Few employers spend as much time cultivating their workforce as Procter & Gamble. The consumerproducts company expects to get 400,000 applications for entry-level management positions this year. It will hire less than one-half of 1% of them, selecting only those most likely to fit the P&G culture. “We actually recruit for values,” says Chief Operating Officer Robert McDonald. “If you are not inspired to improve lives, this isn’t the company you want to work for.” The careful vetting, training, and career development pay off. P&G boasts 23 brands with at least $1 billion in annual sales and is the market leader in everything from detergent to diapers to razors. True, the company’s renowned marketing skills and deep pockets help. But another important edge is personnel management—bringing in and promoting creative thinkers. Intense Internal Training The P&G strategy starts on college campuses. The Cincinnati company dispatches line managers rather than human resource staffers to do much of its recruiting. They home in on schools whose earlier graduates have moved up at P&G, such as Harvard and Stanford. Interviewers look for what they call a candidate’s “power,” including leadership ability and empathy. Innovation skills and values are measured in an online assessment. “Our managers are skilled at probing for the right fi t,” says William Reina, director for global talent. “The people they identify score well on the assessment.” For the few who get hired, their work life becomes a career-long development process. At every level, P&G has a different “college” to train individuals, and every department has its own “university.” The general manager’s college, which McDonald leads, holds a week-long school term once a year when there are a handful of newly promoted managers. Further training—there are nearly 50 courses—helps managers with technical writing or financial analysis. 

Questions 

1. How does P&G recruit and select new employees? Why do they recruit and select new employees in this manner?

2. How do training and development take place at P&G?

3. Why are general managers at P&G encouraged to have at least one international assignment?

4. Why do P&G employees visit and observe consumers in their homes?