INDIA’S BEST EMPLOYER:
BRANDING INITIATIVE
Sarthak Raychaudhuri
Vice President – HR, Asia South
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
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WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION
•A 102 year old company
•World’s leading marketer and manufacturer of home appliances (#1 in global share &
#1 Global Brand)
•Annual Sales of approximately $19B
•Nearly 60,000 employees across 67 manufacturing and technology centers and
presence across 170 countries
•Markets 9 brands: Whirlpool, Maytag, Kitchen Aid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul,
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
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Bauknecht & Gladiator
WHIRLPOOL OF INDIA LIMITED
In 1995, Whirlpool Corporation acquired Kelvinator India Limited and entered the refrigerator market.
In late 1995 majority ownership was gained in the TVS joint venture and the two entities were merged
to form Whirlpool of India Limited. Since then Whirlpool of India has grown to become one of the
leading manufacturers and marketers of major home appliances in India.
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
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PRODUCTS & CATEGORIES
In India Whirlpool has an impressive portfolio of home appliances. This includes a wide range of
refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, microwaves, water purifiers & built in appliances.
Whirlpool also offers a unique range of accessories like water softeners, lint removers etc.
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WHAT IS EMPLOYER BRANDING?
Marketing
Customer
Value
Proposition
Why should customers consider you?
Why should they come back for more?
Customer
Experience
BRAND DNA
Values/
Personality
What represents everything the
organization does and says?
Leadership
Employee
Experience
Employee
Value
Proposition
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
Why should people join you?
Why should they stay?
Why should they commit?
….. And how should they serve?
HR
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WHAT IS EMPLOYER BRANDING?
Simply put, employer branding is an employment experience which
defines your identity. It positions yourself in the minds of your current
and future employees.
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WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
DEGREE OF ACTIVITY IN LABOUR MARKET
CONVERSION PREMIUM
Ensuring uninterrupted talent supply by
sourcing from a wider talent market
Gaining cost advantage by acquiring &
retaining talent at lower than market average
The way with a strong customer brand you are more likely to attract and retain profitable customers.
WHIRLPOOL
CORPORATION
 CONFIDENTIAL
Similarly
with a strong
employer brand, you are more likely to attract and retain talented employees.
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WHY DID WHIRLPOOL INVEST IN EMPLOYER BRANDING?
Creating happy homes – Organization Vision
Product
Innovation
Best in class
Quality
Cost
Leadership
Through happy employees – Employer of Choice
Employer Branding was the strategic lever for becoming an employer of choice
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HOW DID WE DO IT?
Cc-Opex methodology used
Research
Formulation
What
does
today’s
talent
value?
External
validatio
n by
experts
Making the
promise communicating
Validatio
n by India
leadershi
p team
What do
we stand
for?
What
Differentiat
es
Us
Strategic
Objectiv
es
Duration – 9 months
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
Deployment
What We
Want to
Be Known
For
Select
Employe
r Brand
Slogan
Duration –
29 July 2013
Revalidation
by internal
employees
using same
research
method
Delivering on
the promise Experiencing
Creating
the
identity
3 months
Duration
- Ongoing
2011 INDIA
HR ELA

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WHAT TODAY’S TALENT VALUES
Important criteria for young
employees when selecting employer
Job “Likes” by
educational attainment
Enriching
job
Career Progression
Job Type/Function
Choices
Training and development
Flexible hours
Culture/Environment
Salary and Benefits
International Opportunities
Culture
Flexibility to do job
own way
Location
Interacting with
public
Equal opportunities Policy
Organization values/mission
Graduates
Industry Sector
Pay
Non-Graduates
Prestige
2
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.8
3
3.2
3.4
3.6
Source – Association of Graduate Recruiters
0
10
20
30
Gallup Survey
(Percentages add to more\ than 100% due to multiple
responses)
did secondary
WHIRLPOOLWe
CORPORATION
 CONFIDENTIAL research to identify the demand of the current generation
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CONSTRUCTION OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
• Common reasons
cited in HR literature
for employee
attraction/retention
Subject-Matter
Research
Focus Group
Discussions
• Validated through
exploratory Focus Groups
with Sales, Technology,
Manufacturing &
Recruitment Consultants
• Tested Version 1 of
Questionnaire with
Pilot audience,
within and outside
the organization
Revalidate
• Tested the same research
instrument with a new
sample of people, within and
outside the organization
Pilot Run
CcOpex* Approach, Tools & Methodology Used Through Entire Process
*CcOpex is Whirlpool Corporation’s internal quality process similar to what six sigma is for Motorola
The end results were two sets of Questionnaires:
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One
for Internal Employees & the other for the External Group
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RESEARCH SAMPLE
The sample included all functions, all grades and all geographies to ensure best
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
representation of our workforce
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RESEARCH ACTIVITIES & RESULTS
Activities:
• FGD’s: 13
• Questionnaires: 137
• Interviews / One on One’s with Leadership Team + Others: 59
Business Reputation, Autonomy, Career Progression & Work Culture emerged as strengths
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WHAT MAKES US UNIQUELY WHIRLPOOL?
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Creating an identity for ourselves, based on our differentiated strengths
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HOW DID WE DO IT?
Cc-Opex methodology used
Research
Formulation
What
does
today’s
talent
value?
External
validatio
n by
experts
Making the
promise communicating
Validatio
n by India
leadershi
p team
What do
we stand
for?
What
Differentiat
es
Us
Strategic
Objectiv
es
Duration – 9 months
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
Deployment
What We
Want to
Be Known
For
Select
Employe
r Brand
Slogan
Duration –
29 July 2013
Revalidation
by internal
employees
using same
research
method
Delivering on
the promise Experiencing
Creating
the
identity
3 months
Duration
- Ongoing
2011 INDIA
HR ELA

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EXTERNAL VALIDATION
RICHARD MOSLEY
Leading author and
practitioner in employer
brand management
“Your research work is one of the most detailed works on employer branding I have ever seen”
– Richard Mosley (After reviewing all research documents)
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THE OUTCOME - OUR FOUR VALUE PROPOSITIONS
We value the free spirit of our people, who drive
their own careers as well as Whirlpool’s success.
2
We offer roles that have a unique identity enabling
our people to grow from strength to strength, very
early in life.
We take pride in our open and inclusive culture
that enables collaboration in creating loyal
customers for life.
4
1
3
We believe in setting ambitious goals, performing
to the best of our abilities and celebrating &
rewarding success.
A value proposition which caters to the most deep rooted emotions of an employee
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CREATING THE EMPLOYER BRAND SLOGAN
ALL INDIA SLOGAN WRITING CONTEST
Over 250 entries were received, out of which 10 were shortlisted and then voted upon.
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BRAND SLOGAN
‘FREEDOM TO CREATE OUR TOMORROW’
• Freedom: We recognize that all employees have a fundamental right to make choices about
their environment and life and providing it to them
• To Create: We understand that employees look for an opportunity to make things happen.
This also stresses on making things happen through creativity & innovation, hence it is not ‘to
make’ but ‘to create’
• Our: To emphasize on the inclusion and openness that we stand for; the ideas, the culture,
the beliefs are not ‘yours’ or ‘mine’ but they are ‘our’
• Tomorrow: The freedom to create is not about our yesterday or even today but about our
future, our tomorrow. It is about our ambition of making it bigger and better in the years to
come
This credo will act as our guiding vision for all people initiatives.
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BRAND IDENTITY
• The color of the 6 squares are our corporate colors and this set of squares represents Whirlpool
• The different shades of grey in the 3 bottom squares indicates the diversity of our workforce
• The 9 squares together represents an individual with arms extended
• The Whirlpool logo on top signifies a liberated employee upholding the organization
• Slogan is written where the squares meet, indicating that where the org & the employees meet, there is freedom to create
• ‘Our tomorrow’ is in bold to emphasize that, this freedom was not only in the past or present, but will always be there
This
sense of identity will act as a reminder & protect the unique elements of our culture at all times.
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HOW DID WE DO IT?
Cc-Opex methodology used
Research
Formulation
What
does
today’s
talent
value?
External
validatio
n by
experts
Making the
promise communicating
Validatio
n by India
leadershi
p team
What do
we stand
for?
What
Differentiat
es
Us
Strategic
Objectiv
es
Duration – 9 months
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION  CONFIDENTIAL
Deployment
What We
Want to
Be Known
For
Select
Employe
r Brand
Slogan
Duration –
29 July 2013
Revalidation
by internal
employees
using same
research
method
Delivering on
the promise Experiencing
Creating
the
identity
3 months
Duration
- Ongoing
2011 INDIA
HR ELA

2121
COMMUNICATION OF THE BRAND
Launch Vehicles:
• Video: Capturing employee experiences which led us to our value propositions (Video attached)
•Personalized Desktop Calendar:
• Communicating what the organization will do to live the employer brand promise
• Urging employees to demonstrate the right behaviours so that each employee truly experiences the brand
• In the process of communicating we intended to touch employees’ heart through personalization
• Blue Book: Explaining the entire journey & elements of our employer brand to employees in a creative way
• Environmental Collaterals: Usage of highly creative designs to grab attention and create awareness
• Formal Launch: The leadership team formally launched it in a quarterly all-India Town hall meeting
• Launch mail: Head of India operations, communicating the vision of employer branding to all employees
A highly creative and an integrated Pan - India communication plan was launched to grab each and
every employee’s attention
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COMMUNICATION COLLATERALS – BLUE BOOK
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COMMUNICATION COLLATERALS – POSTERS
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COMMUNICATION COLLATERALS – ENVIRONMENTAL
GRAPHICS
DANGLERS
POST-IT NOTES
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COMMUNICATION FROM CEO ON LAUNCH
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SUSTENANCE - DELIVERING ON THE VALUE PROPOSITIONS
To make this initiative a success, the most important part was to deliver on each of the value propositions
by aligning them to all HR touch points. This is where we were able to make the highest impact.
Delivering on the promises required aligning every HR touch points and influencing managerial
behavior
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IDENTIFYING AND PRIORITIZING INITIATIVES
High
• Choice of benefits
• Choice in work space
• Choice of compensation
• Choice in career development
• Choice of reward & recognition
Impact
• Choice in performance appraisal
• Choice in work time
• Choice of technology
• Choice in learning
• Choice in work activities
* This is not an exhaustive list
Low
Low
Ease of implementation
Freedom to make choices
Early differentiated roles
Open & inclusive culture
High
Spirit of winning
Deliver on each value proposition by offering choices
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DELIVERING ON FREEDOM TO MAKE CHOICES – KEY INITIATIVES
POLICIES
• Flexi-timing
• Telecommuting
• Employee Referral
• My Whirlpool Scheme – 4 products @ 30% discount
PROCESSES
• Aspire: Career Dialoging
• Learning portal ‘WU’ for flexibility in learning
• Formal 180 degree & 360 degree survey process
• Genie (Shopping portal with over 6000 products at discounts)
• Multipronged approach to CSR
PRACTICES
• Make decisions: Involving employees in addressing business concerns
• Make huge business contribution: Breakthrough objectives of choice
• W-connect (Whirlpool’s own Facebook)
• Decide the ‘How’ of deliverables: Culture of working in one’s own way
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DELIVERING ON EARLY DIFFERENTIATED ROLES – KEY INITIATIVES
POLICIES
• ‘Grow from within’
• Education assistance
• Multi-tasking for meeting career aspirations
PROCESSES
• Rigorous high potential talent identification mechanism: 9 Box
• ‘A’ players and ‘A’ jobs overlap, retention planning for key talent
• Dedicated Campus program: Bringing in leaders for the future
•Whirlpool Learning Academy: Organization wide L&D initiatives
• Organizational LDP: Tie up with BCG, IIMs, Michigan, INSEAD, Kellogg
• Emerging LDP: Developing first time managers
PRACTICES
• Leadership competency model based talent decision making
•180 and 360 degree feedback for developmental inputs
• Leadership competency model based selection mechanism
• Multiple parameter based evaluation of performance
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DELIVERING ON OPEN & INCLUSIVE CULTURE – KEY INITIATIVES
POLICIES
• Enhanced personal insurance
• Group medical insurance including pre-existing ailments of parents
• Accident insurance policy
PROCESSES
• Shared mission – vision – values and ethics & compliance Hotline
• Leading people @ Whirlpool – Developing great people managers
• Annual engagement survey & FGDs to ‘listen’ to employees
• Periodic email by CEO to Thank employees for their contribution
PRACTICES
• Leadership competency model based talent decision making
• Celebrating success: With individuals, teams and families
• W-connect: Whirlpool’s own Facebook
• Special day celebrations and Fun@ Workplace Initiatives
• Family connect: ‘Neev’ and location based initiatives
• Everyone connects: Quarterly all India town hall & Leadership connect
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DELIVERING ON SPIRIT OF WINNING – KEY INITIATIVES
POLICIES
•Differentiating compensation strategy for high performance
•Reward & recognition policy for monthly, quarterly and annual awards
• Peer recognition schemes & Spot awards
•Team and individual awards & Monetary and non-monetary rewards
PROCESSES
• Breakthrough objectives
• Building a customer centric organization
• Building Go to market capabilities
• Expat assignments and Global visibility (GPS)
• Structured Induction program to reduce time to productivity
PRACTICES
• Internal communication & branding
• Cost leadership
• Nurturing a culture of innovation & Innovation workshops
• High quality talent intake
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SOME EXAMPLES
TALENT ATTRACTION – ON CAMPUSES
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POLICY REFRESH
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PRACTICE REFRESH
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YOUR OPINION MATTERS!
REVEAL IT
SHAPE YOUR FUTURE AT
WHIRLPOOL
All employees will
receive the survey link from Towers Watson on Oct 10
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REAPING BENEFITS FROM EMPLOYER BRANDING
• High engagement creating competitive advantage
• Better retention of key talent
• Stronger employer brand
• Strong financial results
Profits (Crore INR)
Employee Engagement
89
330
280
80
81
230
180
Leadership Effectiveness
84
82
77
69
130
82
88
85
85
88
83
78
79
73
68
70
63
80
58
30
53
-20
48
44
-70
2004-05
43
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
Consistent YOY increase in engagement & org leadership score co-related with business results
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REAPING BENEFITS FROM EMPLOYER BRANDING
BRAND
LAG MEASURES
INDICATORS
RESULTS
Talent Attraction metrics:
Aspiration
Loyalty and
Trust
• Hiring turn around time
• Reduction from 50 days to 35 days
• Campus slots
• 14 Day 0 slots
• Hires from fortune 500 companies
• 37% of new hires
Talent Retention Metrics:
• Overall Attrition
• Reduction from 22% to 16% in 2 years
• Top Talent attrition
• Reduction from 7% to 6% in 1 year
Talent Engagement Metrics:
Advocacy
• Overall Engagement
• Engagement score of 85
• Specific questions’ score in engagement survey
• Positive trend on all 12 employer brand
specific questions in engagement survey
External Recognition:
Recognition
• Aon Hewitt ‘Best employers to work for in India’
• 14th India, Top 25 - Asia, 9th TCFL (Asia)
• GPTW Institute ‘Best companies to work for in India’
• 15th (Overall), Best in L&D
• Mercer ‘Top companies to work for’
• Amongst top 25
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REAPING BENEFITS FROM EMPLOYER BRANDING
14th
Best Company for Employer
Branding 2013
15th
20th
22nd
2008
Best Company for Leadership
Development 2010
2009
2010
2011
2013
Consistently improving external employer brand recognition
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OUR LEARNING
• Get the CEO aligned. He needs to invest time and resources
• Be sure of using right ‘Research approach’ to get to the root of culture.
•Crafting the EVP is not an HR Project. Get diverse mindset involved
•Identifying own cultural tenets is the most difficult part. Having identified, do
not limit yourself to them. Think ahead…
• Do not shy away from creative development & communicating both internally
and externally
•Align the EVP to all HR processes and critical employee touch points
•Determine your measures of success before you embark on the journey
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