What excites you about your current role?
Having the opportunity to work for an organisation where values such as social responsibility and giving back to the communities in which we operate are highly valued. P&G has a long track record of social responsibility programs and as external relations manager I enjoy having the opportunity to see some of these programs in action, making a real difference to people’s lives. For example in the last 14 months our Vicks Road to Relief program worked with UNICEF to immunise approximately 4.3 million children in need against measles and our Oral-B Health Program worked with Barnardos to educate children through a mobile van and education program on good oral habits targeting regional Australia.
What also excites me is P&G’s commitment to improving the lives of consumers through innovation and bringing new products to the market place. As the name behind more than 20 of Australia’s favourite brands, P&G does this by making everything from washing the dishes, shaving or caring for your hair and skin a little easier and more enjoyable.
When and why did you join P&G?
I joined P&G as an intern in the sales and marketing function in 2002. I then accepted a graduate position in January 2004 and have never looked back. I did a business degree with a double major in marketing and management at the University of Technology Sydney, and P&G was an obvious choice for me from day one. P&G is a great company to work for where people development, diversity and inclusion are highly valued. The company has a wonderful track record of developing strong leaders and we have some great family-friendly practices, such as our Work From Home program in which around half of our people are enrolled. As a result P&G is an employer of choice and has been voted by graduates as the Top Graduate Employer for the Consumer Goods Sector for three consecutive years*.
*source: Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE).
How many people work for P&G in Australia; and globally?
P&G has 406 employees in Australia and New Zealand and 129,000 globally.
What do you feel that P&G offers as an employer that makes it a unique company to work for?
P&G is committed to people development and values diversity and inclusion. The company fosters an encouraging and supportive working environment which aims to grow talent from within, developing people as individuals, successful professionals and leaders. As a result P&G offers its people lots of opportunities to grow in their careers, including the opportunity to work in different countries around the world.
What is also unique is that P&G is one of the last large companies with a ‘promote from within’ policy. That means many of our current leaders started as graduates.
On diversity, half of our Australian Leadership Team are women, 80 per cent of the senior women in the business have children and most of the leadership team are mums and dads. I think it’s great that P&G offers flexible working arrangements to help these mums and dads meet both their personal and professional commitments. It definitely helps me juggle this role and my two-year-old son!
What also makes P&G unique is its long-term commitment to social responsibility. We have a heritage 174 years strong when it comes to growing responsibility. Globally, our Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program has provided more than three billion litres of clean water with the help of World Vision to help prevent children dying needlessly from drinking contaminated water. This has taken place in more than 60 countries and has prevented an estimated 120 million days of diarrheal illness and helped save more than 16,000 lives.
Locally we donated around $800,000 in financial year 10/11 to various charities and social-responsibility programs through our corporate Live, Learn and Thrive Program and our brand-led cause-related marketing activities. This represents a 20 per cent increase versus the previous year.
What has been the most exciting project you have worked on?
It is hard to choose as there have been many challenging and rewarding projects I have worked on. One that springs to mind in particular is the launch of Clairol’s Nice ‘n Easy Root Touch Up, a product which enables women to touch up their roots in between colouring their full head of hair. A real first for the category, this product is so innovative, it not only colour matches our own products but also colour matches those of our competitors.
What would you say is the key strength behind the success of P&G’s personal care brands?
The key strength behind the success of P&G’s personal care brands is our dedication to connecting with consumers and ensuring we have a deep understanding of their opinions, issues and needs. Understanding Australia’s consumers inspires and guides our innovation and growth and paves the way for creating and launching products that match the demands of consumers and help make their lives that little bit easier.
If you were not the Communications Manager at P&G, what would you be?
If I was not the PR and Corporate Communications Manager at P&G I would probably do something totally different. Combine my love of travel and fine food by being an international food critic. Who wouldn’t want to go to exotic locations, eat gourmet food and drink fine wine all in the name of work?