Recruiting employees

In competing for the most highly skilled employees and executives, we take steps to polish our image among potential applicants. This also includes offering initial training programmes to young professionals starting their career in retail, which in turn enables us to recruit employees from our own ranks.

In Germany, we focus on needs-based initial training with the goal of hiring a large portion of apprentices following graduation. Management and the Group Works Council have agreed that apprentices who complete the initial training programme with a positive aptitude assessment will generally be offered permanent, full-time positions. The individual METRO companies in Germany have defined their own specific requirements and possible exceptions. The organisation and implementation of the initial training programmes and the specification of their curricula are the responsibility of the sales lines. They offer various projects and programmes for their junior employees and encourage them to quickly assume responsibility and become involved in social causes.

METRO Cash & Carry Germany, for example, organised regional trainee camps in the reporting period for all 323 new apprentices, which gave the apprentices an opportunity to become acquainted with each other. The camp also covered retail- and wholesale-specific topics, such as active selling and conduct towards customers. The concept of the trainee camps is arranged in such a way that the participants can structure many areas themselves. The initial training programmes at Real are geared towards activity orientation and building expertise. The project “Frisch vom Nachwuchs” (Fresh food from fresh people) is an example for the complex and comprehensive apprenticeship curriculum: In January 2017, around 35 apprentices took over the reins at the butchery department of the Real outlet in Karlsruhe and assumed responsibility for all tasks, from production and customer service to giving product advice and analysing the project. The apprenticeship programme at Real is among the highest rated in the country, which was once again confirmed by an independent panel of experts. In September 2017, the “Ausbilder des Jahres” competition (Apprenticeship programme of the year) saw Real finishing second place in the retail centres category. The distinction was awarded by the “Lebensmittel Praxis” magazine. This is already the fourth time the company’s extraordinary initiative in the field of apprenticeships has received accolades.

In addition to the apprenticeship programme, METRO offers young people the opportunity to complete a special academic curriculum that includes practical modules. In reporting period 2016/17, 81 students were enrolled in Germany.

Talent development

Since October 2014, METRO Cash & Carry has been offering the METRO Potentials programme in all countries in which the sales line operates. The programme targets the best university graduates and young professionals worldwide with 2 to 3 years of work experience. The goal is to build a sufficient pool of future managers and executives. During the 2-year trainee programme, participants have an opportunity to expand their knowledge by participating in various hands-on projects. They are also coached by their local mentor, who is a member of the respective country’s management. The trainees complete various stations in their own country and abroad as well as at the company’s headquarters in Düsseldorf. After completing the programme, they are offered management positions, such as store manager. But the career prospects go far beyond that, up to a position on the Management Board of the respective country. 21 trainees completed the programme in financial year 2016/17.

Employer brand and human resources marketing

To strengthen the METRO employer brand specifically among graduates and (young) professionals, we joined forces with the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) in the year 2016 to establish an academic chair for digital innovation in the hotel, restaurant and catering (HoReCa) business. The goal of the “METRO Chair of Innovation” is to research the digitisation in the HoReCa sector in key markets like France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Japan and to strengthen academic teaching in this area. In 2017, METRO Cash & Carry exhibited at the EHL Career Day and presented career opportunities at METRO to the students. Financial year 2016/17 also saw us participating once again in the employer initiative Fair Company. This initiative allows us to offer interns, working students, career starters and trainees a direct entry point for their career.

METRO Cash & Carry has bolstered its investment into human resources marketing and aligned its recruiting activities in financial year 2016/17 to the corporate strategy. The focus was mostly on apprentices and professionals from the hospitality industry and the food trade. We have in particular improved our company’s visibility in social media. The company now uses platforms such as Kununu, Xing, Linkedin, Hosco, which is the Linkedin for hospitality professionals and Twitter. As a corporate partner in CEMS, a cooperation between leading business universities worldwide and multinational companies and NGO’s, METRO Cash & Carry also has the opportunity to recruit top-performing students and graduates from the leading management universities. In 2017, the annual “Top Employer” distinction was awarded to METRO Cash & Carry organisations in Croatia, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium and Italy.

Real is also implementing numerous measures as part of human resource marketing, for example the career information events conducted at schools. These events are not only aimed at students, but also at others involved in preparing a choice of profession, such as teachers and advisers at the government’s employment agency. The hypermarkets also take part in national campaign days, such as “Girls’ Day” and “Boys’ Day”: in reporting period 2016/17, around 350 youths took a look behind the scenes at the company for an entire day and learned about the various apprenticeship options. In order to approach new talent, Real also relies on other formats, including apprenticeship information on private label products, contributions on the company’s career website and in social networks, information booths at apprenticeship fairs as well as sharing of experiences by apprentices or banners on online platforms focusing on career choices.