter if they sit at an office desk, or if they sit at home or if they even sit somewhere else. What matters is to get the job done and to deliver on it," said Silvana Koch-Mehrin, Founder and President of Women Political Leaders, at the World Economic Forum meet at Davos. The new age workforce expects their employers to trust them to deliver outcomes to the best of their abilities instead of over monitoring them. At Marico, for instance, the attendance of members has not been monitored over the past 32 years. The advantages of this work culture were evident during the pandemic, when it was observed that member productivity and efficiency increased despite the lack of physical presence. The culture of trust and transparency has motivated Marico members towards a healthy work-life balance, higher productivity levels and thus successful career growth.
Diversity and inclusion
Diversity and inclusivity stimulate productivity and growth. According to a Deloitte report, 74% of millennial employees believe that a culture of inclusion fosters innovation.
Marico has been one of the front runners in fostering a diversity conscious, diversity ready, and socially inclusive workplace. The company believes that diverse backgrounds, expertise and perception of a multi-cultural and multi-generational workforce spurs innovation and enhances productivity. Marico recently revamped its diversity and inclusivity policies and established the Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) Council with an aim to curate a culture where diverse perspectives across levels are equally heard and valued. The company targets to enhance its gender diversity ratio to 30% and the differently abled to 5%, as part of their decade of action roadmap. In line with I&D vision, Marico has curated effective policies, process and infrastructural changes. From making all policies gender neutral to extending same-sex partner benefits and offering a bouquet of reimbursement benefits for ‘new parents’ facilitating them with transport, physical, and mental wellness.
A purpose-led role, contributing towards the larger society
The new-age employee is looking to associate with a company that drives value along with doing business, increasing the pressure on leadership teams to deliver financial value as they assess the societal and environmental impact of what they do. According to a recent survey by IBM, 67 per cent of employees are more willing to apply for and 68 per cent are more willing to accept positions from companies that they view as sustainable. Purpose-led goals act as catalysts to improve productivity, enhance engagement and provide job satisfaction.
Leading with its purpose-led brands, Marico has recently charted out a refreshed Talent Value Proposition – “Go Beyond, Grow Beyond and Be the Impact" to be contextual to the fast-changing talent aspirations. It helps in not just attracting fresh talent but also enable them to stay and grow along with the organization.
The future workforce believes in driving meaningful outcomes and expects organisations to give them the freedom to be themselves. Marico observed that there is greater representation of younger minds in driving sustainability initiatives.As an organization, Marico strives to enable members to ‘live their purpose’ by providing multiple volunteering avenues, to help cultivate their passion and purpose towards bringing a positive change in society.
Upskilling and reskilling
With technology and globalisation transforming the workplace at an unprecedented rate, organisations must ensure that their employees have the right skills to stay ahead of the curve. As many as 40 per cent of Indian employees will need reskilling and 60 per cent will need to upskill to be market ready, a job data analysis by Monster.com revealed.
At Marico, there is hyperfocus on investing in future-fit digital and functional capabilities to prepare future leaders who are able to cater to the discerning needs of consumers. To keep its employees up to date with the right skills and changing market trends, Marico offers a variety of online learning programs. This also grooms them into becoming leaders of tomorrow. The company has also launched a Sales Development Program – Skill Up with the primary objective of building functional depth, increase productivity and stability among sales members.
Raising a culture of diversity, inclusion, openness, transparency, and meritocracy has helped Marico to attract and retain its top talent. A testament to this is that 84% of the current leadership team at Marico is home-grown talent.
Disclaimer: This article has been produced on behalf of the brand by HT Brand Studio
