Publications
Publications
- January 2022 (Revised November 2023)
- HBS Case Collection
Expanding the Culture of Learning at Kraft Heinz
By: Ashley V. Whillans and Carolyn Watson
Abstract
The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) was an American food company formed in 2015 by the merger of Kraft Foods Group, Inc and the H.J. Heinz Company. The company sold food products like Heinz Ketchup, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Kool-Aid, and Philadelphia cream cheese to supermarkets, restaurants, and food service companies. Part of what made the company stand out from other publicly traded CPG companies like Nestlé, Kellogg, and Dannon was its approach to hiring, training, and promotion. Since Heinz was taken private in 2013 by 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway, and after the merger with Kraft in 2015, the company had experienced profound changes over a short period of time. Following the company transition, there were new opportunities to expand the company’s culture. Global Chief People Officer, Melissa Werneck, believed these changes could be implemented in part by modifying the performance evaluation and incentive system, which was still a work in progress, and by creating more innovative learning and training offerings. Pamay Bassey - the Chief Learning Officer at Kraft Heinz - wondered what complementary initiatives could be used to incentivize learning and accelerate development for the employees at The Kraft Heinz Company. While the incentive system was shifting away from individual rewards toward team-level rewards and recognition, was there anything else the company could do to motivate learning and continual development for all employees—not just those who were already bought in to the idea, had been recently promoted, or were vying for a new title?
Keywords
Learning; Culture; Work Culture; Workplace Practices; Mergers; Mergers and Acquisitions; Competitive Advantage; Human Capital; Training; Performance Evaluation; Growth and Development; Personal Development and Career; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry
Citation
Whillans, Ashley V., and Carolyn Watson. "Expanding the Culture of Learning at Kraft Heinz." Harvard Business School Case 922-036, January 2022. (Revised November 2023.)