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• Case | HBS Case Collection | April 2020 (Revised October 2020)

  Unilever's Response to the Future of Work

  William R. Kerr, Emilie Billaud and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej

  In February 2020, Nick Dalton, executive vice president HR business transformation at Unilever, reflected on the changing nature of work marked by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation. Launched in 2016, Unilever’s Future of Work initiative aimed to accelerate the speed of change throughout the organization and prepare the workforce for a digitalized and highly automated era. Despite the success over the last three years, the program still faced significant challenges in its implementation: How should Unilever, one of the world's largest consumer goods companies, adapt and accelerate the speed of change throughout the organization? Was it even possible to lead a systematic, agile workforce transformation across several geographies with local context differences? How could Unilever prepare and upscale its workforce for the future?

  Keywords: Change Management; Human Capital; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Structure; Transformation; Human Resources; Consumer Products Industry; Europe;

  Citation:

  Kerr, William R., Emilie Billaud, and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej. "Unilever's Response to the Future of Work." Harvard Business School Case 820-104, April 2020. (Revised October 2020.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | July 2020 (Revised September 2020)

  MobSquad

  Prithwiraj Choudhury, William R. Kerr and Susie L. Ma

  Irfhan Rawji (MBA 2004) launched MobSquad in October 2018 to help American tech start-ups retain hard-to-find talent, many of whom struggled with U.S. work visa issues, such as software engineers with experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning, or data science. MobSquad also helped companies fill open roles by tapping into its database of pre-vetted foreign tech workers. While there was growing demand for these specialists, the talent supply in the U.S. was relatively constrained and American companies often filled positions with foreign-born workers using a temporary visa called the H-1B. However, U.S. President Donald Trump temporarily suspended immigration in June 2020, including foreign workers on an H-1B visa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rawji contemplated what kind of impact this would have on MobSquad and the tech industry in Canada. There was already evidence that a growing number of foreign tech workers were choosing Canada over the U.S. due to Trump’s immigration policies. Now Rawji suspected that Trump’s latest move would further accelerate this trend, and he wanted MobSquad to be ready to help companies and workers who had been counting on the H-1B.

  Keywords: work visas; H1-B; Business Ventures; Business Startups; Labor; Human Capital; Human Resources; Crisis Management; Employment Industry; Canada; United States;

  Citation:

  Choudhury, Prithwiraj, William R. Kerr, and Susie L. Ma. "MobSquad." Harvard Business School Case 821-010, July 2020. (Revised September 2020.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2020 (Revised August 2020)

  Catalant's Operating System for the Future of Work

  Christopher Stanton, William R. Kerr, James Palano, Kendall Smith, Christopher Stanton, William R. Kerr, James Palano, Kendall Smith, Christopher Stanton, William R. Kerr, James Palano, Kendall Smith, Christopher Stanton, William R. Kerr, James Palano and Kendall Smith

  This case touches on the topics of project-based work, agile methodology, and skill and talent management through Catalant's evolution as a company. Catalant’s journey to becoming a software platform and talent marketplace provides context for students to explore new models of work and ways companies are mobilizing talent internal and external to their organization. This case urges students to contemplate how these considerations might shape the critical decisions business leaders will need to make about how to manage their organizations and use their resources to capitalize on their own vision for the future. This case also provides valuable lessons for technology entrepreneurship, introduces students to important gig economy concepts, and asks students to consider the unique challenges facing companies like Catalant that are selling a gig platform as part of their product or service.

  Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technology; Talent and Talent Management; Business Model; Transformation;

  Citation:

  Stanton, Christopher, William R. Kerr, James Palano, and Kendall Smith. "Catalant's Operating System for the Future of Work." Harvard Business School Case 820-093, February 2020. (Revised August 2020.)  View Details

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