Transformation of the company changes focus, self-image and corporate culture
20 June 2023
At the same time, demographic change is increasingly challenging companies - finding and retaining skilled workers and employees is only possible with a suitable human resources strategy and corporate culture. METRO is actively living these changes and is now communicating this development to the outside world by renaming the HR department from "Human Resources" to "People & Culture". People as individual employees and their personal commitment are moving even more into the spotlight, the "we" is an important element in achieving the corporate goals and the cultural transformation to a pure wholesaler is strongly in focus.
In the METRO transformation process, the motivation of the employees is the key to success: they should actively support the changes and get involved. A strong team spirit is needed to achieve the ambitious goals of the sCore growth strategy until 2030. Christiane Giesen, CPCO of METRO AG: "We operate in an absolute people business and know that our role as an HR department involves much more than managing people as an operational resource. Now is the right time to demonstrate this understanding also internally and externally by renaming the Human Resources department 'People & Culture'. Nevertheless, the change of name can only be an accompanying step. Our initiative is aimed at further expanding our People & Culture organisation and actively contributing our share to the implementation of sCore."
The People & Culture department is becoming a fundamental part of the changes and is an integrated, strategic partner of the company. It will ensure that the strengths and capabilities of METRO's diverse teams are unlocked and their performance and growth supported through simple digital processes that can be scaled globally.
The topic of corporate culture is of great importance in this context. The company's code of values is provided by the METRO Fundamentals, new corporate standards that provide orientation and identification and make up the success of the wholesale business. One METRO is one of the Fundamentals and focuses particularly on cooperation. The goal is to give employees flexibility and at the same time create a sense of togetherness, because only in a team can the individual be successful.
