'Proctoids'? Shaving company's ranks may clash with new culture

CINCINNATI -- They call themselves Proctoids, and they speak in code: PVP, TSR, CMK.

It may sound like a top-secret defense project but this is the cryptic culture of Procter & Gamble Co., one of the world's largest consumer products companies.

''The acronyms are real but you can learn this new language," P&G's Francine Gingras told Gillette Co. employees in a recent memo. ''It just doesn't happen overnight."

Gingras knows firsthand. She was an executive at Clairol when P&G acquired the hair care company in 2001. Now she's an associate director of external relations at the company's hair color unit.

Indeed, newcomers have a lot to learn about how to fit in at P&G, where employees nicknamed Proctoids are known for their discipline, loyalty, and strong corporate culture.

''There's a certain pride and arrogance to being called a Proctoid," said Doug Shelton, a P&G spokesman who has been at the company for 23 years. ''Proctoids were known for being very rigid and slow to change."

Proctoids admit they used to be more uptight, with a suits-only dress code and a strict policy for one-page memos. But company officials claim they've loosened up a bit: It's business casual these days and memos can be two pages. The acronyms are still around (TSR = Total Shareholder Return; CMK = Consumer Market Knowledge; and PVP = Purpose, Values, and Principles).

But the once off-limits executive suites on the 11th floor are now open for employee training programs. Bright, airy spaces with no doors -- even for P&G chief executive A.G. Lafley -- have replaced dark, wooden offices.

That kind of change might make it easier for Gillette workers if shareholders of both companies approve the proposed $57 billion acquisition next month. The Boston shaving firm with deep blue-collar roots has somewhat of a more relaxed atmosphere, according to analysts and current and former Gillette employees.

''There were not a lot of rules," said Joseph E. Mullaney, a Gillette vice chairman who retired in 1998. ''You did your job, and you did your best."

Gillette may not have a glossary full of acronyms and abbreviations, but the company is quite familiar with code names and secret operations. At the 33-acre South Boston campus, where employees research, develop, and test Gillette razors, blades, and creams, officials hide portions of the factory from other workers to guard products in development.

''Every new product has a code name, and there's a great effort to keep it quiet," Mullaney said. ''It's a need-to-know ideology. You could never tell who would leak it out."

To protect its research, Gillette currently has more than 6,400 active patents, including 1,200 registered in the United States.

This kind of vigilance has helped the shaving company keep ahead of its rivals. Some analysts say P&G's recent partnerships with outside companies, including licensing patents to competitors, might not sit well with Gillette employees.

''Gillette closely guards everything they do and if employees aren't on board with the acquisition, it could make it difficult for P&G to access some of their research and development and cross over into Gillette's markets," said Keith Jones, of BrassRing, a Waltham company that helps organizations with cultural integration during mergers and acquisitions.

Conflicting marketing strategies may present some challenges after the acquisition, according to analysts and some company officials. While Gillette has long focused on its leading technology and a business model that gives away the razor and sells the blade, P&G seeks to cultivate more emotion-based relationships with consumers.

These different tactics came head-to-head when P&G acquired Iams Co. in 1999. Jeff Ansell, a P&G veteran who took over as president of the premium pet foods business, said there was a ''bit of a culture clash at first."

Iams had always centered marketing efforts around the nutritional benefits of the pet food products, but after the acquisition, P&G began pushing the company into products and advertising that focused more on the pet owner's emotions.

''We wanted to tap into the owner's desire to create a feeding experience that would elicit a lip-smacking, tail-wagging, and bowl-licking reaction," Ansell said.

Overall, P&G's Gingras, in her memo, advised Gillette employees to be patient with all the changes. ''It takes time to feel like a real P&Ger. Do not take offense when Gillette employees say we and P&G/you. It's a phase until comfort levels and habits develop into me/P&G."

Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com.