Vepproctor & Gamble 2003

EMPLOY PROFILE VAULT EMPLOYER PROFILE:

PROCTER & GAMBLE

BY THE STAFF OF VAULT

© 2002 Vault Inc.

Copyright © 2002 by Vault Inc. All rights reserved. All information in this book is subject to change without notice. Vault makes no claims as to the accuracy and reliability of the information contained within and disclaims all warranties. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Vault Inc. Vault, the Vault logo, and “the insider career networkTM” are trademarks of Vault Inc. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, contact Vault Inc., 150 W22nd Street, New York, New York 10011, (212) 366-4212. Library of Congress CIP Data is available. ISBN 1–58131–221-0 Printed in the United States of America

Procter & Gamble

Table of Contents INTRODUCTION

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Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Procter & Gamble at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Procter & Gamble at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

THE SCOOP

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History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 CEO’s Bio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Key Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Business Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Major Products/Brands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

VAULT NEWSWIRE

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OUR SURVEY SAYS

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GETTING HIRED

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Overview of the Hiring Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 To Apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Preparing for the Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Questions to Expect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Questions to Ask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Perks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

ON THE JOB

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A Day in the Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Job Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Department Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Career Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

FINAL ANALYSIS

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RECOMMENDED READING

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Procter & Gamble

Introduction Overview What would the world be like without Procter & Gamble? No Ivory soap, no Oil of Olay, no Jif peanut butter, no Tide detergent, no Crest toothpaste. Though there would probably still be soap, skin conditioner, peanut butter and toothpaste, we’d be bereft of the brands that have earned our love and loyalty over the years. And for Procter & Gamble, loyalty is what it’s all about. P&G is a company that trades on loyalty, thrives on loyal customers and strives to put out products that merit that devotion. Procter & Gamble is a gargantuan $40-billion-a-year company, but it is 25 percent owned by “the little people” – its former or current employees. Even workers in the manufacturing plants often own hundreds of thousands of dollars in company stock, thanks to a lucrative profit-sharing plan. What does the company get for its generosity? It ensures top-of-the line employees (who could be making more in base salary elsewhere) will remain with the company for their entire careers. But the company knows that, like the nuclear family, brand loyalty is disintegrating, and bang-for-your-buck is king. With fewer faithful customers and declining demand for its products in many areas of the world, P&G is having trouble keeping the faith with its employees. To keep its prices competitive and to meet its ambitious goals for sales, it has been “streamlining” its operations and conducting serious overhauls of its corporate management structure.

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Procter & Gamble at a Glance Headquarters One Procter & Gamble Plaza Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: (513) 983-1100 Fax: (513) 983-9369

UPPERS • Super-prestigious company • Lucrative profit-sharing plan • Emphasis on ongoing training

DOWNERS THE STATS Employer type: Public company Stock listing: NYSE (Symbol: PG) Employees: 106,000 (2002) Revenues: $40.24 billion (2002)

• Massive bureaucracy • Middling pay • Up-or-out policy in Brand Management division

MAJOR BUSINESS UNITS Baby, Feminine and Family Care Fabric and Home Care Beauty Care Health Care Food & Beverage

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Procter & Gamble

The Scoop History For the past decade and a half, Procter & Gamble has found itself battling rumors of a connection to black magic: that its Moon and Stars logo is a satanic symbol (needless to say, it’s not) and that its president once discussed Satanism on the talk show Donahue. In turn, the company, which has a reputation for being secretive, sued Amway and some of its high-level distributors for allegedly circulating the rumors. (Courts found the claim baseless in 2000, and ordered P&G to pay Amway’s legal costs.) But the real story of Procter & Gamble is hardly unholy – just simple good business. The P&G story began when William Procter and James Gamble arrived in America with their eyes set on the wide-open West. But both Procter, a candle maker from England, and Gamble, who apprenticed himself to a soap maker after arriving from Ireland, ended up settling in Cincinnati, where they met after marrying sisters. The father of their wives convinced them to become business partners. On August 22, 1837, Procter & Gamble each pledged $3,596.47 toward a partnership to produce and sell soap and candles. By 1859, as America was sliding toward civil war, Procter & Gamble, with 80 employees, reached $1 million in sales. During the Civil War, the company supplied soap and candles to the Union armies, helping to build its reputation outside of Ohio. And then, in 1879, the second generation of Procters and Gambles made a breakthrough. Chemist James Norris Gamble developed an inexpensive, buoyant white soap; Harley Procter read the words “out of ivory palaces” in the Bible one Sunday morning in church. Ivory Soap – 99 and 44/100ths percent pure – floated into the market. The 20th century at Procter & Gamble sounds like a commercial for a compilation of consumer goods’ greatest hits. The company’s research centers have churned out a remarkable string of successful innovations: Crisco, the first all-vegetable shortening (1911); Tide, the “washing miracle” that was the nation’s first synthetic laundry detergent (1946); Crest, the first toothpaste with fluoride clinically proven to fight cavities (1955); and Pampers, the first mass-produced disposable diaper (1961). More recently, the company has introduced Pantene Pro-V (1992), the world’s leading shampoo, and in 1996 received Food and Drug Administration approval for the use of Olestra, a calorie-free fat replacement. Acquisitions have added to the P&G empire, often providing the company with leverage in either an international market or a new product area. P&G Visit Vault at www.vault.com for insider company profiles, expert advice, career message boards, expert resume reviews, the Vault Job Board and more.

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Procter & Gamble The Scoop

bought Duncan Hines cake mixes in 1956, Charmin Paper Mills in 1957 and Folgers coffee in 1963, all of which represented the company’s first foray into the products’ respective areas. The additions of Noxell in 1989 and Max Factor in 1991 made P&G the country’s largest cosmetics company. P&G began manufacturing in Japan in 1973 after acquiring the Nippon Sunhome company and opened operations in Eastern Europe in 1991 after buying Rakona in then-Czechoslovakia. In the never-ending search for growth in mature markets, the company has continued to find it expedient to buy powerful brands. Examples include Iams pet foods in 1999 and Clairol hair care products (a $5 billion purchase) in November 2001. The new management isn’t afraid to drop or sell poor performers either; Jif peanut butter and Crisco vegetable shortening were spun off to shareholders in May 2001 for $150 million; the brands were then sold to J.M. Smucker for $900 million. Failed brands like Physique premium shampoo (the company’s first new shampoo product in 20 years), Fit fruit wash and Olay Cosmetics have vanished from store shelves. Procter & Gamble has also been a major player in the history of advertising and marketing techniques. The famous Ivory Soap campaign of the late 19th century was one of the first to advertise directly to the consumer. In 1923, Crisco sponsored cooking shows on the radio; in 1932, P&G began sponsoring daytime radio dramas. The company aired its first TV commercial during the first televised major league baseball game in 1939. And long before Peoria, Ill. became popular among politicians gauging the pulse of America, P&G knew about it – Pampers were test-marketed there in the early 1960s. Today, the company is turning to public relations spin doctors to help convince the public that its fat substitute, Olestra, is still the next great thing. The firm certainly has the resources – with a $3.7 billion marketing budget, Procter & Gamble is the world’s biggest advertiser. But should the company prove unable to make Olestra popular in anything other than Pringles potato crisps, P&G has a trio of fast-growing hits with the Swiffer floor sweeper, the Crest SpinBrush children’s electric toothbrush and Crest White Strips tooth whitener.

On top of the whirl Procter & Gamble is the undisputed champion of the consumer goods industry. With $40.24 billion in annual sales, it easily outpaces competitors such as Avon ($6 billion), Colgate-Palmolive ($9.4 billion) and KimberlyClark ($14.5 billion). Like most mega-corporations, Procter & Gamble made

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some serious hay while the sun shone in 1998, delivering its shareholders record-breaking net earnings of $4.35 billion, or $3.59 per share. The company, however, is far from satisfied. In 1996, P&G announced a goal of reaching $70 billion in sales by 2006, an almost inconceivable doubling of sales in a decade – to realize such lofty ambitions, the company would have to increase sales by 7 percent or more each year. Alas, the company fell short initially, posting increases in net sales of 1 percent in 1996 and 1997. Newly appointed CEO A.G. Lafley’s goals are nearly as ambitious – 4-6 percent annual sales increases coupled with double-digit core-earnings-per-share growth. And in 2001, the company managed to achieve them.

Restructuring: Think globally, act locally The company has taken serious steps to counter its shortfalls of the late 1990s, notably through corporate restructuring. In September 1998, P&G announced that it would eliminate the company’s past practice of dividing business into four regional groups. Instead, the focus shifted to marketing products on a global scale. To do so, profit responsibility rests in the hands of executives who manage global product units, such as baby care, beauty, and home products, among others. Durk I. Jager, then the company’s “hardcharging” chief operating officer, led the way in the reorganization. Jager was promoted to chief executive officer in January 1999, joining John E. Pepper to concurrently hold the position until Pepper’s retirement in September of that year. In 1999, P&G announced the creation of eight “market development organizations” to, in the words of the annual report, “provide deeper knowledge of local consumers and stronger partnerships with our customers.” As examples of the kinds of problems these groups will address, The Wall Street Journal offers currency troubles in Asia and supermarket retailing in Latin America. These groups are not charged with profit-and-loss responsibility. P&G also streamlined its corporate staff, a change that evoked the 13,000 layoffs and multiple plant closings that took place from 1993 to 1997. The company acknowledged that some jobs would be lost at the time, but distinguished the measures from earlier ones. “It’s not a cost-cutting effort,” spokesperson Simon Denegri told The Wall Street Journal, “but a global reorganization of our structure and culture to accelerate growth and meet business goals.” Another streamlining took place when Lafley took over in 2000, to the tune of 9,600 jobs. This time, Fortune magazine characterized

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Procter & Gamble The Scoop

the layoffs as a combination of expense cutting and trimming of unprofitable ventures. Discussing the reorganization, Pepper commented to The Wall Street Journal: “I saw it being the most important thing we’ve done in the company, if not ever, certainly for generations. In an organizational change that was designed to get real clarity around decision making…that also argued for very clearly one person at the helm.” In the end, however, it appears that one person will be Lafley. Jager left the company suddenly in mid-2001, after just 17 months in the captain’s chair. His strategies – unifying brand names worldwide, scattershot launches of new products in hopes of finding the next big seller – had not been successful, and sales of even the best brands were stagnant. Lafley, a quiet and unassuming figure compared to so many spotlight-hogging CEOs, took the company in hand when it was losing focus. Focus, he saw, was the key: Identify P&G’s core brands (the company currently has 12 that bring in $1 billion or more annually) and get as much profit as possible out of them.

New products: looking for the magic bullet Beyond tinkering with corporate structure, P&G has also sought to bring back the good old days when it created whole new product categories, such as disposable diapers with Pampers and fabric softener with Downy. If successful, such moves can bring in billions, although one analyst told The Wall Street Journal that doing so is “like finding a needle in a hay stack.” For instance, the soap giant has found that its $11.6 billion Fabric and Home Care category (the company’s second-largest revenue generator) is a mature area; the unit grew just 1 percent in 2002.

Febreze on its way Procter & Gamble, the diligent consumer products giant, is looking for an entire new home cleansing category. The company is now targeting not the $4 billion laundry market (of which the company holds a 51 percent share), but the entire $10 billion clothing and fabric cleansing market. P&G hopes that the “fabric refresher” category could jump to sales of $1 billion in the next five to 10 years. One promising attempt has been the testing of Febreze, a spray used to eliminate odors. After a disappointing market test, the company nearly canned further testing of Febreze until Kerry Clark, then president of the North America laundry products business, noticed that Febreze had a knot of huge fans. Upon interviewing the Febreze enthusiasts,

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P&G learned that they were not using Febreze on clothing, as the company had intended, but on carpets, curtains and pets. The company also discovered that some consumers believed that Febreze, originally packaged in a kitchencounter like bottle, would be too harsh on fabrics, and switched the packaging to a smaller, friendlier bottle. P&G brand marketing geniuses also redesigned the package label to emphasize the safety of using Febreze and to communicate a wider variety of uses for the freshener. But P&G hasn’t ignored its core laundry products – it has tweaked Tide with a “mountain spring” scent, after discovering that some consumers preferred a “high impact” laundry smell.

Boosting pharmaceuticals P&G is also trying to muscle its way into the lucrative pharmaceutical industry. Even with popular items such as Pepto-Bismol and Nyquil, the company’s $500 million business ranks well below its competitors in worldwide drug and other health-care sales. In April 1998, P&G scored a victory when the FDA approved risedronate, its drug for the treatment of Paget’s bone disease. The disease, which weakens bones, afflicts around 3 percent of people over 55. P&G anticipates that the product could bring the company as much as $1 billion in sales. With this figure in mind, the company has struck a co-marketing agreement with Aventis Pharma AG. By March 2000, Actonel (risedronate’s brand name) had received approval in several countries for the treatment of post-menopausal osteoporosis. Approvals continue to roll in (Japan approved the drug in January 2002), and studies completed late in 2002 have shown that risedronate increases bone density and reduces the risk of vertebral and other fractures in post-menopausal women by 70 percent.

Running with Olean One not-so-bright spot has been olestra, a fat-substitute that P&G markets under the name of Olean. Olestra, a soy-based product used largely to produce fat-free snack foods, has suffered numerous setbacks, including loud protest from consumer groups, condemnation by Harvard nutritionists, and an FDA labeling program that requires Olestra products to bear the warning that olestra may cause “abdominal cramping and loose stools.” The FDA has declared olestra safe for consumption, although the labeling requirements seem to have scared many consumers off. P&G, meanwhile, has promoted olestra through a line extension of fat-free Pringles, emphasizing that the potato snacks are as tasty with olestra as without. So far, P&G seems to have

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a hit with fatless Pringles; volume of Pringles sales has risen steadily since August 1997. However, the company appears willing to cut its losses; in February 2002, P&G sold its Cincinnati olestra plant to Twin Rivers Technologies. Twin Rivers will continue to operate the plant and supply olestra to P&G.

International expansion North America is P&G’s largest market, with $21.2 billion of the company’s 2002 sales coming from the U.S. and Canada. And P&G continues to grow in its home: unit volume increased 7 percent in fiscal 2002. Procter & Gamble execs like to point out that while half their business comes from North America, only 5 percent of the world’s population lives there. The company expects and hopes for its largest growth in coming years, percentage-wise, to come in emerging markets, especially Eastern Europe, China and the southern cone of South America. In 1993, for the first time in the company’s history, more than half of sales came from outside of the U.S. P&G’s increasingly global strategies take many forms. In China, for example, P&G has taken the uncharacteristic step of running ads that feature no particular product, but rather develop the company’s overall image. “Consumers do care about which makes the product,” P&G’s Yvonne Pei commented to The Wall Street Journal, “if the company has a good image, they trust the product.” Apparently, the song that accompanies the advertisements takes up the refrain “the dreams of the last generation are the fruit of the next generation.” Meanwhile in Latin America, P&G is concentrating less on dreams and fruit, and more on lobbying against unfair business practices. P&G, whose business in Latin America represents only about 6 percent of its global totals, has had to play catch-up to rivals like Colgate-Palmolive and Unilever that have snapped up significant market shares. To this end, P&G has aggressively pursued the acquisition of international companies, most recently adding three laundry detergent brands from Brazil-based Bombril S.A. in 1996. Acquiring companies hasn’t been its only strategy, however. P&G has also taken advantage of the tightening anti-trust law climate in many Latin American countries. For example, The Wall Street Journal reports that P&G helped convince the Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Economica, Brazil’s anti-monopoly commission, to block Colgate’s acquisition of a local brand. In Argentina, P&G contacted regulators to accuse Unilever of sabotaging P&G’s release of its laundry detergent called Ariel. The company alleges that Unilever has ties to Ariel del Plata SA, a local toilet seat manufacturer that

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introduced television advertisements featuring its distinguished products along with close ups of derrieres and a voice-over that repeats “Ariel, Ariel, Ariel.” On a more positive note, P&G entered an alliance in January 2002 with TechnoServe, a non-profit organization devoted to building businesses in developing countries. P&G has provided $1.5 million to help small-scale coffee growers in Latin America.

P&G’s media agenda P&G has always led the field in the use of new forms of media for marketing. The company first grasped the intimacy of radio, and later applied the same techniques as television emerged, creating whole genres in support of products. The Internet, however, seems to have stumped the world’s largest advertiser – only 0.4 percent of P&G’s total advertising budget is devoted to online endeavors. To overcome its uncertainty, in August 1998, P&G invited 400 executives, some from competitors, to a two-day conference on how to use the Internet. The conference covered such issues as the dearth of slogans created on the new medium, and the general failure of banner advertisements. Possible solutions included pop-ups and interstitial ads (new concepts at the time, but they appear to have caught on). The problem, of course, is that many of Procter’s products are “commodity products,” fairly mundane products like toilet paper and cooking oil, which need the magic of a widespread marketing campaign to differentiate them. While Internet advertising is a superb medium for direct-to-consumer marketing, it is a poor way to build an overarching brand image – something Procter & Gamble needs to do with its products. As such, Procter & Gamble appears to have pulled back from the Internet as an advertising medium, concentrating instead on advertising through association. In July 2002, P&G teamed with G4, a cable TV network devoted to computer and video gaming of all stripes, to launch Cheat! Pringles Gamers Guide, a half-hour weekly show offering tips for gamers to improve their playing performance. Back in TV land, P&G has also teamed up with its cohorts to address their advertising role in the face of the changing content of today’s programming. The coalition, known as the Forum for Responsible Advertising, met recently in New York, and included P&G, Johnson & Johnson, The Coca-Cola Co., Sears Roebuck & Co. and Ford Motor Co. P&G spokesperson Gretchen Briscoe articulated the Forum’s goals in comments to The Wall Street Journal. “We want access to high-quality, family friendly programming that Visit Vault at www.vault.com for insider company profiles, expert advice, career message boards, expert resume reviews, the Vault Job Board and more.

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Procter & Gamble The Scoop

attracts a mass audience,” she said, adding: “It’s going to take a collective industry effort.”

Using marketing strategies to improve the gender balance In recent years, P&G has been recognized for its commitment to women in the workplace in such publications as Fortune, Working Mother, Working Woman, The Wall Street Journal and others. It wasn’t always this way. As recently as 1992, only 5 percent of the companies’ vice presidents and general managers in advertising and brand management – the mainstay of Procter & Gamble’s business – were women. John Pepper himself admitted to The Wall Street Journal, “There have been meetings where you look around at 30 people in the room, and they’re all men.” A study conducted in 1991 revealed to the company that two-thirds of good performers who left the company were women and, contrary to company assumptions, were not leaving for family reasons, but rather to take jobs elsewhere. To stop the talent flight, P&G applied some of its own marketing expertise to the problem, introducing “products” such as mentoring programs and benefits packages designed to keep women at the company. To promote these products, the company launched internal “ad campaigns,” featuring videos in which senior P&G women explain the advantages of staying at the company. For now, the effort seems to be paying off. The number of women general managers, for example, had risen to 31 percent as of September 1998. In a May 2001 address to the company, CEO Lafley noted the improvements the company had made in gender balance: “We now have nearly 300 women at the director and associate director levels, which ensure us a strong talent stream to fill future officer-level positions. There are now 40 women at the vice-president or general manager level in our company. And today, four of our corporate officers are women. This represents real progress. In 1990, there were no women corporate officers at P&G, and only 6 at the VP/GM level.” On the other hand, the heads of the company are still overwhelmingly male: just two of 18 directors and three of 36 top executives listed in the P&G 2002 annual report are women.

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Procter & Gamble

Organization CEO’s Bio A.G. Lafley: Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive As would be expected of a company that stresses loyalty and internal promotion, Procter & Gamble has a veteran employee at its head. New leader Alan G. (A.G.) Lafley, a member of the company since 1977, took over the president and chief-exec roles in 2000 from Durk Jager, who himself replaced John E. Pepper in 1999. Lafley was elected chairman in April 2002, completing the corporate Triple Crown after Pepper stepped down from the board. Procter & Gamble has found new life under Lafley’s leadership; since his ascension, P&G net sales have climbed 3 percent (4 percent before figuring in unfavorable exchange rates), and earnings growth in the individual business units is up, ranging from 11 percent (Fabric and Home Care) to 34 percent (Health Care). The company’s stock price has climbed 40 percent since Lafley assumed command. A native of Keene, N.H., Lafley is P&G’s 11th president and CEO. A graduate of Hamilton College with a degree in History, he holds a Harvard MBA as well. After a 5-year term with the U.S. Navy, he joined P&G in 1977 in the Marketing department. He worked his way up through several positions in P&G’s laundry and cleaning business before being named group vice president in 1992. In 1995, Lafley became the executive vice president for Asia. In 1999, he was named president of P&G’s global Beauty Care business and of North American market development. North America business achieved record net sales during his tenure. He implemented innovations in beauty products and marketing, bringing fresh growth to P&G’s Hair Care business, especially billion-dollar brand Pantene.

Key Officers Bruce L. Byrnes: Vice Chairman, President of Global Beauty & Feminine Care and Global Health Care

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Procter & Gamble Organization

R. Kerry Clark: Vice Chairman, President of Global Market Development & Business Operations Richard L. Antoine: Global Human Resources Officer G. Gilbert Cloyd: Chief Technology Officer Clayton C. Daley Jr.: Chief Financial Officer Stephen N. David: Chief Information Officer, Business-to-Business Officer James J. Johnson: Chief Legal Officer (General Counsel)

Ownership Procter & Gamble is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (its stock ticker symbol is PG). A partnership for its first 53 years, it incorporated in 1890. Current and retired P&G employees own about 25 percent of the company.

Business Units Baby, Feminine and Family Care This euphemistic segment is where customers turn for cleaning up after biology. Brands include Pampers and Luvs diapers, Puffs facial tissue, Charmin toilet tissue, Bounty paper towels, Tampax tampons and the Always line of feminine hygiene products. The unit’s sales in 2002 totaled $11.9 billion, making it the company’s largest segment.

Fabric and Home Care This former company leader has fallen to the No. 2 spot with $11.6 billion in sales. Major products include the laundry detergents Tide, Cheer, Bold and Era; fabric softeners Bounce and Downy; Dryel home dry-cleaning care; Joy, Cascade and Ivory dish soaps; Mr. Clean and Swiffer floor care; and Febreze fabric deodorizer.

Beauty Care The products that started it all. Since introducing Ivory soap in 1879, Procter & Gamble has been the nation’s soap leader. By 1890, the company was 12

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Procter & Gamble Organization

selling more than 30 different types of soap. These days, P&G also makes Head & Shoulders shampoo; Noxzema and Oil of Olay skin care products; Max Factor cosmetics; Clairol and Pantene hair products; and Secret deodorant.

Health Care Favorite brand names include Crest toothpaste, Metamucil, Fixodent denture adhesive, Pur water filters, Vicks cold medicines (including NyQuil) and Pepto Bismol antacid. Some may find it entertaining that this unit is also responsible for Iams and Eukanuba pet food and products. P&G has formed alliances with Aventis SA, Glaxo-SmithKline and Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Regneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to produce prescription drugs as well.

Food & Beverage Currently the smallest unit in P&G, with $3.8 billion in 2002 sales. Major products include Folgers coffee, Hawaiian Punch, Pringles potato chips and Sunny Delight.

Major Product/Brands Baby, Feminine and Family Care Products • • • • • • • •

Pampers Luvs Charmin Bounty Puffs Alldays Always Tampax

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Procter & Gamble Organization

Fabric and Home Care Products • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Tide Downy Gain Cascade Cheer Bold Swiffer Bounce Dash Dawn Joy Febreze Era Dreft Mr. Clean Ivory Dish

Beauty Care Products • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Pantene Olay Head & Shoulders Cover Girl Clairol Max Factor Hugo Boss Secret Zest Safeguard Vidal Sassoon Old Spice Pert Ivory Sure Camay Laura Biagiotti Noxzema Giorgio

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Health Care Products • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Iams Eukanuba Crest Asacol Actonel Vicks Vicks NyQuil Metamucil Fixodent Scope Pepto-Bismol Didronel Macrobid PUR ThermaCare Dantrium

Food & Beverage Products • • • • • •

Folgers Hawaiian Punch Pringles Sunny Delight Millstone Torengos

Locations United States Cincinnati, Ohio (World Headquarters): About 15,000 of P&G’s 102,000 worldwide employees work in Cincinnati. In addition to its downtown corporate offices, P&G facilities in the Cincinnati area include three manufacturing plants and five research centers. Baltimore, Md. (Headquarters for Cosmetics & Fragrances division): This location includes corporate offices, a plant and a research center. Norwich, N.Y.: This location includes a research center.

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Procter & Gamble Organization

Procter & Gamble has about 20 sales offices and manufacturing plants around the country.

International Procter & Gamble has on-the-ground operations in about 70 countries. A little more than half of the company’s employees work overseas.

In Latin America • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia Costa Rica Dominican Republic El Salvador Guatemala Jamaica Mexico Peru Puerto Rico Venezuela

In Europe, the Middle East, and Africa • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Austria Belgium Czechoslovakia Egypt Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Kenya Lebanon Morocco Netherlands Nigeria

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• • • • • • • •

Poland Portugal Saudi Arabia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom

In Asia • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Australia China Hong Kong India Indonesia Japan Korea Malaysia New Zealand Pakistan Philippines Russia Singapore Taiwan Thailand

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VAULT CAREER GUIDES GET THE INSIDE SCOOP ON TOP JOBS “Cliffs Notes for Careers” – FORBES MAGAZINE

Vault guides and employer profiles have been published since 1997 and are the premier source of insider information on careers.

“To get the unvarnished scoop, check out Vault” – SMARTMONEY MAGAZINE

Each year, Vault surveys and interviews thousands of employees to give readers the inside scoop on industries and specific employers to help them get the jobs they want.

Procter & Gamble

Vault Newswire November 2002: Glad to make your acquaintance Procter & Gamble and Clorox Co. announced an agreement in principle for a joint venture in food wraps and trash bags under the Clorox’s Glad and GladWare trademarks. Initial arrangements have P&G owning a 10 percent stake in the venture, with an option to purchase an additional 10 percent.

November 2002: Whodunit? Procter & Gamble expanded its Through-Air Drying patent infringement suit this month to include Potlatch, another paper products competitor. As with its suit against Georgia-Pacific, P&G claims that Potlatch hired technical experts away from the company to exploit their knowledge of trade secrets.

September 2002: The quicker patent pickerupper P&G sued rival Georgia-Pacific for allegedly stealing a manufacturing patent for paper towels. According to P&G, Georgia-Pacific hired a technical expert away from the company in July and used his knowledge of the Through-Air Drying process, used to make P&G products Bounty and Charmin, to duplicate his efforts for his new employer. Georgia-Pacific claims the allegations are fabrications.

July 2002: Hair care, both wet and dry P&G found common ground in American scalps with Panasonic. The two companies enter into a licensing agreement to market and sell a new line of ionic-technology hairdryers under the Pantene Pro-V brand name.

May 2002: The divorce turns ugly Procter & Gamble sued former partner The Coca-Cola Company for patent infringement. P&G claims Coke used P&G technology to add calcium to its Minute Maid juice drinks. The tech in question had been exclusively licensed to PepsiCo subsidiary Tropicana.

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Procter & Gamble Vault Newswire

April 2002: Dear John John Pepper stepped down as chairman of the board and president and was replaced by CEO A.G. Lafley.

February 2002: Cutting out the fat Procter & Gamble sold the olestra production plant in Cincinnati, Ohio to Twin Rivers Technologies for an undisclosed sum. Twin Rivers will continue to operate the facility, supplying olestra to P&G and other customers.

November 2001: Hair we go again P&G acquires top selling Clairol hair products business from Bristol-Myers Squibb. The deal was worth $5 billion dollars.

October 2001: Smucking around with stocks P&G’s Jif peanut butter and Crisco shortening were spun off to shareholders, then immediately resold to The J.M. Smucker Company. Shareholders received about $1 billion in Smucker stock, or about 53 percent of the company.

October 2001: Shooting star Procter & Gamble sold its Comet cleanser trademark and North America retail business to Prestige Brands International for undisclosed terms. P&G retained the marketing rights in Europe, as well as the professional line in North America.

September 2001: Irreconcilable differences P&G and Coke, unable to reach an agreement on how their joint venture will operate, will go their separate ways. The companies had tried but failed to amend their plans in August.

March 2001: P&G steps up reorganization plans The company announced the next step in its plans to revitalize performance. These include streamlining of overhead and manufacturing costs as well as a 9 percent workforce cut, or 9,600 jobs. Two-thirds of the cuts come from nonmanufacturing positions.

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February 2001: A meeting of giants Procter & Gamble and The Coca-Cola Company announced plans to form a joint venture. The new business was to develop and market juice drinks and other food products. The companies expected $4.2 billion in annual sales.

January 2001: We don’t do floors Procter & Gamble divested itself of cleaning products Cinch and Spic and Span, selling its interest to a marketing group that would become The Spic and Span Company. P&G holds onto ownership of Professional Line Spic and Span, the institutional adjunct to the product.

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Procter & Gamble

Our Survey Says Old, but trying to get younger… As would be expected of a company whose logo contains a reference to the original 13 colonies, Procter & Gamble is not the hippest of work environments, although we hear the winds of change have blown through Cincinnati in recent years. One employee describes the company as “very conservative.” “To fit,” he says, “you should be a typical yuppie, drive a Saab.” However, most other employees say the atmosphere is shifting. “The culture here is a bit on the conservative side, though it seems that the younger generation is changing that,” says one. “I am finding an emerging diversity of thought and dress. More and more men are finding it OK to keep their hair long or have an earring,” says another. “Obviously we’re still a somewhat conservative company. But there is more openness and acceptance of those who don’t fit the ‘traditional, conservative’ look or views.”

…and more casual In keeping with its move away from a conservative atmosphere, dress for most employees is now “business casual” or “business appropriate.” “Dress code has been suit and tie for many years, but recently changed to business casual, which, by the way, is a shock to many people,” reports one employee. Those in sales management wear suits when meeting clients, and upper management is often also dressed formally, but for most, it’s relaxed fit slacks, collared shirts and skirts (no T-shirts and jeans).

Big, and struggling to act small Accounts of how P&G operates run the gamut from “surprisingly nimble and non-bureaucratic” to “extremely structured and hierarchical,” but enough employees complain about its being overly bureaucratic to suggest that the description, while perhaps not unilateral, is far from a fluke. “What I did not like was that the company was large and sometimes very bureaucratic, which meant that change sometimes happened very slowly and that entrepreneurship was sometimes stifled,” says one former international brand manager. Within brand management, teamwork and communication is stressed – 50 percent of a brand manager’s evaluation is based on the development of employees in the brand. Most employees speak glowingly about their treatment by superiors, saying their bosses take real interest in their Visit Vault at www.vault.com for insider company profiles, expert advice, career message boards, expert resume reviews, the Vault Job Board and more.

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Procter & Gamble Our Survey Says

development and treat their opinions with real respect. But bureaucracy can rear its ugly head when it comes to interdepartmental movement. “Many of the functions (outside of Brand and Finance) do not have the performance incentives we have. As a result, they can be bureaucratic and will use Brand’s failure to follow procedure or guidelines as an excuse,” says another employee. But within Brand, the company can also be overly stiff. “It’s definitely bureaucratic, it’s very difficult to get things done at P&G,” says a former assistant brand manager. “Things just move at a very slow pace.” That former employee says that when a new idea is presented, it is sent by memo to a superior and then “niggled” – sent back with comments in the margin. The memo is rewritten and sent to the next higher level, and then “niggled” again. And so on. “It’s a pretty stifling place,” he says.

Was white and male; moving quickly to greater diversity Procter & Gamble, employees nearly unanimously say, is making impressive strides to recruit and advance more minorities and women, although there is also the tacit or explicit admission that this was not always the case. “In a lot of areas, minorities and women have a great chance of getting promoted fast since the company is trying to change its traditional conservative corporate atmosphere,” reports an employee. P&G advertises itself as an employer in publications such as Minority Engineer and The Black Collegian. In 1996, the company was honored with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s first corporate affirmative action award for its tripling of women and minorities at the director level and above during the previous five years. Since then, the company has received numerous awards and plenty of recognition for its commitment to gender and ethnic balance. One employee describes a Halloween Party he had with fellow employees: “We had friends there from Iran, India, Ukraine, Israel, Canada, Romania, as well as from all over the United States.” With respect to the status of women in the company, as one employee points out, “most of our consumers buying our products are women, and so we’re very in tune with what they want.” For the past decade, P&G has been voted one of the 100 best companies for working women by Working Mother magazine. Although only one of P&G’s top 15 officers is female, many employees report that the middle and upper-middle management ranks are filled with women working their way up the corporate ladder. A third of the company’s brand managers, and half of its marketing managers, are women. “I was one of four males in a department of 28. Both marketing directors were 24

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female,” says a former assistant brand manager. “My last three bosses and their bosses have all been women,” says another employee. And yet another says: “I have not had a boss who was male. Even my director, at a high level, is a female.” The company has, and encourages involvement in, women and minority support groups.

The perky city In Cincinnati, the company rents out an amusement park every summer for employees and their families to enjoy for free. In the winter, it does the same for events such as David Copperfield, the Harlem Globetrotters or ice-skating shows. Sales reps get a company car and keep their frequent flyer miles. There’s also a company gym, holiday gift packs and coupons for P&G products. “I haven’t bought detergent or soap for nine years!” says one employee. And the perks aren’t confined to the P&G campuses. “All kinds of perks all over town,” a central office employee reports. “P&G owns Cincinnati.” P&G also was one of the first companies to offer “FlexComp,” which gives employees a wide range of healthcare and other insurance choices. And P&G also pays out another 2 percent to 4 percent of an employee’s salary (above base pay) that workers can use to pay for their benefits. But by far the most impressive perk P&G offers is its company profit-sharing retirement plan. Initiated in 1887 to address labor unrest, the program is the longest-running profit-sharing plan in the country. Under the plan, the company automatically kicks in stock worth from 5 percent to 25 percent of a participant’s annual base pay, with the maximum company contribution coming after 20 years of service. The plan is considered a real gem because, unlike the pension programs at many companies, it’s not a matching program: P&G makes the contributions above base salary regardless of what the employee does. “It’s automatic, you don’t even have to think about it,” according to one employee. “I’ve had job offers with higher salaries but have never been able to make the long-term math pay out over what I can reasonably expect here,” another employee says. Participants in the plan are fully vested after five years of service. Although the program provides longtime employees with substantial retirement security, it is not necessarily such a bonus for itinerant workers. “My honest opinion is that it’s not any better than other well-respected companies, except if you stay a long time (over 10 years),” one employee says. “It’s really skewed in favor of longevity,” says another. “All you really know is all the folks who have been there for a while go on and on about how much they’re Visit Vault at www.vault.com for insider company profiles, expert advice, career message boards, expert resume reviews, the Vault Job Board and more.

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getting.” That person, a two-year Procter employee, describes his profitsharing receipts as “miniscule, a couple thousand dollars a year.”

Who needs money when you live in Cincy and have that profit-sharing plan? Talking about salary is more taboo than Satan-worshipping at P&G. “P&G is notoriously hush-hush about salary,” says one employee. “The one thing that is absolutely taboo at Procter & Gamble is salary. Do not have a discussion about it unless you are absolutely sure they will not tell your boss you had it,” warns another. The one thing employees do know about each other’s salaries is that they do not change with location in the United States: “If you move from Kansas City to New York, you’re not going to be making any more,” says one slightly peeved metropolitan employee. Those in Cincinnati like to point out that the low cost of living there, combined with the company’s policy on geographic uniformity when it comes to compensation, is a plus for them. “Keep in mind that $40,000 in Cincinnati is comparable to 70 to 80K in San Francisco or New York,” one says. Overall, employees give tepid reviews of their salaries. “Pay is higher than average, but not astounding. You can probably get a higher salary in high-tech or consulting,” says one. “They hope the opportunities and outstanding benefits will make up for the average pay,” reports another. The final conclusion? “You’ll never be rich, but very comfortable.”

A reputation 99.44 percent pure In the consumer goods industry, P&G’s reputation is unparalleled. “It is a [Fortune-ranked] company and known worldwide. It is a household name and so are all of its products. On a scale of 1-10, it is a 10,” one employee says. The same can be said about the company’s reputation for training managers. “I believe it is the best marketing school in the world,” says another respondent. Although most employees who work at the company stay there, Procter & Gamble is a definite resume boost. “I was told that I should not consider interning at P&G if I had no real intention of living in Cincy,” says one intern. “False. A summer at P&G means a lot to other brand companies.” One former employee in P&G’s sales division reports that although he did not feel as challenged as he had hoped: “in the end… what seemed to be the best part about the job was just having the name on my resume. Telling an admissions 26

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counselor at a business school that you worked for P&G automatically carries a great deal of weight.” Moreover, employees take equal pride in P&G’s reputation as an ethical and philanthropic company. “It is a company with deep integrity, a company you never have to worry about defending to your family or friends,” one says. “Never in my 23 years have I ever come close to compromising my personal integrity for the company’s sake,” according to another. “We are excellent corporate citizens in the communities where we have operations.”

The cream of the crop, the pearl of the oyster, the Oil of the Olay Procter & Gamble says they only hire the best and brightest – and they mean it. Virtually all employees remark that they are surrounded by, as one employee said, “the cream of the crop… former military officers, captains of college sports teams, fraternity and sorority officers, award winners, highest GPAs in college.” Many employees say the competency of co-workers is a major plus when considering working at P&G: “Everyone is very talented and intelligent… and pulls their weight.” “I’ve known many people at many companies, and I’ve had close friends leave P&G and go elsewhere. But invariably, they’ve told me that although they enjoy their jobs, the quality of the people they work with is below what they were used to at P&G,” one 20-year veteran says. “We do hire the very best. I’ve been in the hiring business for many years, and I can guarantee you that.” This doesn’t just mean employees are good at pouring over data in their offices. Success at P&G is much easier if you’re a “people person.” The company emphasizes many attributes with its “What Counts Factors,” but initiative and leadership and critical thinking seem to be the most important. A brand manager “defines what success looks like,” one employee says. Of course, that P&G is so selective has its drawbacks. “Since there are so many talented people, it’s hard to move up. There are 20 great people trying for one promotion,” one employee reports.

The up-or-out policy in Brand The talent of the employees becomes a major issue when it comes to Brand, and that department’s up-or-out policy. While the evaluation policy (50 percent of a manager’s evaluation depends on development of employees) promotes up-down cooperation, the up-or-out policy promotes lateral Visit Vault at www.vault.com for insider company profiles, expert advice, career message boards, expert resume reviews, the Vault Job Board and more.

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competition. “You do get a lot of help from the manager. I don’t think you get as much help from your peers,” according to a former Brand employee. But that former employee says although he saw politicking and brown-nosing because of this competition, and “people are very much aware of their place in the organization,” he did not see any malicious undermining, because Brand employees accept the competition as a fact of life. “It just doesn’t happen. It’s not permitted,” he says about whether a brand employee could stay at one position for their entire career. “It’s the way the organization works.”

No slave-driving here For those with management-track positions, workload at P&G is heavy, but not as intense as in consulting and investment-banking fields. One employee explains, “Being in Cincinnati generally made the corporate culture embrace family-work balance. I didn’t see the slave-driving at P&G that you see on Wall Street.” Although the official workday in the corporate offices is 7.5 hours, most employees at P&G’s downtown offices pull between 45 to 55 hours a week. However, many comment that the hours are fairly flexible: “Some people even come in at 7 or 7:30 a.m. and leave at 3:30 p.m.” Of course, hours can intensify: one assistant brand manager reports working 60+ hours a week for two or three weeks while preparing an annual plan. Treks to the office on weekends to catch up are common for those higher up on the ladder. But even when long hours are required, employees say, it is not because long hours are an ingrained part of the company’s culture. “Ultimately, you will be judged on how good a job you do, not how many hours you keep,” says a P&G market researcher.

I’m living on the air in Cincinnati Opinions of Cincinnati vary. Some employees like the low crime rate and free-flowing traffic; others complain that the city is conservative, lacks diversity, and has crappy restaurants. Interns generally have a great time over the summer, in part because the company plans social activities such as riverboat cruises, happy hours and trips to Cincinnati Reds games. For fulltime employees, P&G has the obligatory activities. “There are a lot of sports leagues within the company which is a great way to meet other young people,” says one employee. While P&G has been cognizant of making life comfortable for families (they work hard to try to get spouses to both work for the company), it is only recently considering the needs of the young and 28

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single. Says one former employee, “Cincinnati as a town is a pretty rough place to be for very long if you’re single.”

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Procter & Gamble

Getting Hired Overview of the Hiring Process Procter & Gamble recruits for its management-track jobs at most prestigious business schools and undergraduate colleges. It also prefers to hire through its internships rather than directly into the company. Internships last about 12 weeks in the summer. The company asks that applications be submitted by January for the internships, as they try to fill them by March. Recruiting schedules, and in some instances P&G contacts who are alumni of certain schools, are posted on the company’s career center web pages. The screening process is very selective. It usually involves several rounds of interviews and always includes a multi-page Management Application Form and a company-designed multiple-choice test designed to test critical thinking skills. Procter & Gamble is primarily concerned with the character and personality traits of its hires, and their thinking skills, and these two tests are designed to gauge these. Immediately available job listings are also posted on the web site, although these are primarily for sales or support-staff positions. For its brand management department, Procter & Gamble says it requires a master’s degree and prefers an MBA – though outstanding undergraduates are also hired into the department. For the finance/accounting path, an accounting undergraduate degree is required, or an MBA finance or accounting major. In the technical departments, engineering or computer science degrees are often required. For other departments, such as human resources, or customer business development management, Procter accepts candidates from all majors. As much as it looks at a candidate’s academic background, Procter & Gamble stresses certain personality traits and other skills: • an outstanding record of leadership • strong verbal and written communication skills • strong critical thinking ability • the ability to innovate • the ability to work as part of a team

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Procter & Gamble Getting Hired

This is not just company hoopla: Many employees say leadership and initiative are not only integral to getting hired, but to being successful in the company. “They’re not looking for ‘yes’ people, but want you to challenge and question,” says one. “Don’t wait for people to tell you what to do. Trust your instincts… and make things happen,” says another.

To Apply Cover letters and resumes can be e-mailed to [email protected]. They can be snail-mailed to: Procter & Gamble Recruiting Services Center P.O. Box 599, TN-4 Department WWW Cincinnati, OH 45201-0599 Conventional and e-mail addresses for applications to Procter’s many overseas offices can be found at the company’s career website, located at www.pgcareers.com. Here are a few major ones:

In Canada Corporate Recruiting Procter & Gamble Inc. P.O. Box 355, Station A Toronto, Ontario M5W 1C5 P&G Canada does not currently accept applications via e-mail.

In Japan P&G Japan Internships 17, Koyo-cho Naka 7-chome Higashinada-ku Kobe 658 Japan [email protected]

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In the U.K. and Ireland Procter & Gamble Corporate Recruitment Manager, The Heights Brooklands Weybridge, Surrey KT 13 0XP [email protected]

In Germany Procter & Gamble GmbH Corporate Recruiting Department 65823 Schwalbach am Taunus [email protected]

Preparing for the Interview For most management-track employees, Procter & Gamble has a three-round interview process and a test, although some outstanding candidates only go through two interviews. Again, these employees are primarily culled from recruiting at prestigious schools and are introduced to the company through the internship program. The first two interview rounds generally take place on a school campus, and are given by either an alumnus of the school at which P&G is recruiting, or by a member of the company’s human resources department. The last interview is a “panel interview,” in front of two or three P&G managers. The questions at each of these interviews are essentially identical. The interview process can take several weeks. Despite the many rounds, the interview process is not especially nervewracking, employees report. “They make it relaxed, they make you feel comfortable,” according to one employee. “There’s never any point where they try to do a psychology part and try to stress you out.” The critical-thinking test, called the P&GMAT, is given before the final round. It’s a pass/fail multiple-choice test similar to the GMAT that asks testtakers to find the solutions to real-life business situations. The test won’t not a problem for students at prestigious undergraduate and business schools, we hear. And because they have the test, P&G interviewers do not spend a great deal of time asking applicants about grades during the interview process. Visit Vault at www.vault.com for insider company profiles, expert advice, career message boards, expert resume reviews, the Vault Job Board and more.

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Procter & Gamble Getting Hired

Employees also fill out a Management Application Form (MAF), which some employees refer to as a personality/psychology questionnaire. Although it is a subjective test with supposedly no “right” answers, keep in mind what Procter looks for in an employee. This questionnaire, one employee says, is also used to learn about an applicant’s probable loyalty to P&G.

Questions to Expect The basis of Procter & Gamble’s recruitment and evaluation for managers are what it calls the “What Counts Factors.” The most important of these, employees say, are leadership, initiative and follow through (execution), and critical thinking. Others include teamwork, communication, creativity and prioritization. The interviews for P&G are geared entirely toward determining whether a candidate possesses these characteristics. “There was not a single specific marketing question,” one employee says. “You won’t be asked about marketing case studies,” says another. In many cases, employees say they already knew what questions would be asked at the interviews. “It’s extremely predictable. They tell you what they’re going to ask you, then they ask you,” reports one employee. That employee was asked to write short essays after his first interview. In his second interview, he was asked to talk about his answers. Another employee says she was given the MAF before her first interview, and that the test essentially approximated the questions she was asked. 1.Give me a recent example where you exceeded expectations. Remember, Procter & Gamble stresses initiative. So a good prepared answer won’t just be, “Well, I had been averaging 10 points a game, and I scored 15,” but some way in which your action went outside the boundaries of what was expected: creating your own combined major in school, forming a new organization, etc. When given these questions, try to provide examples from your entire life, including high school, junior high, even elementary school. 2. Why did you decide to go back to school? or Why did you decide to start working immediately after undergraduate school? This is an example of a “explain your decisions” type question that P&G likes to ask. Like the personality test, it is designed in part to gauge your commitment to the field, and by extension, the company itself.

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3. Which word best describes you? Choose a “What Counts Factor” and be prepared to give a few stories about why you think you are best characterized as a leader, or having initiative, etc. 4. Give me an example of when you had to use thinking and problem solving skills. One of the high-ranking “What Counts Factors,” this is not the easiest of traits to illustrate with a story, so you should prepare for this one. 5. Tell me about one of your activities during school and what you think you gained from it. Remember “What counts?” And don’t you forget it. 6. What is your definition of success? or Tell us about an experience that you think was successful. A brand manager is supposed to define success for his or her group. And, yes, we’re beating you over the head with this one. It’s worth noting that the “What Counts Factors” are called “Success Factors” on P&G’s Europe, Middle East and Africa Group website.

Questions to Ask Employees said that recruiters are looking for a demonstrated interest in the company. This means knowing the basic background info. “P&G is an easy company to find information on, so it makes you look unmotivated if you don’t have anything to talk about,” said one brand management intern. If you’ve read this report, you should be prepared, but here are some primers: 1. What types of courses can I take while at P&G? I’ve read a little about P&G College, but how will skills I pick up there help me to continue to grow? The company is proud of its P&G College, and its emphasis on training. Also, they are looking for employees who are motivated to keep learning. 2. If P&G’s pharmaceutical business grows as anticipated, does the company envision that it will deviate from its promote-from-within policy to gather talent experienced in that category? Knowing about the company’s plans to expand its presence in the drug industry is a must.

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Procter & Gamble Getting Hired

3. I understand that Procter expects to greatly increase its business in emerging markets. What opportunities and responsibilities does this afford? If you have any international expertise (fluency in foreign languages, travel, detailed knowledge of or experience with foreign markets), this is a good way to try and flaunt it. Many top managers at P&G spent time in international divisions (former CEO John Pepper was a general manager in Italy and a VP for the company’s European operations). A managing director in Europe said in a recent interview that “international mobility has always been a common feature of a career at P&G.” 4. How is P&G’s recent restructuring effort affecting management-level jobs? 5. For what other products does the company envision using olestra? Olestra is the chemical name; Olean is the brand name being used with fatfree Pringles. P&G is selling olestra to Frito-Lay and Nabisco for use in such products as Lays and Doritos. Consumer reaction is thus far mixed. While some consumers crow about being able to upsize their potato chip consumption, others complain the fake fat causes diarrhea and other bowel disruptions. 6. With so many options for consumers these days, and brand loyalty seemingly on the decline, what is P&G’s strategy for the 21st century to keep and attract customers?

Pay MBAs in Brand Management or Finance: $65,000 to $70,000, with about $12,000 signing bonus for former interns and a $6,000 signing bonus for an interns Undergrads on management tracks: $35,000 to $40,000 Summer internship: $1,000+ a week for MBAs; $500 a week for undergrads.

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Perks • Lucrative profit-sharing plan • Free products • Maternity leave (one year); flexible schedules that allow employees to reduce hours for five years to take care of young children • Health plan • Company car for field reps

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Procter & Gamble

On the Job Day in the Life Assistant Brand Manager, Brand Management 7:45 a.m.: Arrive at office. (“There’s no P&G parking lot, but there’s plenty of parking in downtown Cincinnati.”) 8:15 a.m.: Finish eating breakfast and reading paper at desk. (“It’s a cubicle in kind of an open bullpen area for each brand. The brand manager has an office.”) 8:30 a.m.: Check in with brand manager. (“You don’t meet with your manager daily, but my brand manager’s door is always open.”). 9:00 a.m.: Receive data needed for pricing study via fax, begin analyzing consumer response to recent markup. 10:00 a.m.: On the phone with advertising agency, checking to see when the storyboards for the new campaign will arrive. 10:15 a.m.: On the phone with the purchasing department, checking what types of paper can be used for a questionnaire to be inserted into packages. (“We have to make sure it’s attractive, so people will actually fill it out.”) 10:30 a.m.: Meet in conference room with financial analysts to receive more data for the pricing study. Go over their preliminary interpretations. 12:00 p.m.: Lunch with a colleague from the brand group for $3 or $4 at cafeteria. Choose from salad and sandwich bars, a pasta dish and several other hot entrees. (“It’s a pretty great cafeteria, the food was decent, it was subsidized.”) Or go out to eat if you’re afraid the food has Olean and your stomach won’t take it. (“There’s a good Chinese place, a good Thai place, there’s Skyline Chili a block away where you can get the 5-way,” a Cincinnati concoction that involves chili, onions, cinnamon and spaghetti.) 12:45 p.m.: Drive 15 minutes to a research center in the north of Cincinnati to meet with research and development staffers. (“What progress are we making in making a milder soap? How’s the color coming?”) 3:00 p.m.: Drive back to central office. Flash ID badge at 11-story old granite general offices, where most Brands are located. That office is connected by a

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Procter & Gamble On the Job

skywalk to two new glass 20-story tower-domes. (“They’re called the Dolly Parton towers by the locals.”) 3:15 p.m.: On the phone with customer development managers, set up meeting in the next couple of days. 3:30 p.m.: Work on pricing study more. Take notes for eventual presentation. 4:30 p.m.: Weekly meeting in floor conference room with brand group, including the brand manager. 4:50 p.m.: Make brief presentation to group about the questionnaire: how it will be distributed, what incentives will be included to promote responses. (“We’ll offer a prize drawing or something like that.”) 5:30 p.m.: On the phone with purchasing to order the questionnaire paper. 6:00 p.m.: Leave for home. (“It’s your discretion when you leave. You knew what you had to do, there was no one really watching. It was just more of a sense of ‘Get the job done.’”)

Job Descriptions Brand Manager, Brand Management Assistant brand managers and brand managers analyze all aspects of a brand’s sales and marketing. “Brand management is general management with an emphasis on marketing,” explains one employee. The majority of employees in brand management are recruited from MBA programs, and employees say the company is shifting away from employing brand managers without MBAs. The important thing to know about brand management is that it’s THE department for those looking to move high up in the company. “Brand management is Boss. I can’t recall anyone wanting to move from marketing to finance, but I do remember more than two cases where people wanted to move from finance to marketing,” says one employee. “I know of no general manager worldwide that reached that position without having to pass through the brand management department,” says another. Employees coming into the department (they always come in as assistant brand managers) can give preferences of what types of products they work with, but, explains one employee, matching company needs and employee desires is “an inexact science.”

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Projects might include • determining how a change in pricing would affect a product’s performance • developing direct-mail and other advertising campaigns • predicting market receptivity to new product concepts • packaging design • developing new product ideas • analyzing market research on focus groups Assistant brand managers are split into junior ABMs and senior ABMs. Junior ABMs are more responsible for promotions and market research; senior ABMs look more broadly at marketing campaigns and strategy.

Account Manager, Customer Business Development This is management, but out in the field and as a telecommuter in sales rather than at home offices and in marketing in Cincinnati. Many undergraduates starting out in the company with an eye on management enter through this department. The position involves meeting retailers to help them plan their marketing strategies. The account manager is focused on four major areas: • ensuring that a retailer has the right mix of products • working with the client to evaluate optimal pricing strategies • planning product promotions • advising on product placement on the shelves

Summer Internships Procter & Gamble’s internship programs are the best way to get started at the company. Says one MBA intern who is almost certain she will accept a company offer: “Summer internships almost always result in job offers. This summer, interns received their offers before they left P&G. During this past summer, the CEO stated that one of his long-term goals was to recruit brand people only from the intern pool.” Another MBA intern says she knew of no one in the program who did not receive an offer. Says a former undergraduate intern currently working for P&G, “It’s contingent on performance, but I knew that if you did well, you get an offer.”

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Procter & Gamble On the Job

Interns are given a surprising amount of responsibility. “Interns often get the most politically sensitive projects: to kill or not kill a brand; strategic focus of a brand,” says one former brand management intern. “These were not just make-work. These were real projects,” says another. Also, interns in Cincinnati have weekly lunches with high-level managers, perhaps even the CEO. “That was a fantastic experience,” says one former intern about the luncheons. Undergraduates entering their sophomore year to first-year graduate students can also apply for internships in a variety of other departments: Research & Development, Product Supply/Engineering, Customer Business Development, among others. The close to 500 interns are flown to Cincinnati – where about two thirds of them remain for the summer – for a one-day orientation which involves business presentations by company managers and a reception and dinner with the chairman and president. Customer business development interns stay an additional day for more seminars; these interns get to use a company car for the summer to travel to meet clients. Interns who stay in Cincinnati are provided housing. Projects for undergraduate interns vary from analyzing cleaning products in labs to planning display strategies with grocery store managers.

Department Descriptions Brand Management The main choice of the MBAs, brand management is, according to former CEO John Pepper, “an opportunity to manage a company within a company.” This department manages individual brands by gaining insight into its consumers and researching cultural trends. Brand managers develop promotions and other marketing strategies for their product. Brand managers in the United States are either in Cincinnati or Baltimore. This department, employees say, has an up-or-out policy.

Finance/Accounting Management Along with Brand Management, this department is one of the two most popular department choices of MBAs and those with management aspirations. With oversight of business decisions, finance and accounting professionals analyze accounting data to maximize long-term profits, cash flow, and return on investment. Although this is a management-track department, in order to move into the higher echelon of P&G, finance people 42

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need to spend some time in Brand or Marketing. Although concentrated in Cincinnati, Baltimore, and Norwich, N.Y., this department is spread out throughout the country.

Human Resources Internal transfers from other departments fill the vast majority of Human Resources positions at P&G. The department oversees recruiting, training, diversity, benefits, compensation and organization evaluation.

Management Information Systems Employees in Management Systems lead development and application of information and communication systems throughout the company. This department is filled by applicants with computer science or engineering backgrounds, and it is centered in Cincinnati.

Market Research Sort of a feeder into Brand Management, this department gauges market response to new product concepts, advertising campaigns and product changes.

Product Supply This large division is comprised of Manufacturing, Engineering, Purchases and Customer Services subdivisions. It is in charge of actually transforming raw materials to finished products, and delivering the products to customers.

Professional and Regulatory Service This department provides expertise in human and environmental safety and product regulatory issues, often working on obtaining licensing approval from the government.

Public Affairs Public Affairs handles communications with the media, government officials, community groups, shareholders and employees. The department also manages consumer relations.

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Procter & Gamble On the Job

Research and Development These are the guys with the white coats and goggles in the labs. Although product development gets the most press, this department is also responsible for developing new packaging and manufacturing processes. The department hosted a global R&D symposium in March 1998 that drew thousands of attendees.

Customer Business Development (Sales) Management Providing on-site consulting for Procter & Gamble throughout the world, this department identifies business-building opportunities and develops customer alliances. The most important thing to know about career paths at Procter & Gamble is that the company sticks to a promote-from-within policy. Therefore, the vast majority of new hires are at the entry levels. Because of this policy, career paths do not differ substantially for undergraduates and MBAs, although MBAs, of course, can expect to move faster initially. Employees described the career paths as fairly rigid, with the expected dues-paying and set paths that one would expect at a large and relatively conservative company. The second most important thing to know is that in brand management (but not other departments) P&G has a somewhat brutal up-or-out policy.

Career Paths Brand Management This department is becoming increasingly closed to those without MBAs. “Out of about 15 to 20 new brand people a year, maybe a couple are undergraduates,” one former assistant brand manager says. P&G employees entering Brand always start as junior assistant brand managers. If they move up the ladder, they will become go to a senior ABM in 12 to 15 months, a brand manager three or three-and-a-half years later. From there, it’s marketing director after five years and then category manager after five more years. This position is on the cusp of upper management, and can lead to a position as general manager of a region. If a Brand employee is not promoted within the timeframe the company has set up, they are placed on “special assignment,” one former employee reports. This means two months in an office with just a phone and a desk to find 44

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another job. This can happen at any level up to category manager, meaning it can happen to employees who have been with the company for 10 years or more. Needless to say, this creates a high attrition rate.

Finance and Accounting Ascension in either of these tracks leads to executive financial management. Entry level is as either a financial analyst or accountant. For accountants, the path goes: senior accountant, group manager, associate director, director, and then executive financial management. For financial analysts, the career path is as follows: manager, category financial manager, comptroller, and then executive financial management. Again, those with their eyes on being a top management need to spend time in Brand.

Sales Management The first promotion from account manager is to account executive. This position develops business plans with customers. After this, customer business employees often move to other company functions, such as Finance, Product Supply or Advertising.

Evaluations Annual evaluations for P&G employees are based on the company’s seven “What Counts Factors”: • initiative and follow-through • leadership skills • creativity and innovation • problem solving • working effectively with others • communication skills • priority setting Employees are rated quantitatively on these factors. Interns are evaluated once informally halfway through the summer, and then formally with the “What Counts Factors” at the end of their experience. For supervisors, evaluations are split into two parts: the business they oversee, and the people they oversee. In other words, half of their evaluation is based on how the people in their group develop.

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Procter & Gamble On the Job

Training Because Procter & Gamble emphasizes developing its employees and a promote-from-within policy, it is very proud of its training programs. In Cincinnati, there’s a building close to headquarters that is used for “P&G College,” with half-day to full-day courses on rating advertising, being more sensitive to diversity issues as a manager, etc. “When you’re in your first couple of years, you’re there maybe every other week,” says one brand employee. “Later, it’s maybe once a month.” There are about 20 students in each session, usually from the same function. Employees, in part because of the free sandwiches “students” get, welcome the sessions. Apparently the sandwiches are so good that P&G tells employees that going to the college to get some when it’s not your turn is grounds for firing. However, “I’ve never seen that happen,” one employee says. Outside of Cincinnati, training often takes the form of regional seminars taught worldwide by company executives who are experts in particular subject areas. “At Procter & Gamble, the most important thing is training,” said one former category manager in Asia.

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Procter & Gamble

Final Analysis If you’re good enough to land a job at Procter & Gamble – and you must be very good – then ask yourself if Procter & Gamble is what you want. Are you delighted at the prospect of slowly accruing benefits, steady but not stellar pay, and the prospect of moving to the Midwest? Do you want to live large, or live comfortably? Procter & Gamble is confident in its value and identity. And if you’re thinking about going into Brand Management, can you stomach the prospect of a “special assignment”? If the firm makes you an offer, it means they think you can fit in, not the other way around – despite their emphasis on innovation and creativity in thinking. P&G has set a tricky task for itself in the coming years, looking to simultaneously streamline operations and double sales. If they’re successful in their push into the pharmaceutical industry, emerging markets and new categories of foods with products such as Olean, there’ll be plenty of work and potential for advancement. As they say at P&G, as the market goes, so go your opportunities. Needless to say, don’t expect P&G to be going away anytime soon.

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Procter & Gamble

Recommended Reading Check out www.pg.com for the latest company press releases and product news. Some other articles to check out are: • “The Un-CEO,” Fortune, September 16, 2002 • “Why P&G’s Smile Is So Bright,” BusinessWeek, August 12, 2002 • “A Fresh Face,” Forbes, July 8, 2002 • “Using Rocket Science to Make Sugar Drinks,” Fortune, November 26, 2001 “Can Procter & Gamble Clean Up Its Act?” BusinessWeek, March 12, 2001

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