Recruiting employees
In the competition to hire the best specialists and executives, our goal is to position METRO as an attractive employer and to attract qualified, talented people to our company. By training junior employees for the retail and wholesale sector, we are able to recruit leaders from our own ranks. At the same time, METRO is constantly exploring the market for motivated specialists in order to strengthen its own workforce and to make the best possible progress in the business.
Initial training at METRO
We attach great importance to the comprehensive, sustainable training of our employees in all METRO national subsidiaries and service companies. It allows us to make an important social contribution while our customers benefit from competent contact partners throughout the company. Prioritising needs-based vocational training allows us to hire a large portion of trainees at the end of the programme. In Germany, the company management and the Group Works Council have thus 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 companies. They offer various projects and programmes for their junior employees. In addition to the apprenticeship programme, it is also possible to complete a special cooperative education curriculum that includes practical modules. For example, as of 1 September 2018, 4 cooperative education students were enrolled in Information Systems at METRO-NOM in Germany.
Talent development
In order to systematically develop our future executives from within our own ranks, our measures and programmes are focused on our junior employees. Since 2014, METRO Wholesale 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. 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 a 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, for example as store manager. The career prospects go far beyond that, up to a position on the Management Board of the respective country. 8 trainees completed the programme in financial year 2017/18.
Employer Branding and HR Marketing
In financial year 2017/18, we implemented various measures to attract employees to our company and to position the METRO employer brand in a targeted manner. Online platforms and social networks, career days at schools and universities, as well as initiatives such as Girls’ Day or Boys’ Day allow potential applicants to gain plenty of information and contact opportunities. We are also pursuing new, unique ways of promoting the company as an employer. Examples include guerrilla marketing measures used by our IT service company METRO-NOM specifically targeting IT specialists in the greater Berlin area in financial year 2017/18.
Our cooperation with universities, technical colleges and other educational institutions as well as the Federal Employment Agency is an important cornerstone of our employer branding efforts. In financial year 2017/18, we entered into a cooperation agreement with the WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management with the goal to contribute to practical and scientific networking in the fields of entrepreneurship and lifelong learning.