Unilever Sri Lanka emerged triumphant at the recently held National HR Conference 2015, recognized for the organization’s exemplary talent systems and practices, as it won the category award in ‘Talent Management’.

The FMCG major received this award, one of only three special category awards handed out at the event, in recognition of excellence in identifying, attracting, empowering, and nurturing talent.

Unilever Sri Lanka is widely known for developing world class leaders, with many of its managers going on to senior management positions within Unilever Sri Lanka, Unilever global, and also in other companies both locally and internationally.

“It is an honor to see our talent management practices being recognized at this forum. This award further underscores the value we place on our employees and our commitment to their all-round development and well-being. We’ll continue to reward them for their passion and dedication towards the company as we inspire them with global exposure and best practices,” said Sameer Nagarajan, Director HR and Corporate Relations, Unilever Sri Lanka.

In 2015, Unilever was recognized as the country’s No. 1 employer across all industries and companies in a nationwide survey conducted by AC Nielsen. This recognition has come close on the heels of various initiatives by Unilever Sri Lanka, to attract and nurture the cream of the talent amongst Sri Lankan undergraduates.

One such initiative was the Unilever Youth Forum, which was launched by Unilever’s CEO Paul Polman, during a visit to Sri Lanka, where he took the opportunity to address 150 university students on the topic of ‘Sustainability in Leadership’. The ‘Unilever Challenge: Lipton Talent Hunt’ is another initiative which allowed Sri Lankan undergraduates the opportunity to get real time experience in Brand Management with the winners taking part in the Unilever Global Future Leaders League competition that is held in the UK.

One of Unilever Sri Lanka’s most innovative talent building programmes is the recently launched initiative ‘Sparks’, a student ambassador programme where undergraduates act as a liaison between Unilever Sri Lanka and their respective university seeks to nurture their leadership qualities.