It is renowned for promoting from within, but P&G says it is increasingly looking to make external hires to ensure it has the right mix of talent.
The strategic shift – first outlined by CEO David Taylor earlier this year – was reiterated last week by the global fmcg giant’s CFO, Jon Moeller, at the Barclays Back-To-School Consumer Conference.
“P&G is fortunate to consistently source and develop strong talent, and we intend to maintain our develop-from-within approach,” Moeller said. “But there are times when the best talent for a role will not be inside our organisation. Going forward, we’re going to look at outside hiring more often, when needed, to field the best team possible.”
There are times when the best talent for a role will not be inside our organisation
Jon Moeller, CFO, P&G
P&G had added 115 people to its US retail sales force through external hiring over the past two years, Moeller said. “We doubled the number of experienced external hires last fiscal versus the previous year, bringing in experienced talent in five different levels of management, including at the vice president level,” he added. “Experienced hires comprised about 5% of all management hiring in 2016.”
P&G’s UK business was unable to provide any UK-specific figures on external versus internal hires. However, a spokeswoman stressed the company’s continued commitment to developing talent from within despite the greater focus on external hires.
Taylor, who become CEO a year ago, and Moeller are both living examples of P&G’s preference for promoting internal candidates. Taylor joined P&G in 1980 and subsequently worked his way up through the ranks to the very top over 35 years. Moeller joined in 1988.
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