Amir Paracha

Chairman and CEO of Unilever Pakistan

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Amir Paracha is the Chairman and CEO of Unilever Pakistan and the President of OICCI. He describes himself as a marketer by profession. Paracha has argued that paying people well is a commercial case rather than a cost, and has set out a target of taking everyone to a fair living wage by 2025.

Career

Amir Paracha is the Chairman and CEO of Unilever Pakistan and the President of OICCI. He describes himself as a marketer by profession. In 2013 he was moved from marketing to sales. [1]

Unilever Pakistan

Paracha has said he did not yet know about the fair living wage at that time. He has described the distributor sales force as about 7,000 to 8,000 people who were not on the company's books. When he asked, annual attrition in the sales force was 45 percent, which meant that the whole sales force was new within two years. He has tied this high attrition to low pay. [1]

Paracha proposed doubling the sales force's pay within three years. When his finance partner asked for a worksheet on the business risk, he had none. He has said he assumed that higher pay would lower attrition. [1]

He has said that another company agreed to take responsibility for 5,000 to 6,000 people, and that the arrangement effectively became a type of private insurance for them. Each worker was given a card to show when sick, so they did not pay. The company decided to cover medical care and children's education, because many workers did not send their children to school as they could not afford it. Paracha has said the company put in 100 million rupees in total and doubled its sales in those three years. He believes the investment earned the company large returns. [1]

Paracha has said that his company has about 17,000 workers in total, of whom about 1,000 are on its books and 16,000 are third-party contract staff. He has said the aim is to take everyone to a fair living wage by 2025. A consulting firm has been brought on board and is carrying out the company's cost transformation. He has said that within Unilever the company is past the awareness stage and has started the journey, while the current stage is raising awareness of what the fair living wage concept is. [1]

Paracha has said that eight to ten other companies have joined the group. He does not want it branded as a Unilever thing, and he says it is not an initiative but a movement. [1]

He has said the company wants to be ethically compliant, not only legally compliant. In his account the aim is not to pass a law, and the aim is to make the case on purely commercial grounds. He says a law would come only after several organisations test the idea and believe in it. He advises companies to set their own roadmap and start with a realisation. [1]

Views

Paracha says to set morality aside, because paying people well is a commercial case. He says that when you look after people, they look after you. He says investing in people raises productivity and is not a cost, and that the approach need not compromise profit. [1]

He defines efficiency as getting the same work done with fewer people, and productivity as getting more work done with the same people. He says rising productivity creates room to pay people well. He also says happier staff have less absenteeism and higher productivity. [1]

Paracha says prosperity grows when it is shared. He says that companies wanting to pay a fair living wage should be given a tax credit, and that people should be given a fair income so they can pay for their own treatment. He says a great deal of trust is needed between the employee and the employer in this approach. [1]

Timeline

2013
Moved from marketing to sales.[1]
2025
Stated target year for taking everyone to a fair living wage.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2023-06-16 When you look after people, they look after you Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Amir Paracha?

Amir Paracha is the Chairman and CEO of Unilever Pakistan. He is also the President of OICCI. He describes himself as a marketer by profession.[1]

What does Amir Paracha do?

Amir Paracha is Chairman and CEO of Unilever Pakistan and President of OICCI. He has spoken about taking everyone to a fair living wage, and he has said the aim is to reach that by 2025.[1]

What does Amir Paracha say about the fair living wage?

Amir Paracha says the aim is not to pass a law but to make the case on purely commercial grounds. He says a law would come only after several organisations test the idea and believe in it. He also calls the effort a movement rather than an initiative.[1]

What does Amir Paracha say about pay and productivity?

Amir Paracha says rising productivity creates room to pay people well. He says happier staff have less absenteeism and higher productivity. He also says the approach need not compromise profit.[1]

What did Amir Paracha say about sales force attrition?

Amir Paracha has said annual attrition in the sales force was 45 percent when he asked about it, so the whole sales force was new within two years. He has tied the high attrition to low pay. He proposed doubling the sales force's pay within three years.[1]

References

  1. When you look after people, they look after you . Thought Behind Things , 2023-06-16.
Show the source passages (44 statements)
  1. Amir Paracha is Chairman and CEO of Unilever Pakistan. Amir Paracha is the President of OICCI and Chairman & CEO of Unilever Pakistan
  2. Amir Paracha is President of OICCI. Amir Paracha is the President of OICCI and Chairman & CEO of Unilever Pakistan
  3. He describes himself as a marketer by profession. Dekhein uh main by profession marketeer hoon.
  4. In 2013 he was moved from marketing to sales. 2013 ki baat thi. Us waqt mera transfer hua tha marketing se sales mein.
  5. He says he did not yet know about the fair living wage at that time. Achha us waqt mujhe fair living wage ke baare mein nahi pata tha.
  6. He says the distributor sales force was about 7,000 to 8,000 people who were not on the company's books. Toh hamari distributor sales hoti hain, woh takreeban koi 7-8 hazaar log hote hain. Woh hamari books pe nahi hote.
  7. He says annual attrition in the sales force was 45 percent when he asked about it. Toh maine pucha yeh attrition rate kya hai hamara? Unhone kaha saalana 45 feesad.
  8. He says that at that rate the whole sales force was new within two years. yani ke do saal ke andar 100% jo sales force hai woh nayi hai.
  9. He says high attrition in the sales force was tied to low pay. Toh aur uski wajah yeh hai ke unko paise bohat kam mil rahe hain.
  10. He says he proposed doubling the sales force's pay within three years. maine kaha yaar yeh jitni bhi hamari sales force hai na inki jo hai na salary hum double karte hain 3 saal ke andar.
  11. He says he had no worksheet when his finance partner asked for one on the business risk. Toh mera jo finance ka business partner hai, usne kaha ke business risk kya hai? Zara worksheet toh karke dikhayein. Maine kaha mere paas worksheet toh nahi hai.
  12. He says he assumed that higher pay would lower attrition. But mera assumption hai ke isse, haan attrition rate gir jayega.
  13. He says another company agreed to take responsibility for 5,000 to 6,000 people. Humne unse baat ki, unhone kaha ji yeh jitne bhi 5-6 hazaar log hain, inki responsibility hum lete hain.
  14. He says the arrangement effectively became a type of private insurance for them. Effectively ek ek ek ek private insurance type ban gayi for them.
  15. He says each worker was given a card to show when sick, so they did not pay. Toh humne kaha bhai yeh tumhara card hai, jab bimaar ho gaye card dikhana tumhe pay nahi karna hoga.
  16. He says the company decided to cover medical care and children's education, because many workers did not send their children to school as they could not afford it. Humne kaha yaar uski medical hum denge aur bachon ka education because woh kaafi toh bachon ko bhejte hi nahi the kyunki woh afford hi nahi kar sakta tha.
  17. He says the company put in 100 million rupees in total. Total humne jo paise daale the 100 million rupaye daale the.
  18. He says the company doubled its sales in those three years. Un 3 saal ke andar humne 60 saal mein utni sale nahi ki jitni humne un 3 saal mein double kar di sale.
  19. He says to set morality aside, because it is a commercial case. Morality ko chhod do, commercial case hai.
  20. He says that when you look after people, they look after you. When you look after people, they look after you.
  21. He believes the 100 million rupee investment earned the company large returns. maine lagaye 100 million aur mere khayal mein unhone humein arbon rupay kama ke diye.
  22. He says investing in people raises productivity and is not a cost. this is not a cost. This is an investment. Yeah, because when you invest in people, they help you increase the productivity.
  23. He says the approach need not compromise profit. You can do this without any compromise of profit because this is not a cost.
  24. He says his company has about 17,000 workers in total, of whom about 1,000 are on its books and 16,000 are third-party contract staff. jitni bhi hamari total 17,000 log hain aur hamari books pe sirf isme se 1,000 log hain. 16,000 saare third party contractual hain.
  25. He says the aim is to take everyone to a fair living wage by 2025. yaar 2025 tak we will take everyone to a fair living wage.
  26. He says a consulting firm has been brought on board and is carrying out the company's cost transformation. humne McKinsey ko on board liya hua hai, woh hamara cost transformation kar rahi hai.
  27. He says the company wants to be ethically compliant, not only legally compliant. we want to be an ethically compliant company, not legally compliant company.
  28. He advises companies to set their own roadmap and start with a realisation. you carve out your own road map. A year, two, three, five year. But first have a realization, kahin se toh start karo.
  29. He says the aim is not to pass a law. So dekhein uh law pass karana maqsad nahi hai.
  30. He says the aim is to make the case on purely commercial grounds. Maqsad yeh hai ke hum pure commercial basis ke upar main baat kar raha hoon.
  31. He says a law would come only after several organisations test the idea and believe in it. Jahan tak law pass karana hai woh toh bahut ki baad ki baat hai ki jab multiple organizations isko experiment karke is cheez mein believe karenge
  32. He says prosperity grows when it is shared. yaar prosperity jo hoti hai na woh share karne se badhti hai.
  33. He defines efficiency as getting the same work done with fewer people. Efficiency yeh hai, kam logon se utna hi kaam nikalwana.
  34. He defines productivity as getting more work done with the same people. Productivity kya hai? Utne hi logon se zyada kaam karwana.
  35. He says rising productivity creates room to pay people well. To pehle to aapne productivity jab aap badhayenge to automatically aapke paas room niklega to pay well to your people.
  36. He says happier staff have less absenteeism and higher productivity. Woh khush honge to absenteeism kam hogi to your productivity will further go up.
  37. He says that companies wanting to pay a fair living wage should be given a tax credit. Yeh chaah rahe hain ki hum fair living wage dein. Aap unko tax credit dein.
  38. He says people should be given a fair income so they can pay for their own treatment. Aap unko unki fair income dein taake woh apna ilaaj khud kara sakein
  39. He says that within Unilever the company is past the awareness stage and has started the journey. Unilever ke andar hum awareness ke upar nahi hain, hum logon ne ek yeh safar shuru kar diya hai.
  40. He says the current stage is raising awareness of what the fair living wage concept is. abhi toh hum sirf awareness phaila rahe hain ki yaar yeh actually fair living wage ka concept kya hai, uski ideology kya hai?
  41. He says a great deal of trust is needed between the employee and the employer in this approach. To iske andar trust element ki bahut zyada zaroorat hai between the employee and the employer.
  42. He says eight to ten other companies have joined the group. ab hamare paas koi 8, 9, 10 aur companies hain, theek hai, jinhone hamara group join kar liya hai.
  43. He says he does not want it branded as a Unilever thing. Aur I don't want to brand as a Unilever thing.
  44. He says it is not an initiative but a movement. Yeh koi initiative nahi hai, yeh ek movement hai.