The Vault Guide To Procter & Gamble

VAULT EMPLOYER PROFILE:
PROCTER &
GAMBLE
BY THE STAFF OF VAULT
2002 Vault Inc.
Copyright 2002 by Vault Inc. All rights reserved.

All information in this book is subject to change without notice. Vault makes no claims as to
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Library of Congress CIP Data is available.
ISBN 158131221-0
Printed in the United States of America
Procter & Gamble
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Procter & Gamble at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Procter & Gamble at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
THE SCOOP
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
CEOs Bio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Key Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Business Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Major Products/Brands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
VAULT NEWSWIRE
19
OUR SURVEY SAYS
23
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career message boards, expert resume reviews, the Vault Job Board and more.
iii
GETTING HIRED
31
Overview of the Hiring Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

To Apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Preparing for the Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Questions to Expect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Questions to Ask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Perks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
ON THE JOB
39
A Day in the Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Job Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Department Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Career Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
FINAL ANALYSIS
47
RECOMMENDED READING
49
Procter & Gamble
Introduction
Overview
What would the world be like without Procter & Gamble? No Ivory soap, no
Oil of Olay, no Jif peanut butter, no Tide detergent, no Crest toothpaste.
Though there would probably still be soap, skin conditioner, peanut butter
and toothpaste, wed be bereft of the brands that have earned our love and
loyalty over the years. And for Procter & Gamble, loyalty is what its all
about. P&G is a company that trades on loyalty, thrives on loyal customers
and strives to put out products that merit that devotion.
Procter & Gamble is a gargantuan $40-billion-a-year company, but it is 25
percent owned by the little people its former or current employees. Even
workers in the manufacturing plants often own hundreds of thousands of
dollars in company stock, thanks to a lucrative profit-sharing plan. What does
the company get for its generosity? It ensures top-of-the line employees (who
could be making more in base salary elsewhere) will remain with the
company for their entire careers.
But the company knows that, like the nuclear family, brand loyalty is
disintegrating, and bang-for-your-buck is king. With fewer faithful customers
and declining demand for its products in many areas of the world, P&G is
having trouble keeping the faith with its employees. To keep its prices
competitive and to meet its ambitious goals for sales, it has been
streamlining its operations and conducting serious overhauls of its
corporate management structure.

Procter & Gamble at a Glance
Headquarters
One Procter & Gamble Plaza
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: (513) 983-1100
Fax: (513) 983-9369
UPPERS
Super-prestigious company
Lucrative profit-sharing plan
Emphasis on ongoing training
DOWNERS
THE STATS
Employer type: Public company
Stock listing: NYSE (Symbol: PG)
Employees: 106,000 (2002)
Revenues: $40.24 billion (2002)
Massive bureaucracy
Middling pay
Up-or-out policy in Brand
Management division
MAJOR BUSINESS UNITS

Baby, Feminine and Family Care
Fabric and Home Care
Beauty Care
Health Care
Food & Beverage
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History
For the past decade and a half, Procter & Gamble has found itself battling
rumors of a connection to black magic: that its Moon and Stars logo is a
satanic symbol (needless to say, its not) and that its president once discussed
Satanism on the talk show Donahue. In turn, the company, which has a
reputation for being secretive, sued Amway and some of its high-level
distributors for allegedly circulating the rumors. (Courts found the claim
baseless in 2000, and ordered P&G to pay Amways legal costs.) But the real
story of Procter & Gamble is hardly unholy just simple good business.
The P&G story began when William Procter and James Gamble arrived in
America with their eyes set on the wide-open West. But both Procter, a candle
maker from England, and Gamble, who apprenticed himself to a soap maker
after arriving from Ireland, ended up settling in Cincinnati, where they met
after marrying sisters. The father of their wives convinced them to become
business partners. On August 22, 1837, Procter & Gamble each pledged
$3,596.47 toward a partnership to produce and sell soap and candles.
By 1859, as America was sliding toward civil war, Procter & Gamble, with
80 employees, reached $1 million in sales. During the Civil War, the company
supplied soap and candles to the Union armies, helping to build its reputation
outside of Ohio. And then, in 1879, the second generation of Procters and
Gambles made a breakthrough. Chemist James Norris Gamble developed an
inexpensive, buoyant white soap; Harley Procter read the words out of ivory
palaces in the Bible one Sunday morning in church. Ivory Soap 99 and
44/100ths percent pure floated into the market.
The 20th century at Procter & Gamble sounds like a commercial for a
compilation of consumer goods greatest hits. The companys research
centers have churned out a remarkable string of successful innovations:
Crisco, the first all-vegetable shortening (1911); Tide, the washing miracle
that was the nations first synthetic laundry detergent (1946); Crest, the first
toothpaste with fluoride clinically proven to fight cavities (1955); and
Pampers, the first mass-produced disposable diaper (1961). More recently,
the company has introduced Pantene Pro-V (1992), the worlds leading
shampoo, and in 1996 received Food and Drug Administration approval for
the use of Olestra, a calorie-free fat replacement.
Acquisitions have added to the P&G empire, often providing the company
with leverage in either an international market or a new product area. P&G
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bought Duncan Hines cake mixes in 1956, Charmin Paper Mills in 1957 and
Folgers coffee in 1963, all of which represented the companys first foray into
the products respective areas. The additions of Noxell in 1989 and Max
Factor in 1991 made P&G the countrys largest cosmetics company. P&G
began manufacturing in Japan in 1973 after acquiring the Nippon Sunhome
company and opened operations in Eastern Europe in 1991 after buying
Rakona in then-Czechoslovakia.
In the never-ending search for growth in mature markets, the company has
continued to find it expedient to buy powerful brands. Examples include Iams
pet foods in 1999 and Clairol hair care products (a $5 billion purchase) in
November 2001. The new management isnt afraid to drop or sell poor
performers either; Jif peanut butter and Crisco vegetable shortening were
spun off to shareholders in May 2001 for $150 million; the brands were then
sold to J.M. Smucker for $900 million. Failed brands like Physique premium
shampoo (the companys first new shampoo product in 20 years), Fit fruit
wash and Olay Cosmetics have vanished from store shelves.
Procter & Gamble has also been a major player in the history of advertising
and marketing techniques. The famous Ivory Soap campaign of the late 19th
century was one of the first to advertise directly to the consumer. In 1923,
Crisco sponsored cooking shows on the radio; in 1932, P&G began
sponsoring daytime radio dramas. The company aired its first TV
commercial during the first televised major league baseball game in 1939.
And long before Peoria, Ill. became popular among politicians gauging the
pulse of America, P&G knew about it Pampers were test-marketed there in
the early 1960s. Today, the company is turning to public relations spin doctors
to help convince the public that its fat substitute, Olestra, is still the next great
thing. The firm certainly has the resources with a $3.7 billion marketing
budget, Procter & Gamble is the worlds biggest advertiser. But should the
company prove unable to make Olestra popular in anything other than
Pringles potato crisps, P&G has a trio of fast-growing hits with the Swiffer
floor sweeper, the Crest SpinBrush childrens electric toothbrush and Crest
White Strips tooth whitener.
On top of the whirl

Procter & Gamble is the undisputed champion of the consumer goods
industry. With $40.24 billion in annual sales, it easily outpaces competitors
such as Avon ($6 billion), Colgate-Palmolive ($9.4 billion) and KimberlyClark ($14.5 billion). Like most mega-corporations, Procter & Gamble made
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some serious hay while the sun shone in 1998, delivering its shareholders
record-breaking net earnings of $4.35 billion, or $3.59 per share.
The company, however, is far from satisfied. In 1996, P&G announced a goal
of reaching $70 billion in sales by 2006, an almost inconceivable doubling of
sales in a decade to realize such lofty ambitions, the company would have
to increase sales by 7 percent or more each year. Alas, the company fell short
initially, posting increases in net sales of 1 percent in 1996 and 1997. Newly
appointed CEO A.G. Lafleys goals are nearly as ambitious 4-6 percent
annual sales increases coupled with double-digit core-earnings-per-share
growth. And in 2001, the company managed to achieve them.
Restructuring: Think globally, act locally

The company has taken serious steps to counter its shortfalls of the late
1990s, notably through corporate restructuring. In September 1998, P&G
announced that it would eliminate the companys past practice of dividing
business into four regional groups. Instead, the focus shifted to marketing
products on a global scale. To do so, profit responsibility rests in the hands of
executives who manage global product units, such as baby care, beauty, and
home products, among others. Durk I. Jager, then the companys hardcharging chief operating officer, led the way in the reorganization. Jager was
promoted to chief executive officer in January 1999, joining John E. Pepper
to concurrently hold the position until Peppers retirement in September of
that year.
In 1999, P&G announced the creation of eight market development
organizations to, in the words of the annual report, provide deeper
knowledge of local consumers and stronger partnerships with our customers.
As examples of the kinds of problems these groups will address, The Wall
Street Journal offers currency troubles in Asia and supermarket retailing in
Latin America. These groups are not charged with profit-and-loss
responsibility.
P&G also streamlined its corporate staff, a change that evoked the 13,000
layoffs and multiple plant closings that took place from 1993 to 1997. The
company acknowledged that some jobs would be lost at the time, but
distinguished the measures from earlier ones. Its not a cost-cutting effort,
spokesperson Simon Denegri told The Wall Street Journal, but a global
reorganization of our structure and culture to accelerate growth and meet
business goals. Another streamlining took place when Lafley took over in
2000, to the tune of 9,600 jobs. This time, Fortune magazine characterized

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the layoffs as a combination of expense cutting and trimming of unprofitable

ventures.
Discussing the reorganization, Pepper commented to The Wall Street Journal:
I saw it being the most important thing weve done in the company, if not
ever, certainly for generations. In an organizational change that was designed
to get real clarity around decision makingthat also argued for very clearly
one person at the helm.
In the end, however, it appears that one person will be Lafley. Jager left the
company suddenly in mid-2001, after just 17 months in the captains chair.
His strategies unifying brand names worldwide, scattershot launches of new
products in hopes of finding the next big seller had not been successful, and
sales of even the best brands were stagnant. Lafley, a quiet and unassuming
figure compared to so many spotlight-hogging CEOs, took the company in
hand when it was losing focus. Focus, he saw, was the key: Identify P&Gs
core brands (the company currently has 12 that bring in $1 billion or more
annually) and get as much profit as possible out of them.
New products: looking for the magic bullet

Beyond tinkering with corporate structure, P&G has also sought to bring back
the good old days when it created whole new product categories, such as
disposable diapers with Pampers and fabric softener with Downy. If
successful, such moves can bring in billions, although one analyst told The
Wall Street Journal that doing so is like finding a needle in a hay stack. For
instance, the soap giant has found that its $11.6 billion Fabric and Home Care
category (the companys second-largest revenue generator) is a mature area;
the unit grew just 1 percent in 2002.
Febreze on its way

Procter & Gamble, the diligent consumer products giant, is looking for an
entire new home cleansing category. The company is now targeting not the
$4 billion laundry market (of which the company holds a 51 percent share),
but the entire $10 billion clothing and fabric cleansing market. P&G hopes
that the fabric refresher category could jump to sales of $1 billion in the
next five to 10 years. One promising attempt has been the testing of Febreze,
a spray used to eliminate odors. After a disappointing market test, the
company nearly canned further testing of Febreze until Kerry Clark, then
president of the North America laundry products business, noticed that
Febreze had a knot of huge fans. Upon interviewing the Febreze enthusiasts,
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P&G learned that they were not using Febreze on clothing, as the company
had intended, but on carpets, curtains and pets. The company also discovered
that some consumers believed that Febreze, originally packaged in a kitchencounter like bottle, would be too harsh on fabrics, and switched the packaging
to a smaller, friendlier bottle. P&G brand marketing geniuses also redesigned
the package label to emphasize the safety of using Febreze and to
communicate a wider variety of uses for the freshener. But P&G hasnt
ignored its core laundry products it has tweaked Tide with a mountain
spring scent, after discovering that some consumers preferred a high
impact laundry smell.
Boosting pharmaceuticals
P&G is also trying to muscle its way into the lucrative pharmaceutical
industry. Even with popular items such as Pepto-Bismol and Nyquil, the
companys $500 million business ranks well below its competitors in
worldwide drug and other health-care sales. In April 1998, P&G scored a
victory when the FDA approved risedronate, its drug for the treatment of
Pagets bone disease. The disease, which weakens bones, afflicts around 3
percent of people over 55. P&G anticipates that the product could bring the
company as much as $1 billion in sales. With this figure in mind, the company
has struck a co-marketing agreement with Aventis Pharma AG. By March
2000, Actonel (risedronates brand name) had received approval in several
countries for the treatment of post-menopausal osteoporosis. Approvals
continue to roll in (Japan approved the drug in January 2002), and studies
completed late in 2002 have shown that risedronate increases bone density
and reduces the risk of vertebral and other fractures in post-menopausal
women by 70 percent.
Running with Olean

One not-so-bright spot has been olestra, a fat-substitute that P&G markets
under the name of Olean. Olestra, a soy-based product used largely to
produce fat-free snack foods, has suffered numerous setbacks, including loud
protest from consumer groups, condemnation by Harvard nutritionists, and an
FDA labeling program that requires Olestra products to bear the warning that
olestra may cause abdominal cramping and loose stools. The FDA has
declared olestra safe for consumption, although the labeling requirements
seem to have scared many consumers off. P&G, meanwhile, has promoted
olestra through a line extension of fat-free Pringles, emphasizing that the
potato snacks are as tasty with olestra as without. So far, P&G seems to have

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a hit with fatless Pringles; volume of Pringles sales has risen steadily since
August 1997. However, the company appears willing to cut its losses; in
February 2002, P&G sold its Cincinnati olestra plant to Twin Rivers
Technologies. Twin Rivers will continue to operate the plant and supply
olestra to P&G.
International expansion
North America is P&Gs largest market, with $21.2 billion of the companys
2002 sales coming from the U.S. and Canada. And P&G continues to grow in
its home: unit volume increased 7 percent in fiscal 2002. Procter & Gamble
execs like to point out that while half their business comes from North
America, only 5 percent of the worlds population lives there. The company
expects and hopes for its largest growth in coming years, percentage-wise, to
come in emerging markets, especially Eastern Europe, China and the
southern cone of South America. In 1993, for the first time in the companys
history, more than half of sales came from outside of the U.S.
P&Gs increasingly global strategies take many forms. In China, for example,
P&G has taken the uncharacteristic step of running ads that feature no
particular product, but rather develop the companys overall image.
Consumers do care about which makes the product, P&Gs Yvonne Pei
commented to The Wall Street Journal, if the company has a good image,
they trust the product. Apparently, the song that accompanies the
advertisements takes up the refrain the dreams of the last generation are the
fruit of the next generation.
Meanwhile in Latin America, P&G is concentrating less on dreams and fruit,
and more on lobbying against unfair business practices. P&G, whose business
in Latin America represents only about 6 percent of its global totals, has had
to play catch-up to rivals like Colgate-Palmolive and Unilever that have
snapped up significant market shares. To this end, P&G has aggressively
pursued the acquisition of international companies, most recently adding
three laundry detergent brands from Brazil-based Bombril S.A. in 1996.
Acquiring companies hasnt been its only strategy, however. P&G has also
taken advantage of the tightening anti-trust law climate in many Latin
American countries. For example, The Wall Street Journal reports that P&G
helped convince the Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Economica, Brazils
anti-monopoly commission, to block Colgates acquisition of a local brand.
In Argentina, P&G contacted regulators to accuse Unilever of sabotaging
P&Gs release of its laundry detergent called Ariel. The company alleges that
Unilever has ties to Ariel del Plata SA, a local toilet seat manufacturer that
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introduced television advertisements featuring its distinguished products

along with close ups of derrieres and a voice-over that repeats Ariel, Ariel,
Ariel. On a more positive note, P&G entered an alliance in January 2002
with TechnoServe, a non-profit organization devoted to building businesses
in developing countries. P&G has provided $1.5 million to help small-scale
coffee growers in Latin America.
P&Gs media agenda

P&G has always led the field in the use of new forms of media for marketing.
The company first grasped the intimacy of radio, and later applied the same
techniques as television emerged, creating whole genres in support of
products.
The Internet, however, seems to have stumped the worlds largest advertiser
only 0.4 percent of P&Gs total advertising budget is devoted to online
endeavors. To overcome its uncertainty, in August 1998, P&G invited 400
executives, some from competitors, to a two-day conference on how to use
the Internet. The conference covered such issues as the dearth of slogans
created on the new medium, and the general failure of banner advertisements.
Possible solutions included pop-ups and interstitial ads (new concepts at the
time, but they appear to have caught on). The problem, of course, is that many
of Procters products are commodity products, fairly mundane products
like toilet paper and cooking oil, which need the magic of a widespread
marketing campaign to differentiate them. While Internet advertising is a
superb medium for direct-to-consumer marketing, it is a poor way to build an
overarching brand image something Procter & Gamble needs to do with its
products.
As such, Procter & Gamble appears to have pulled back from the Internet as
an advertising medium, concentrating instead on advertising through
association. In July 2002, P&G teamed with G4, a cable TV network devoted
to computer and video gaming of all stripes, to launch Cheat! Pringles
Gamers Guide, a half-hour weekly show offering tips for gamers to improve
their playing performance.
Back in TV land, P&G has also teamed up with its cohorts to address their
advertising role in the face of the changing content of todays programming.
The coalition, known as the Forum for Responsible Advertising, met recently
in New York, and included P&G, Johnson & Johnson, The Coca-Cola Co.,
Sears Roebuck & Co. and Ford Motor Co. P&G spokesperson Gretchen
Briscoe articulated the Forums goals in comments to The Wall Street
Journal. We want access to high-quality, family friendly programming that
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attracts a mass audience, she said, adding: Its going to take a collective
industry effort.
Using marketing strategies to improve the

gender balance
In recent years, P&G has been recognized for its commitment to women in
the workplace in such publications as Fortune, Working Mother, Working
Woman, The Wall Street Journal and others. It wasnt always this way. As
recently as 1992, only 5 percent of the companies vice presidents and general
managers in advertising and brand management the mainstay of Procter &
Gambles business were women. John Pepper himself admitted to The Wall
Street Journal, There have been meetings where you look around at 30
people in the room, and theyre all men. A study conducted in 1991 revealed
to the company that two-thirds of good performers who left the company
were women and, contrary to company assumptions, were not leaving for
family reasons, but rather to take jobs elsewhere. To stop the talent flight,
P&G applied some of its own marketing expertise to the problem, introducing
products such as mentoring programs and benefits packages designed to
keep women at the company. To promote these products, the company
launched internal ad campaigns, featuring videos in which senior P&G
women explain the advantages of staying at the company. For now, the effort
seems to be paying off. The number of women general managers, for
example, had risen to 31 percent as of September 1998.
In a May 2001 address to the company, CEO Lafley noted the improvements
the company had made in gender balance: We now have nearly 300 women
at the director and associate director levels, which ensure us a strong talent
stream to fill future officer-level positions. There are now 40 women at the
vice-president or general manager level in our company. And today, four of
our corporate officers are women. This represents real progress. In 1990,
there were no women corporate officers at P&G, and only 6 at the VP/GM
level. On the other hand, the heads of the company are still overwhelmingly
male: just two of 18 directors and three of 36 top executives listed in the P&G
2002 annual report are women.
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Procter & Gamble
Organization
CEOs Bio
A.G. Lafley: Chairman of the Board, President
and Chief Executive
As would be expected of a company that stresses loyalty and internal
promotion, Procter & Gamble has a veteran employee at its head. New leader
Alan G. (A.G.) Lafley, a member of the company since 1977, took over the
president and chief-exec roles in 2000 from Durk Jager, who himself replaced
John E. Pepper in 1999. Lafley was elected chairman in April 2002,
completing the corporate Triple Crown after Pepper stepped down from the
board.
Procter & Gamble has found new life under Lafleys leadership; since his
ascension, P&G net sales have climbed 3 percent (4 percent before figuring
in unfavorable exchange rates), and earnings growth in the individual
business units is up, ranging from 11 percent (Fabric and Home Care) to 34
percent (Health Care). The companys stock price has climbed 40 percent
since Lafley assumed command.
A native of Keene, N.H., Lafley is P&Gs 11th president and CEO. A graduate
of Hamilton College with a degree in History, he holds a Harvard MBA as
well. After a 5-year term with the U.S. Navy, he joined P&G in 1977 in the
Marketing department. He worked his way up through several positions in
P&Gs laundry and cleaning business before being named group vice
president in 1992.
In 1995, Lafley became the executive vice president for Asia. In 1999, he was
named president of P&Gs global Beauty Care business and of North
American market development. North America business achieved record net
sales during his tenure. He implemented innovations in beauty products and
marketing, bringing fresh growth to P&Gs Hair Care business, especially
billion-dollar brand Pantene.
Key Officers
Bruce L. Byrnes: Vice Chairman, President of Global Beauty & Feminine
Care and Global Health Care

11
Procter & Gamble

Organization
R. Kerry Clark: Vice Chairman, President of Global Market Development

& Business Operations
Richard L. Antoine: Global Human Resources Officer
G. Gilbert Cloyd: Chief Technology Officer
Clayton C. Daley Jr.: Chief Financial Officer
Stephen N. David: Chief Information Officer, Business-to-Business Officer
James J. Johnson: Chief Legal Officer (General Counsel)
Ownership
Procter & Gamble is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock
Exchange (its stock ticker symbol is PG). A partnership for its first 53 years,
it incorporated in 1890. Current and retired P&G employees own about 25
percent of the company.
Business Units
Baby, Feminine and Family Care
This euphemistic segment is where customers turn for cleaning up after
biology. Brands include Pampers and Luvs diapers, Puffs facial tissue,
Charmin toilet tissue, Bounty paper towels, Tampax tampons and the Always
line of feminine hygiene products. The units sales in 2002 totaled $11.9
billion, making it the companys largest segment.
Fabric and Home Care

This former company leader has fallen to the No. 2 spot with $11.6 billion in
sales. Major products include the laundry detergents Tide, Cheer, Bold and
Era; fabric softeners Bounce and Downy; Dryel home dry-cleaning care; Joy,
Cascade and Ivory dish soaps; Mr. Clean and Swiffer floor care; and Febreze
fabric deodorizer.
Beauty Care
The products that started it all. Since introducing Ivory soap in 1879, Procter
& Gamble has been the nations soap leader. By 1890, the company was
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Organization
selling more than 30 different types of soap. These days, P&G also makes
Head & Shoulders shampoo; Noxzema and Oil of Olay skin care products;
Max Factor cosmetics; Clairol and Pantene hair products; and Secret
deodorant.
Health Care
Favorite brand names include Crest toothpaste, Metamucil, Fixodent denture
adhesive, Pur water filters, Vicks cold medicines (including NyQuil) and
Pepto Bismol antacid. Some may find it entertaining that this unit is also
responsible for Iams and Eukanuba pet food and products. P&G has formed
alliances with Aventis SA, Glaxo-SmithKline and Tarrytown, N.Y.-based
Regneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to produce prescription drugs as well.
Food & Beverage

Currently the smallest unit in P&G, with $3.8 billion in 2002 sales. Major
products include Folgers coffee, Hawaiian Punch, Pringles potato chips and
Sunny Delight.
Major Product/Brands
Baby, Feminine and Family Care Products
Pampers
Luvs
Charmin
Bounty
Puffs
Alldays
Always
Tampax

13
Procter & Gamble

Organization
Fabric and Home Care Products
Tide
Downy
Gain
Cascade
Cheer
Bold
Swiffer
Bounce
Dash
Dawn
Joy
Febreze
Era
Dreft
Mr. Clean
Ivory Dish
Beauty Care Products
14
Pantene
Olay
Head & Shoulders
Cover Girl
Clairol
Max Factor
Hugo Boss
Secret
Zest
Safeguard
Vidal Sassoon
Old Spice
Pert
Ivory
Sure
Camay
Laura Biagiotti
Noxzema
Giorgio
2002 Vault Inc.
Procter & Gamble

Organization
Health Care Products
Iams
Eukanuba
Crest
Asacol
Actonel
Vicks
Vicks NyQuil
Metamucil
Fixodent
Scope
Pepto-Bismol
Didronel
Macrobid
PUR
ThermaCare
Dantrium
Food & Beverage Products
Folgers
Hawaiian Punch
Pringles
Sunny Delight
Millstone
Torengos
Locations
United States
Cincinnati, Ohio (World Headquarters): About 15,000 of P&Gs 102,000
worldwide employees work in Cincinnati. In addition to its downtown
corporate offices, P&G facilities in the Cincinnati area include three
manufacturing plants and five research centers.
Baltimore, Md. (Headquarters for Cosmetics & Fragrances division): This
location includes corporate offices, a plant and a research center.
Norwich, N.Y.: This location includes a research center.

15
Procter & Gamble

Organization
Procter & Gamble has about 20 sales offices and manufacturing plants around
the country.
International
Procter & Gamble has on-the-ground operations in about 70 countries. A little
more than half of the companys employees work overseas.
In Latin America
Argentina
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Guatemala
Jamaica
Mexico
Peru
Puerto Rico
Venezuela
In Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
16
Austria
Belgium
Czechoslovakia
Egypt
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Kenya
Lebanon
Morocco
Netherlands
Nigeria
2002 Vault Inc.
Procter & Gamble

Organization
Poland
Portugal
Saudi Arabia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
United Kingdom
In Asia
Australia
China
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Japan
Korea
Malaysia
New Zealand
Pakistan
Philippines
Russia
Singapore
Taiwan
Thailand

17
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Procter & Gamble
Vault Newswire
November 2002: Glad to make your
acquaintance
Procter & Gamble and Clorox Co. announced an agreement in principle for a
joint venture in food wraps and trash bags under the Cloroxs Glad and
GladWare trademarks. Initial arrangements have P&G owning a 10 percent
stake in the venture, with an option to purchase an additional 10 percent.
November 2002: Whodunit?

Procter & Gamble expanded its Through-Air Drying patent infringement suit
this month to include Potlatch, another paper products competitor. As with its
suit against Georgia-Pacific, P&G claims that Potlatch hired technical experts
away from the company to exploit their knowledge of trade secrets.
September 2002: The quicker patent pickerupper

P&G sued rival Georgia-Pacific for allegedly stealing a manufacturing patent
for paper towels. According to P&G, Georgia-Pacific hired a technical expert
away from the company in July and used his knowledge of the Through-Air
Drying process, used to make P&G products Bounty and Charmin, to
duplicate his efforts for his new employer. Georgia-Pacific claims the
allegations are fabrications.
July 2002: Hair care, both wet and dry

P&G found common ground in American scalps with Panasonic. The two
companies enter into a licensing agreement to market and sell a new line of
ionic-technology hairdryers under the Pantene Pro-V brand name.
May 2002: The divorce turns ugly

Procter & Gamble sued former partner The Coca-Cola Company for patent
infringement. P&G claims Coke used P&G technology to add calcium to its
Minute Maid juice drinks. The tech in question had been exclusively licensed
to PepsiCo subsidiary Tropicana.

19
Procter & Gamble

Vault Newswire
April 2002: Dear John

John Pepper stepped down as chairman of the board and president and was
replaced by CEO A.G. Lafley.
February 2002: Cutting out the fat

Procter & Gamble sold the olestra production plant in Cincinnati, Ohio to
Twin Rivers Technologies for an undisclosed sum. Twin Rivers will continue
to operate the facility, supplying olestra to P&G and other customers.
November 2001: Hair we go again

P&G acquires top selling Clairol hair products business from Bristol-Myers
Squibb. The deal was worth $5 billion dollars.
October 2001: Smucking around with stocks

P&Gs Jif peanut butter and Crisco shortening were spun off to shareholders,
then immediately resold to The J.M. Smucker Company. Shareholders
received about $1 billion in Smucker stock, or about 53 percent of the
company.
October 2001: Shooting star

Procter & Gamble sold its Comet cleanser trademark and North America
retail business to Prestige Brands International for undisclosed terms. P&G
retained the marketing rights in Europe, as well as the professional line in
North America.
September 2001: Irreconcilable differences

P&G and Coke, unable to reach an agreement on how their joint venture will
operate, will go their separate ways. The companies had tried but failed to
amend their plans in August.
March 2001: P&G steps up reorganization plans

The company announced the next step in its plans to revitalize performance.
These include streamlining of overhead and manufacturing costs as well as a
9 percent workforce cut, or 9,600 jobs. Two-thirds of the cuts come from nonmanufacturing positions.
20
2002 Vault Inc.
Procter & Gamble

Vault Newswire
February 2001: A meeting of giants

Procter & Gamble and The Coca-Cola Company announced plans to form a
joint venture. The new business was to develop and market juice drinks and
other food products. The companies expected $4.2 billion in annual sales.
January 2001: We dont do floors

Procter & Gamble divested itself of cleaning products Cinch and Spic and
Span, selling its interest to a marketing group that would become The Spic
and Span Company. P&G holds onto ownership of Professional Line Spic and
Span, the institutional adjunct to the product.

21
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Procter & Gamble
Our Survey Says

Old, but trying to get younger
As would be expected of a company whose logo contains a reference to the
original 13 colonies, Procter & Gamble is not the hippest of work
environments, although we hear the winds of change have blown through
Cincinnati in recent years. One employee describes the company as very
conservative. To fit, he says, you should be a typical yuppie, drive a
Saab. However, most other employees say the atmosphere is shifting. The
culture here is a bit on the conservative side, though it seems that the younger
generation is changing that, says one. I am finding an emerging diversity of
thought and dress. More and more men are finding it OK to keep their hair
long or have an earring, says another. Obviously were still a somewhat
conservative company. But there is more openness and acceptance of those
who dont fit the traditional, conservative look or views.
and more casual

In keeping with its move away from a conservative atmosphere, dress for
most employees is now business casual or business appropriate. Dress
code has been suit and tie for many years, but recently changed to business
casual, which, by the way, is a shock to many people, reports one employee.
Those in sales management wear suits when meeting clients, and upper
management is often also dressed formally, but for most, its relaxed fit
slacks, collared shirts and skirts (no T-shirts and jeans).
Big, and struggling to act small

Accounts of how P&G operates run the gamut from surprisingly nimble and
non-bureaucratic to extremely structured and hierarchical, but enough
employees complain about its being overly bureaucratic to suggest that the
description, while perhaps not unilateral, is far from a fluke. What I did not
like was that the company was large and sometimes very bureaucratic, which
meant that change sometimes happened very slowly and that
entrepreneurship was sometimes stifled, says one former international brand
manager.
Within brand management, teamwork and communication is stressed 50
percent of a brand managers evaluation is based on the development of
employees in the brand. Most employees speak glowingly about their
treatment by superiors, saying their bosses take real interest in their
23
Procter & Gamble

Our Survey Says
development and treat their opinions with real respect. But bureaucracy can
rear its ugly head when it comes to interdepartmental movement. Many of
the functions (outside of Brand and Finance) do not have the performance
incentives we have. As a result, they can be bureaucratic and will use Brands
failure to follow procedure or guidelines as an excuse, says another
employee. But within Brand, the company can also be overly stiff. Its
definitely bureaucratic, its very difficult to get things done at P&G, says a
former assistant brand manager. Things just move at a very slow pace. That
former employee says that when a new idea is presented, it is sent by memo
to a superior and then niggled sent back with comments in the margin.
The memo is rewritten and sent to the next higher level, and then niggled
again. And so on. Its a pretty stifling place, he says.
Was white and male; moving quickly to greater

diversity
Procter & Gamble, employees nearly unanimously say, is making impressive
strides to recruit and advance more minorities and women, although there is
also the tacit or explicit admission that this was not always the case. In a lot
of areas, minorities and women have a great chance of getting promoted fast
since the company is trying to change its traditional conservative corporate
atmosphere, reports an employee.
P&G advertises itself as an employer in publications such as Minority
Engineer and The Black Collegian. In 1996, the company was honored with
the NAACP Legal Defense Funds first corporate affirmative action award for
its tripling of women and minorities at the director level and above during the
previous five years. Since then, the company has received numerous awards
and plenty of recognition for its commitment to gender and ethnic balance.
One employee describes a Halloween Party he had with fellow employees:
We had friends there from Iran, India, Ukraine, Israel, Canada, Romania, as
well as from all over the United States.
With respect to the status of women in the company, as one employee points
out, most of our consumers buying our products are women, and so were
very in tune with what they want. For the past decade, P&G has been voted
one of the 100 best companies for working women by Working Mother
magazine. Although only one of P&Gs top 15 officers is female, many
employees report that the middle and upper-middle management ranks are
filled with women working their way up the corporate ladder. A third of the
companys brand managers, and half of its marketing managers, are women.
I was one of four males in a department of 28. Both marketing directors were
24
2002 Vault Inc.
Procter & Gamble

Our Survey Says
female, says a former assistant brand manager. My last three bosses and
their bosses have all been women, says another employee. And yet another
says: I have not had a boss who was male. Even my director, at a high level,
is a female. The company has, and encourages involvement in, women and
minority support groups.
The perky city

In Cincinnati, the company rents out an amusement park every summer for
employees and their families to enjoy for free. In the winter, it does the same
for events such as David Copperfield, the Harlem Globetrotters or ice-skating
shows. Sales reps get a company car and keep their frequent flyer miles.
Theres also a company gym, holiday gift packs and coupons for P&G
products. I havent bought detergent or soap for nine years! says one
employee. And the perks arent confined to the P&G campuses. All kinds of
perks all over town, a central office employee reports. P&G owns
Cincinnati.
P&G also was one of the first companies to offer FlexComp, which gives
employees a wide range of healthcare and other insurance choices. And P&G
also pays out another 2 percent to 4 percent of an employees salary (above
base pay) that workers can use to pay for their benefits.
But by far the most impressive perk P&G offers is its company profit-sharing
retirement plan. Initiated in 1887 to address labor unrest, the program is the
longest-running profit-sharing plan in the country. Under the plan, the
company automatically kicks in stock worth from 5 percent to 25 percent of
a participants annual base pay, with the maximum company contribution
coming after 20 years of service. The plan is considered a real gem because,
unlike the pension programs at many companies, its not a matching program:
P&G makes the contributions above base salary regardless of what the
employee does. Its automatic, you dont even have to think about it,
according to one employee. Ive had job offers with higher salaries but have
never been able to make the long-term math pay out over what I can
reasonably expect here, another employee says.
Participants in the plan are fully vested after five years of service. Although
the program provides longtime employees with substantial retirement
security, it is not necessarily such a bonus for itinerant workers. My honest
opinion is that its not any better than other well-respected companies, except
if you stay a long time (over 10 years), one employee says. Its really
skewed in favor of longevity, says another. All you really know is all the
folks who have been there for a while go on and on about how much theyre
25
Procter & Gamble

Our Survey Says
getting. That person, a two-year Procter employee, describes his profitsharing receipts as miniscule, a couple thousand dollars a year.
Who needs money when you live in Cincy and

have that profit-sharing plan?
Talking about salary is more taboo than Satan-worshipping at P&G. P&G is
notoriously hush-hush about salary, says one employee. The one thing that
is absolutely taboo at Procter & Gamble is salary. Do not have a discussion
about it unless you are absolutely sure they will not tell your boss you had it,
warns another.
The one thing employees do know about each others salaries is that they do
not change with location in the United States: If you move from Kansas City
to New York, youre not going to be making any more, says one slightly
peeved metropolitan employee. Those in Cincinnati like to point out that the
low cost of living there, combined with the companys policy on geographic
uniformity when it comes to compensation, is a plus for them. Keep in mind
that $40,000 in Cincinnati is comparable to 70 to 80K in San Francisco or
New York, one says.
Overall, employees give tepid reviews of their salaries. Pay is higher than
average, but not astounding. You can probably get a higher salary in high-tech
or consulting, says one. They hope the opportunities and outstanding
benefits will make up for the average pay, reports another. The final
conclusion? Youll never be rich, but very comfortable.
A reputation 99.44 percent pure

In the consumer goods industry, P&Gs reputation is unparalleled. It is a
[Fortune-ranked] company and known worldwide. It is a household name
and so are all of its products. On a scale of 1-10, it is a 10, one employee
says. The same can be said about the companys reputation for training
managers. I believe it is the best marketing school in the world, says
another respondent.
Although most employees who work at the company stay there, Procter &
Gamble is a definite resume boost. I was told that I should not consider
interning at P&G if I had no real intention of living in Cincy, says one intern.
False. A summer at P&G means a lot to other brand companies. One former
employee in P&Gs sales division reports that although he did not feel as
challenged as he had hoped: in the end what seemed to be the best part
about the job was just having the name on my resume. Telling an admissions
26
2002 Vault Inc.
Procter & Gamble

Our Survey Says
counselor at a business school that you worked for P&G automatically carries
a great deal of weight.
Moreover, employees take equal pride in P&Gs reputation as an ethical and
philanthropic company. It is a company with deep integrity, a company you
never have to worry about defending to your family or friends, one says.
Never in my 23 years have I ever come close to compromising my personal
integrity for the companys sake, according to another. We are excellent
corporate citizens in the communities where we have operations.
The cream of the crop, the pearl of the oyster,

the Oil of the Olay
Procter & Gamble says they only hire the best and brightest and they mean
it. Virtually all employees remark that they are surrounded by, as one
employee said, the cream of the crop former military officers, captains of
college sports teams, fraternity and sorority officers, award winners, highest
GPAs in college. Many employees say the competency of co-workers is a
major plus when considering working at P&G: Everyone is very talented
and intelligent and pulls their weight.
Ive known many people at many companies, and Ive had close friends
leave P&G and go elsewhere. But invariably, theyve told me that although
they enjoy their jobs, the quality of the people they work with is below what
they were used to at P&G, one 20-year veteran says. We do hire the very
best. Ive been in the hiring business for many years, and I can guarantee you
that.
This doesnt just mean employees are good at pouring over data in their
offices. Success at P&G is much easier if youre a people person. The
company emphasizes many attributes with its What Counts Factors, but
initiative and leadership and critical thinking seem to be the most important.
A brand manager defines what success looks like, one employee says. Of
course, that P&G is so selective has its drawbacks. Since there are so many
talented people, its hard to move up. There are 20 great people trying for one
promotion, one employee reports.
The up-or-out policy in Brand

The talent of the employees becomes a major issue when it comes to Brand,
and that departments up-or-out policy. While the evaluation policy (50
percent of a managers evaluation depends on development of employees)
promotes up-down cooperation, the up-or-out policy promotes lateral
27
Procter & Gamble

Our Survey Says
competition. You do get a lot of help from the manager. I dont think you get
as much help from your peers, according to a former Brand employee. But
that former employee says although he saw politicking and brown-nosing
because of this competition, and people are very much aware of their place
in the organization, he did not see any malicious undermining, because
Brand employees accept the competition as a fact of life. It just doesnt
happen. Its not permitted, he says about whether a brand employee could
stay at one position for their entire career. Its the way the organization
works.
No slave-driving here
For those with management-track positions, workload at P&G is heavy, but
not as intense as in consulting and investment-banking fields. One employee
explains, Being in Cincinnati generally made the corporate culture embrace
family-work balance. I didnt see the slave-driving at P&G that you see on
Wall Street.
Although the official workday in the corporate offices is 7.5 hours, most
employees at P&Gs downtown offices pull between 45 to 55 hours a week.
However, many comment that the hours are fairly flexible: Some people
even come in at 7 or 7:30 a.m. and leave at 3:30 p.m. Of course, hours can
intensify: one assistant brand manager reports working 60+ hours a week for
two or three weeks while preparing an annual plan. Treks to the office on
weekends to catch up are common for those higher up on the ladder. But even
when long hours are required, employees say, it is not because long hours are
an ingrained part of the companys culture. Ultimately, you will be judged
on how good a job you do, not how many hours you keep, says a P&G
market researcher.
Im living on the air in Cincinnati

Opinions of Cincinnati vary. Some employees like the low crime rate and
free-flowing traffic; others complain that the city is conservative, lacks
diversity, and has crappy restaurants. Interns generally have a great time over
the summer, in part because the company plans social activities such as
riverboat cruises, happy hours and trips to Cincinnati Reds games. For fulltime employees, P&G has the obligatory activities. There are a lot of sports
leagues within the company which is a great way to meet other young
people, says one employee. While P&G has been cognizant of making life
comfortable for families (they work hard to try to get spouses to both work
for the company), it is only recently considering the needs of the young and
28
2002 Vault Inc.
Procter & Gamble

Our Survey Says
single. Says one former employee, Cincinnati as a town is a pretty rough

place to be for very long if youre single.

29
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Procter & Gamble
Getting Hired
Overview of the Hiring Process
Procter & Gamble recruits for its management-track jobs at most prestigious
business schools and undergraduate colleges. It also prefers to hire through its
internships rather than directly into the company. Internships last about 12
weeks in the summer. The company asks that applications be submitted by
January for the internships, as they try to fill them by March. Recruiting
schedules, and in some instances P&G contacts who are alumni of certain
schools, are posted on the companys career center web pages.
The screening process is very selective. It usually involves several rounds of
interviews and always includes a multi-page Management Application Form
and a company-designed multiple-choice test designed to test critical thinking
skills. Procter & Gamble is primarily concerned with the character and
personality traits of its hires, and their thinking skills, and these two tests are
designed to gauge these.
Immediately available job listings are also posted on the web site, although
these are primarily for sales or support-staff positions.
For its brand management department, Procter & Gamble says it requires a
masters degree and prefers an MBA though outstanding undergraduates are
also hired into the department. For the finance/accounting path, an accounting
undergraduate degree is required, or an MBA finance or accounting major. In
the technical departments, engineering or computer science degrees are often
required. For other departments, such as human resources, or customer
business development management, Procter accepts candidates from all
majors.
As much as it looks at a candidates academic background, Procter &
Gamble stresses certain personality traits and other skills:
an outstanding record of leadership
strong verbal and written communication skills
strong critical thinking ability
the ability to innovate
the ability to work as part of a team

31
Procter & Gamble

Getting Hired
This is not just company hoopla: Many employees say leadership and
initiative are not only integral to getting hired, but to being successful in the
company. Theyre not looking for yes people, but want you to challenge
and question, says one. Dont wait for people to tell you what to do. Trust
your instincts and make things happen, says another.
To Apply
Cover letters and resumes can be e-mailed to careers@pg.com. They can
be snail-mailed to:
Procter & Gamble
Recruiting Services Center
P.O. Box 599, TN-4
Department WWW
Cincinnati, OH 45201-0599
Conventional and e-mail addresses for applications to Procters many
overseas offices can be found at the companys career website, located at
www.pgcareers.com. Here are a few major ones:
In Canada
Corporate Recruiting
Procter & Gamble Inc.
P.O. Box 355, Station A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1C5
P&G Canada does not currently accept applications via e-mail.
In Japan
P&G Japan
Internships
17, Koyo-cho Naka 7-chome
Higashinada-ku
Kobe 658 Japan
internjapan.im@pg.com
32
2002 Vault Inc.
Procter & Gamble

Getting Hired
In the U.K. and Ireland

Procter & Gamble
Corporate Recruitment Manager,
The Heights
Brooklands
Weybridge, Surrey
KT 13 0XP
recunitedkingdm.im@pg.com
In Germany
Procter & Gamble GmbH
Corporate Recruiting Department
65823 Schwalbach am Taunus
recgermany.im@pg.com
Preparing for the Interview

For most management-track employees, Procter & Gamble has a three-round
interview process and a test, although some outstanding candidates only go
through two interviews. Again, these employees are primarily culled from
recruiting at prestigious schools and are introduced to the company through
the internship program.
The first two interview rounds generally take place on a school campus, and
are given by either an alumnus of the school at which P&G is recruiting, or
by a member of the companys human resources department. The last
interview is a panel interview, in front of two or three P&G managers. The
questions at each of these interviews are essentially identical. The interview
process can take several weeks.
Despite the many rounds, the interview process is not especially nervewracking, employees report. They make it relaxed, they make you feel
comfortable, according to one employee. Theres never any point where
they try to do a psychology part and try to stress you out.
The critical-thinking test, called the P&GMAT, is given before the final
round. Its a pass/fail multiple-choice test similar to the GMAT that asks testtakers to find the solutions to real-life business situations. The test wont not
a problem for students at prestigious undergraduate and business schools, we
hear. And because they have the test, P&G interviewers do not spend a great
deal of time asking applicants about grades during the interview process.
33
Procter & Gamble

Getting Hired
Employees also fill out a Management Application Form (MAF), which some
employees refer to as a personality/psychology questionnaire. Although it is
a subjective test with supposedly no right answers, keep in mind what
Procter looks for in an employee. This questionnaire, one employee says, is
also used to learn about an applicants probable loyalty to P&G.
Questions to Expect
The basis of Procter & Gambles recruitment and evaluation for managers are
what it calls the What Counts Factors. The most important of these,
employees say, are leadership, initiative and follow through (execution), and
critical thinking. Others include teamwork, communication, creativity and
prioritization. The interviews for P&G are geared entirely toward determining
whether a candidate possesses these characteristics. There was not a single
specific marketing question, one employee says. You wont be asked about
marketing case studies, says another.
In many cases, employees say they already knew what questions would be
asked at the interviews. Its extremely predictable. They tell you what
theyre going to ask you, then they ask you, reports one employee. That
employee was asked to write short essays after his first interview. In his
second interview, he was asked to talk about his answers. Another employee
says she was given the MAF before her first interview, and that the test
essentially approximated the questions she was asked.
1.Give me a recent example where you exceeded expectations.
Remember, Procter & Gamble stresses initiative. So a good prepared answer
wont just be, Well, I had been averaging 10 points a game, and I scored 15,
but some way in which your action went outside the boundaries of what was
expected: creating your own combined major in school, forming a new
organization, etc. When given these questions, try to provide examples from
your entire life, including high school, junior high, even elementary school.
2. Why did you decide to go back to school? or Why did you decide to
start working immediately after undergraduate school?
This is an example of a explain your decisions type question that P&G likes
to ask. Like the personality test, it is designed in part to gauge your
commitment to the field, and by extension, the company itself.
34
2002 Vault Inc.
Procter & Gamble

Getting Hired
3. Which word best describes you?

Choose a What Counts Factor and be prepared to give a few stories about
why you think you are best characterized as a leader, or having initiative, etc.
4. Give me an example of when you had to use thinking and problem
solving skills.
One of the high-ranking What Counts Factors, this is not the easiest of traits
to illustrate with a story, so you should prepare for this one.
5. Tell me about one of your activities during school and what you think
you gained from it.
Remember What counts? And dont you forget it.
6. What is your definition of success? or Tell us about an experience that
you think was successful.
A brand manager is supposed to define success for his or her group. And, yes,
were beating you over the head with this one. Its worth noting that the
What Counts Factors are called Success Factors on P&Gs Europe,
Middle East and Africa Group website.
Questions to Ask
Employees said that recruiters are looking for a demonstrated interest in the
company. This means knowing the basic background info. P&G is an easy
company to find information on, so it makes you look unmotivated if you
dont have anything to talk about, said one brand management intern. If
youve read this report, you should be prepared, but here are some primers:
1. What types of courses can I take while at P&G? Ive read a little about
P&G College, but how will skills I pick up there help me to continue to
grow?
The company is proud of its P&G College, and its emphasis on training. Also,
they are looking for employees who are motivated to keep learning.
2. If P&Gs pharmaceutical business grows as anticipated, does the
company envision that it will deviate from its promote-from-within
policy to gather talent experienced in that category?
Knowing about the companys plans to expand its presence in the drug
industry is a must.

35
Procter & Gamble

Getting Hired
3. I understand that Procter expects to greatly increase its business in

emerging markets. What opportunities and responsibilities does this
afford?
If you have any international expertise (fluency in foreign languages, travel,
detailed knowledge of or experience with foreign markets), this is a good way
to try and flaunt it. Many top managers at P&G spent time in international
divisions (former CEO John Pepper was a general manager in Italy and a VP
for the companys European operations). A managing director in Europe said
in a recent interview that international mobility has always been a common
feature of a career at P&G.
4. How is P&Gs recent restructuring effort affecting management-level
jobs?
5. For what other products does the company envision using olestra?
Olestra is the chemical name; Olean is the brand name being used with fatfree Pringles. P&G is selling olestra to Frito-Lay and Nabisco for use in such
products as Lays and Doritos. Consumer reaction is thus far mixed. While
some consumers crow about being able to upsize their potato chip
consumption, others complain the fake fat causes diarrhea and other bowel
disruptions.
6. With so many options for consumers these days, and brand loyalty
seemingly on the decline, what is P&Gs strategy for the 21st century to
keep and attract customers?
Pay
MBAs in Brand Management or Finance: $65,000 to $70,000, with about
$12,000 signing bonus for former interns and a $6,000 signing bonus for an
interns
Undergrads on management tracks: $35,000 to $40,000
Summer internship: $1,000+ a week for MBAs; $500 a week for
undergrads.
36
2002 Vault Inc.
Procter & Gamble

Getting Hired
Perks
Lucrative profit-sharing plan
Free products
Maternity leave (one year); flexible schedules that allow employees to
reduce hours for five years to take care of young children
Health plan
Company car for field reps

37
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Procter & Gamble
On the Job
Day in the Life
Assistant Brand Manager, Brand Management
7:45 a.m.: Arrive at office. (Theres no P&G parking lot, but theres plenty
of parking in downtown Cincinnati.)
8:15 a.m.: Finish eating breakfast and reading paper at desk. (Its a cubicle
in kind of an open bullpen area for each brand. The brand manager has an
office.)
8:30 a.m.: Check in with brand manager. (You dont meet with your
manager daily, but my brand managers door is always open.).
9:00 a.m.: Receive data needed for pricing study via fax, begin analyzing
consumer response to recent markup.
10:00 a.m.: On the phone with advertising agency, checking to see when the
storyboards for the new campaign will arrive.
10:15 a.m.: On the phone with the purchasing department, checking what
types of paper can be used for a questionnaire to be inserted into packages.
(We have to make sure its attractive, so people will actually fill it out.)
10:30 a.m.: Meet in conference room with financial analysts to receive more
data for the pricing study. Go over their preliminary interpretations.
12:00 p.m.: Lunch with a colleague from the brand group for $3 or $4 at
cafeteria. Choose from salad and sandwich bars, a pasta dish and several
other hot entrees. (Its a pretty great cafeteria, the food was decent, it was
subsidized.) Or go out to eat if youre afraid the food has Olean and your
stomach wont take it. (Theres a good Chinese place, a good Thai place,
theres Skyline Chili a block away where you can get the 5-way, a Cincinnati
concoction that involves chili, onions, cinnamon and spaghetti.)
12:45 p.m.: Drive 15 minutes to a research center in the north of Cincinnati
to meet with research and development staffers. (What progress are we
making in making a milder soap? Hows the color coming?)
3:00 p.m.: Drive back to central office. Flash ID badge at 11-story old granite
general offices, where most Brands are located. That office is connected by a

39
Procter & Gamble

On the Job
skywalk to two new glass 20-story tower-domes. (Theyre called the Dolly
Parton towers by the locals.)
3:15 p.m.: On the phone with customer development managers, set up
meeting in the next couple of days.
3:30 p.m.: Work on pricing study more. Take notes for eventual presentation.
4:30 p.m.: Weekly meeting in floor conference room with brand group,
including the brand manager.
4:50 p.m.: Make brief presentation to group about the questionnaire: how it
will be distributed, what incentives will be included to promote responses.
(Well offer a prize drawing or something like that.)
5:30 p.m.: On the phone with purchasing to order the questionnaire paper.
6:00 p.m.: Leave for home. (Its your discretion when you leave. You knew
what you had to do, there was no one really watching. It was just more of a
sense of Get the job done.)
Job Descriptions
Brand Manager, Brand Management
Assistant brand managers and brand managers analyze all aspects of a brands
sales and marketing. Brand management is general management with an
emphasis on marketing, explains one employee. The majority of employees
in brand management are recruited from MBA programs, and employees say
the company is shifting away from employing brand managers without
MBAs.
The important thing to know about brand management is that its THE
department for those looking to move high up in the company. Brand
management is Boss. I cant recall anyone wanting to move from marketing
to finance, but I do remember more than two cases where people wanted to
move from finance to marketing, says one employee. I know of no general
manager worldwide that reached that position without having to pass through
the brand management department, says another. Employees coming into
the department (they always come in as assistant brand managers) can give
preferences of what types of products they work with, but, explains one
employee, matching company needs and employee desires is an inexact
science.
40
2002 Vault Inc.
Procter & Gamble

On the Job
Projects might include

determining how a change in pricing would affect a products performance
developing direct-mail and other advertising campaigns
predicting market receptivity to new product concepts
packaging design
developing new product ideas
analyzing market research on focus groups
Assistant brand managers are split into junior ABMs and senior ABMs. Junior
ABMs are more responsible for promotions and market research; senior
ABMs look more broadly at marketing campaigns and strategy.
Account Manager, Customer Business

Development
This is management, but out in the field and as a telecommuter in sales rather
than at home offices and in marketing in Cincinnati. Many undergraduates
starting out in the company with an eye on management enter through this
department. The position involves meeting retailers to help them plan their
marketing strategies. The account manager is focused on four major areas:
ensuring that a retailer has the right mix of products
working with the client to evaluate optimal pricing strategies
planning product promotions
advising on product placement on the shelves
Summer Internships
Procter & Gambles internship programs are the best way to get started at the
company. Says one MBA intern who is almost certain she will accept a
company offer: Summer internships almost always result in job offers. This
summer, interns received their offers before they left P&G. During this past
summer, the CEO stated that one of his long-term goals was to recruit brand
people only from the intern pool. Another MBA intern says she knew of no
one in the program who did not receive an offer. Says a former undergraduate
intern currently working for P&G, Its contingent on performance, but I
knew that if you did well, you get an offer.

41
Procter & Gamble

On the Job
Interns are given a surprising amount of responsibility. Interns often get the
most politically sensitive projects: to kill or not kill a brand; strategic focus
of a brand, says one former brand management intern. These were not just
make-work. These were real projects, says another. Also, interns in
Cincinnati have weekly lunches with high-level managers, perhaps even the
CEO. That was a fantastic experience, says one former intern about the
luncheons.
Undergraduates entering their sophomore year to first-year graduate students
can also apply for internships in a variety of other departments: Research &
Development, Product Supply/Engineering, Customer Business
Development, among others. The close to 500 interns are flown to Cincinnati
where about two thirds of them remain for the summer for a one-day
orientation which involves business presentations by company managers and
a reception and dinner with the chairman and president. Customer business
development interns stay an additional day for more seminars; these interns
get to use a company car for the summer to travel to meet clients. Interns who
stay in Cincinnati are provided housing. Projects for undergraduate interns
vary from analyzing cleaning products in labs to planning display strategies
with grocery store managers.
Department Descriptions
Brand Management
The main choice of the MBAs, brand management is, according to former
CEO John Pepper, an opportunity to manage a company within a company.
This department manages individual brands by gaining insight into its
consumers and researching cultural trends. Brand managers develop
promotions and other marketing strategies for their product. Brand managers
in the United States are either in Cincinnati or Baltimore. This department,
employees say, has an up-or-out policy.
Finance/Accounting Management
Along with Brand Management, this department is one of the two most
popular department choices of MBAs and those with management
aspirations. With oversight of business decisions, finance and accounting
professionals analyze accounting data to maximize long-term profits, cash
flow, and return on investment. Although this is a management-track
department, in order to move into the higher echelon of P&G, finance people
42
2002 Vault Inc.
Procter & Gamble

On the Job
need to spend some time in Brand or Marketing. Although concentrated in

Cincinnati, Baltimore, and Norwich, N.Y., this department is spread out
throughout the country.
Human Resources
Internal transfers from other departments fill the vast majority of Human
Resources positions at P&G. The department oversees recruiting, training,
diversity, benefits, compensation and organization evaluation.
Management Information Systems

Employees in Management Systems lead development and application of
information and communication systems throughout the company. This
department is filled by applicants with computer science or engineering
backgrounds, and it is centered in Cincinnati.
Market Research
Sort of a feeder into Brand Management, this department gauges market
response to new product concepts, advertising campaigns and product
changes.
Product Supply
This large division is comprised of Manufacturing, Engineering, Purchases
and Customer Services subdivisions. It is in charge of actually transforming
raw materials to finished products, and delivering the products to customers.
Professional and Regulatory Service

This department provides expertise in human and environmental safety and
product regulatory issues, often working on obtaining licensing approval
from the government.
Public Affairs
Public Affairs handles communications with the media, government officials,
community groups, shareholders and employees. The department also
manages consumer relations.

43
Procter & Gamble

On the Job
Research and Development

These are the guys with the white coats and goggles in the labs. Although
product development gets the most press, this department is also responsible
for developing new packaging and manufacturing processes. The department
hosted a global R&D symposium in March 1998 that drew thousands of
attendees.
Customer Business Development (Sales)

Management
Providing on-site consulting for Procter & Gamble throughout the world, this
department identifies business-building opportunities and develops customer
alliances.
The most important thing to know about career paths at Procter & Gamble is
that the company sticks to a promote-from-within policy. Therefore, the vast
majority of new hires are at the entry levels. Because of this policy, career
paths do not differ substantially for undergraduates and MBAs, although
MBAs, of course, can expect to move faster initially. Employees described
the career paths as fairly rigid, with the expected dues-paying and set paths
that one would expect at a large and relatively conservative company. The
second most important thing to know is that in brand management (but not
other departments) P&G has a somewhat brutal up-or-out policy.
Career Paths
Brand Management
This department is becoming increasingly closed to those without MBAs.
Out of about 15 to 20 new brand people a year, maybe a couple are
undergraduates, one former assistant brand manager says. P&G employees
entering Brand always start as junior assistant brand managers. If they move
up the ladder, they will become go to a senior ABM in 12 to 15 months, a
brand manager three or three-and-a-half years later. From there, its
marketing director after five years and then category manager after five more
years. This position is on the cusp of upper management, and can lead to a
position as general manager of a region.
If a Brand employee is not promoted within the timeframe the company has
set up, they are placed on special assignment, one former employee reports.
This means two months in an office with just a phone and a desk to find
44
2002 Vault Inc.
Procter & Gamble

On the Job
another job. This can happen at any level up to category manager, meaning it
can happen to employees who have been with the company for 10 years or
more. Needless to say, this creates a high attrition rate.
Finance and Accounting

Ascension in either of these tracks leads to executive financial management.
Entry level is as either a financial analyst or accountant. For accountants, the
path goes: senior accountant, group manager, associate director, director, and
then executive financial management. For financial analysts, the career path
is as follows: manager, category financial manager, comptroller, and then
executive financial management. Again, those with their eyes on being a top
management need to spend time in Brand.
Sales Management
The first promotion from account manager is to account executive. This
position develops business plans with customers. After this, customer
business employees often move to other company functions, such as Finance,
Product Supply or Advertising.
Evaluations
Annual evaluations for P&G employees are based on the companys seven
What Counts Factors:
initiative and follow-through
leadership skills
creativity and innovation
problem solving
working effectively with others
communication skills
priority setting
Employees are rated quantitatively on these factors. Interns are evaluated
once informally halfway through the summer, and then formally with the
What Counts Factors at the end of their experience. For supervisors,
evaluations are split into two parts: the business they oversee, and the people
they oversee. In other words, half of their evaluation is based on how the
people in their group develop.

45
Procter & Gamble

On the Job
Training
Because Procter & Gamble emphasizes developing its employees and a
promote-from-within policy, it is very proud of its training programs. In
Cincinnati, theres a building close to headquarters that is used for P&G
College, with half-day to full-day courses on rating advertising, being more
sensitive to diversity issues as a manager, etc. When youre in your first
couple of years, youre there maybe every other week, says one brand
employee. Later, its maybe once a month. There are about 20 students in
each session, usually from the same function. Employees, in part because of
the free sandwiches students get, welcome the sessions. Apparently the
sandwiches are so good that P&G tells employees that going to the college to
get some when its not your turn is grounds for firing. However, Ive never
seen that happen, one employee says.
Outside of Cincinnati, training often takes the form of regional seminars
taught worldwide by company executives who are experts in particular
subject areas. At Procter & Gamble, the most important thing is training,
said one former category manager in Asia.
46
2002 Vault Inc.
Procter & Gamble
Final Analysis
If youre good enough to land a job at Procter & Gamble and you must be
very good then ask yourself if Procter & Gamble is what you want. Are you
delighted at the prospect of slowly accruing benefits, steady but not stellar
pay, and the prospect of moving to the Midwest? Do you want to live large,
or live comfortably? Procter & Gamble is confident in its value and identity.
And if youre thinking about going into Brand Management, can you stomach
the prospect of a special assignment? If the firm makes you an offer, it
means they think you can fit in, not the other way around despite their
emphasis on innovation and creativity in thinking. P&G has set a tricky task
for itself in the coming years, looking to simultaneously streamline
operations and double sales. If theyre successful in their push into the
pharmaceutical industry, emerging markets and new categories of foods with
products such as Olean, therell be plenty of work and potential for
advancement. As they say at P&G, as the market goes, so go your
opportunities. Needless to say, dont expect P&G to be going away anytime
soon.

47
48
2002 Vault Inc.
Procter & Gamble
Recommended Reading
Check out www.pg.com for the latest company press releases and product
news. Some other articles to check out are:
The Un-CEO, Fortune, September 16, 2002
Why P&Gs Smile Is So Bright, BusinessWeek, August 12, 2002
A Fresh Face, Forbes, July 8, 2002
Using Rocket Science to Make Sugar Drinks, Fortune, November 26,
2001
Can Procter & Gamble Clean Up Its Act? BusinessWeek, March 12, 2001

49
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Procter & Gamble

OUR SURVEY SAYS

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Overview of the Hiring Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

A Day in the Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Procter & Gamble

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Procter & Gamble at a Glance

MAJOR BUSINESS UNITS

2002 Vault Inc.

Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble

On top of the whirl

2002 Vault Inc.

Procter & Gamble

Restructuring: Think globally, act locally

Visit Vault at www.vault.com for insider company profiles, expert advice,

Procter & Gamble

the layoffs as a combination of expense cutting and trimming of unprofitable

New products: looking for the magic bullet

Febreze on its way

2002 Vault Inc.

Procter & Gamble

Running with Olean

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Procter & Gamble

2002 Vault Inc.

Procter & Gamble

introduced television advertisements featuring its distinguished products

P&Gs media agenda

Procter & Gamble

Using marketing strategies to improve the

2002 Vault Inc.

Procter & Gamble

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Procter & Gamble

R. Kerry Clark: Vice Chairman, President of Global Market Development

Fabric and Home Care

2002 Vault Inc.

Procter & Gamble

Food & Beverage

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Procter & Gamble

Fabric and Home Care Products

Beauty Care Products

2002 Vault Inc.

Procter & Gamble

Health Care Products

Food & Beverage Products

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Procter & Gamble

In Europe, the Middle East, and Africa

2002 Vault Inc.

Procter & Gamble

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