Employee interests¹

People & Culture strategy

Our company’s sCore growth strategy, which consistently aligns METRO towards multichannel wholesale business, is concomitant with a cultural transformation. Within this transformation process, the motivation of our employees is of essential importance, because they are the ones who actively support the change and whose dedication is necessary to achieve the company’s stated objectives. At METRO, human resource activities are called ‘People & Culture’ to demonstrate this commitment internally and externally. The department pursues a consistent operational agenda that is clearly aligned with the implementation of sCore and is intended to contribute to company growth. At the same time, our employer value proposition – ‘Shape the M’ – underscores for the labour market the high value METRO places on the mutual development and growth of employees and the company.

METRO’s personnel strategy makes clear the global priorities for People & Culture. In addition, thanks to the involvement of the Management Board and/or the management of the respective national companies and subsidiaries, it ensures a balance between adaptation to specific country circumstances and a degree of group-wide standardisation, which is nevertheless necessary.

Our company values, the METRO Fundamentals, represent the foundation for this and are a guide for the conduct and decisions of our employees. They systematically align the company to wholesale business and highlight the importance of the feeling of ‘us’. In order to integrate our corporate values even more effectively in our daily work, we have created occasions that allow our METRO culture to be experienced. For example, ‘ONE METRO Fundamentals Moments’ was celebrated around the world in financial year 2023/24.

Our consistently high level of commitment is proof that our employees feel a connection with the company and are doing their best every day to jointly achieve the goals of the group. At the same time, the biannual survey provides us with important insights for continuous improvement directly from the workforce.

In a nutshell, our personnel strategy focuses on the following key areas:

• Promoting the ONE METRO culture as well as diversity and inclusion globally as a driver for sustainable business success
• Developing the skills and capabilities of all employees in our headquarters, stores and sales aligned with the requirements of the sCore strategy and supporting its implementation
• Long-term and comprehensive talent management and investments in our employer brand in order to fill positions in our company with the most talented employees for the future
• Increase productivity through targeted use of our resources, continuous improvement and simplification of our processes and digitalisation

Talent attraction and employer branding

Our goal is to position METRO as an attractive employer and to attract qualified, talented people to our company. Through various activities, we identify and recruit suitable professionals and managers for METRO to sustainably fill critical roles for the business in order to strengthen the company’s own workforce.

Our main activities:

• Development of professionals and managers from our own ranks: we recruit and train our employees by offering various internship, trainee and apprenticeship programmes to develop them into qualified employees.
• Gaining and retaining talent: to recruit experienced specialists and managers, we make use of active sourcing (contacting potential external talent), draw on pools of internal candidates and engage in advertising and targeted candidate relationship management. In this way, we specifically identify and gain new employees. We encourage regular feedback between managers and their employees and offer a comprehensive development and training programme to retain our talent.
• Target-group-oriented communication: we position METRO as an attractive employer through targeted communication at career fairs, on social networks and by means of strategic collaborations.
• Strengthening the employer brand: we make our employer brand more visible and tangible with the elaborated employer value proposition and the associated value platform. 21 METRO national subsidiaries have been provided with materials (brand manual, activation concept and open files) to use the employer brand concept to effectively increase perception of us as an attractive employer at a local level.
• METRO AG’s ONE METRO Ambassador programme brings together employees from various campus companies to represent METRO internally and externally. 50 ambassadors from 8 different campus companies strengthen our employer brand through social media, networking events and career fairs, backed by specialised training.
• Distinction as a top employer in 2024: being certified as a top employer once again in 8 METRO companies underscores our attractiveness as an employer.
• Digital recruiting platform: the introduction of a new applicant management system with an upstream careers website supports the effective recruitment of employees in now 20 METRO national subsidiaries and 13 other subsidiaries. The platform is an important step in the implementation of our growth strategy.

Talent management and succession planning

Through comprehensive talent and performance management, targeted succession planning and numerous career development opportunities, we continuously develop our employees. This way, we offer them attractive career opportunities within our company, thus creating the basis for sustainable success.

The processes of the performance and potential assessment are guided by the METRO Fundamentals and the sCore strategy. Managers are tasked with evaluating the performance and potential of their employees and – together with the respective management team and supported by the People & Culture department – with defining individual measures for the employee during the annual development meetings. Employees have an opportunity to introduce their own development ambitions into the process.

Succession planning takes place locally for all levels as well as across countries for the first and second management levels. Regarding filling positions with professionals and managers, we make a point of ensuring that they are not only suitable for their current position, but also have potential to develop beyond it. Therefore, with regard to filling management positions, we also look at the second and third management levels and measure what proportion of employees can be assessed as having medium or high development potential and thus be given special consideration for succession planning.

We also pay increased attention to the proportion of women in management positions in our succession planning. METRO is therefore working to expand the share of women in management positions. Against this backdrop, METRO had set itself the target of ensuring that, by September 2025, 25% of METRO AG’s employees at the first management level below the Management Board and 40% at the second management level below the Management Board are female. At the end of financial year 2023/24, the share of women employed on the first management level below the Management Board was 18.2%, and on the second management level below the Management Board 24.6%. Furthermore, we had voluntarily set a target for the share of women in executive positions in our wholesale business: the share of women in executive positions at levels 1 to 3 (including store management) of global METRO locations was supposed to be 30% by September 2025. At the end of financial year 2023/24, this percentage of women was 28.5%.

In view of the progress made in recent years towards achieving these targets, as well as in connection with further initiatives to promote diversity, such as a global approach to diversity, equity and inclusion and conscious inclusion training, the Management Board of METRO AG has shortened the period for achievement of the above-mentioned female representation targets in executive positions to 30 September 2024 (originally 30 September 2025) and set new targets for 30 September 2029.

The new female representation target for the first and second management levels below the Management Board of METRO AG is now 30% in both cases. The target for the first management level below the Management Board was revised because the previous target had been met in the last 2 financial years, and this positive performance is to be encouraged by raising the target. The fact that the target was not met in financial year 2023/24 is attributable to a small number of personnel changes, which, because of the small statistical population, had a negative impact on the proportion of women on the first management level below the Management Board. The revised target for the second management level below the Management Board reflects a change in the statistical population at that level and, hence, the changed basis for defining the target.

With respect to its wholesale business, METRO has also again set a voluntary target for female representation in executive positions. Thus, the proportion of women in executive positions on levels 1 to 3 is to reach 40% worldwide by 30 September 2029.

In addition, pursuant to the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG), the Management Board of METRO AG must include at least 1 woman and at least 1 man (so-called participation requirement). METRO AG met these requirements in the reporting period.

The processes described above are supported by an integrated talent management and learning system that is available to all METRO companies. The learning module with its many opportunities for personal development is available to almost 86,000 employees. The talent and performance module is currently available to around 57,000 employees. It will continue to be rolled out in the coming financial year.

Performance-based remuneration

Our aspiration is to provide our employees with competitive, performance-based and fair remuneration. Our remuneration system ‘Perform & Reward’ for executives (with the exception of the members of the Management Board) comprises a monthly fixed salary as well as a variable annual remuneration component; the payment amount essentially depends on the economic development of the respective company in which the executive works.

With a clear focus on the economic development of METRO, our managers also receive a multi-year variable remuneration component that sustainably anchors our sCore strategy in our remuneration system.

Executive remuneration is complemented by additional benefits, such as an attractive pension model, promotion of health care and a mobility budget that can be used as part of METRO’s ‘Green Car Policy’ for a car, train rides or pension provision.

• For more information about the remuneration of the Management Board, see the remuneration report.

Career development and retention of talent

With regard to global talent and organisational development, the in-house training academy House of Learning and the Global Leadership & Culture team continuously adapt their Learning & Development portfolios to the needs of the employees as well as the strategic alignment of the company.

The department thus supports the development and retention of employees and managers – both at METRO AG and its national subsidiaries. The Learning & Development portfolios focus on 2 fundamental core areas:

• Function-specific and cross-functional learning programmes: These programmes have been developed for target groups whose roles form the focus of the sCore strategy or are undergoing change in this connection (for example training of store managers based on the multichannel strategy to qualify them as Multichannel Fulfilment Centre Managers). A portfolio of learning solutions for professional skills development and mandatory compliance training is also offered across all functions. These offers are available to all employees.
• International talent and leadership development programmes in the form of programme modules lasting several months: This offer is reserved for high-potential employees with vertical growth potential. This potential is calibrated and validated through frequent talent management and succession planning processes at METRO. Identified talent and leaders are therefore prepared for the challenges of future management roles in the wholesale business. This offer also ensures long-term succession planning.

The Learning & Development portfolios are mapped in the global learning management system MPower, to which employees of METRO AG as well as of the national subsidiaries have access.

Occupational safety and health management

We are committed to reinforcing our safety culture and involving managers to create a safe and secure environment for our employees, suppliers and customers. We hold our annual Global Safety Day with our #BeSafeAtWork programme as an element of the group-wide campaign to make safety a matter of personal concern for each employee. In 2024, we will be focusing on safe manual handling and office workplace ergonomics. We encourage our employees to maintain a good posture, use safe lifting and carrying techniques and take time to stretch tired muscles to avoid injuries.

Occupational safety reporting

Safety is always a top priority for METRO. Our operational safety strategy aims to raise awareness among employees that each individual bears responsibility for operational safety. This is supported by a transparent group-wide reporting system in which we document all incidents, near misses and non-conformities. Our incident management process is designed to ensure that each case is reported in a timely manner. The reports are analysed and action is taken based on the findings.

KPIs for occupational safety and health

The Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR)², that is, the total number of lost-time injuries per 1 million working hours, for the METRO/MAKRO national subsidiaries in financial year 2023/24 was 6.98 (2022/23: 6.62; 2021/22: 7.18). Incidents are investigated using a risk-based approach to reduce risks and to minimise potentially negative effects.

Specially appointed employees examine incidents to understand their causes including technical, behavioural, organisational and individual human factors. We share the findings gained within METRO and endeavour to use the results of the investigations to improve standards or implement best practices that can be applied on a broad basis to similar workflows. Safety audits were conducted to measure compliance with the group-wide safety guidelines (Operational Safety Management System).

Health and well-being

Our aspiration is to promote the physical, mental, social and financial well-being as well as the health of our employees. At METRO AG, the following measures and offerings serve this purpose:

• METRO AG provides a total of 242 full-time places at 3 childminding facilities for employees’ children.
• Support for holiday childcare for employees’ school-age children
• 2 health days with many health checks and much information
• Pension advice in conjunction with external partners
• E-learning modules on the topics of resilience, avoiding burnout and dealing with finances
• Yoga, sports and nutrition courses, as well as the opportunity to work out independently in the company’s own gym on campus
• In-company medical care including a range of preventive treatments, such as flu vaccinations
• Psychological counselling
• Employee support programmes via external partners to help manage crisis situations
• The topics of maintaining health, dealing with stress and resilience are also components of our talent programmes

The national subsidiaries develop their own measures on the subject of the well-being of their employees. In the previous financial year, there was a particular focus on the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders. On the basis of a functional diagnosis of manual activities, METRO Deutschland, for example, trained and advised its employees on health issues related to muscle and skeletal disorders. METRO France launched an appeal, encouraging its employees at the stores to perform a warm-up routine before starting their daily work. For this purpose, a video was produced that clearly demonstrates exercises that help prevent injuries.

Videos on workplace ergonomics were made available in all METRO languages.

Fair working conditions and social partnership

The METRO AG Declaration of Values on Human Rights and Environmental Concerns is crucial in shaping our employee–employer relations. The declaration anchors the prohibition of child labour, the prohibition of forced labour, occupational health and safety, freedom of association, the prohibition of discrimination in employment and compliance with the respective minimum-wage requirements in the structure of the company. A binding group guideline provides for the establishment of the resulting specific rights and obligations. As a responsible company, we have designed a risk management concept that is intended to effectively ensure that risks to the protected legal positions are discovered and mitigated.

On a national and international level, METRO maintains constant communication with works councils and unions and encourages management to engage in constructive and mutually informative dialogue with our employees and their representatives. This dialogue results in several collective employment agreements at the level of business units, countries or individual stores – depending on local laws and customary practices. There is also the METRO Euro Forum (MEF), our European Works Council.

Also, in a periodic social dialogue with the international trade union organisation UNI Global at the global level, discussions include the commitment to fair working conditions and social partnership.

Development of employee numbers

The table below shows the year-on-year development of employee numbers as an average for the 4 quarters of the financial year and as of the closing date of 30 September, both based on full-time equivalents: