If you want to appeal to Generation Z, there's no getting round Tiktok. REWE has been using the channel for a year to break new ground in employer branding and directly approach potential trainees. And with success: REWE recently won over a real Tiktok star and reached millions of people.
Tiktok is becoming increasingly important for the young target group, and therefore also for REWE. The REWE careers channel on the social media platform already has more than 74,000 followers. "Tiktok is the best platform for reaching Generation Z," says Justine Geloneck, HR expert for employer branding at REWE. The platform primarily serves as an image channel, but is also intended to attract more applications for trainee recruitment and inspire young people to train at REWE. Most recently, ten million people watched the REWE career clips on Tiktok. The secret of success? REWE adapts to the medium and relies on young people in front of the camera who are entertaining and "get the message across" and address the target group personally and precisely.
A drone flies through a warehouse, a measuring tape shows how high a high-bay warehouse really is (spoiler: very high) and there is sometimes dancing through the store. All of this is shown in the platform's typical ten to 15 second mini-videos. "We want to show the real working environment," says Geloneck. That's why the clips in the store or in logistics are not only recorded by professional creatives, but also as often as possible by real employees.
One of them is Mert Simsek. After the REWE employee from Cologne had repeatedly shared funny videos of his workplace in his free time, his colleagues at REWE-Karriere discovered him and recruited him for the channel. Now, when Simsek re-enacts typical checkout situations, he is not the only one having a lot of fun. In future, he will be supported by Florian Freudenberg. The REWE store manager from near Hanover reaches more than 850,000 people with his "Flocos life" channel, which features witty store announcements.
REWE careers combine fun and information
For Tiktoker "This Johnny", the benefits for trainees and employees are the main reason to join REWE: Apprentices are guaranteed to be taken on if they perform well, REWE pays according to the collective labour agreement, there are discounts for employees:inside and - wherever possible - flexible work schedules. This shows that the REWE-Karriere channel offers both fun and knowledge transfer, "because young Tiktok users don't just want to be entertained, they also want to be informed," says Geloneck.
That's why REWE-Karriere also shows in its clips how diverse the work areas in the store are: From the checkout to the fresh food counter to the warehouse. In all videos, humour is allowed and even encouraged, but everyone, whether customer or employee, is treated with respect. This applies to TikTok just as much as it does to the "real" REWE world.
The relevance of TikTok for young people today has long been proven by figures: In the JIM Study 2021 by the Media Education Research Association Southwest, Tiktok was the second most important platform for 12 to 19-year-olds with 46 per cent usage after Instagram, whose target group is significantly older. People who are still at school, are looking for an apprenticeship or are orientating themselves professionally are increasingly using Tiktok.
"On Facebook, on the other hand, we focus on other topics for specific target groups, such as the compatibility of job, family and private life," says Justine Geloneck, explaining how REWE-Karriere tailors its content precisely to the target groups of the respective media.
The @rewekarriere career channel scored a special coup at the beginning of August with influencer Elaine Victoria. She rose to fame with a tiktok about a trend sound, which she filmed while working at the checkout of another food retailer. She now makes a living as a content creator and was promptly hired by REWE. @rewekarriere called the video she shot for REWE "the most intense transfer after Lewandowski". Victoria's Tiktoks achieve an average of around ten million views on REWE-Karriere. In it, she promotes the employee discount, work-life balance and the REWE learning app. She playfully refutes common clichés about the retail sector.
REWE-Karriere started on Tiktok in July 2021 and continues to grow steadily, most recently with Elaine Victoria. In the future, more REWE employees will be featured on the channel to report on everyday life at REWE with maximum authenticity. There are also plans to incorporate the topic of gaming even more. Three out of four 16 to 29-year-olds regularly play video games. The "Get into the game - as an apprentice at REWE" campaign in 2021 was already an important step in this regard and will continue in 2022.
From the Dual Programme to internships - BILLA offers young talents various entry-level and career opportunities.
The Dual Programme is a pilot project initiated by BILLA Bulgaria and implemented together with the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. Within two years, the programme offers students vocational training in a traditional work environment with an employment contract, remuneration and the same benefits that employees receive in all large companies. The number of students successfully graduating in 2022 is 36, and in the next academic year (2022-2023), the retail chain expects another 29 students to start their dual training programme. The project has been successfully developed in several cities in Bulgaria - Sofia, Pernik and Pleven.
The successful graduates will receive an offer to continue their career path within the retail chain network.
Over 120 young people successfully completed BILLA's internship programme between 2009 and 2020. Even in the challenging year 2020, eleven interns provided support in the accounting, sales department, management and marketing. five new talents joined the company's team in 2021. From the beginning of 2022, five more young people with a desire for professional development joined the teams.
BILLA has four training centres in Sofia, Stara Zagora, Varna and Pleven. These are simulation environments adapted to branches. Regardless of their position, every employee goes through them as part of their initial onboarding training.
In the next step, BILLA provides motivated employees with language training and certification opportunities in the office for further qualification at the company's expense.
From the dual programme to internships - BILLA offers young talents various entry and career opportunities.
The Dual programme is a pilot project initiated by BILLA Bulgaria and implemented jointly with the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. Within 2 years, the programme provides the students with job training in real-time working environment with an employment contract, remuneration, and the same benefits that employees receive in all highly-developed companies. The number of students who successfully graduated in 2022 is 36. In the next academic year (2022-2023), the retail chain expects another 29 students to start their dual education. The project has successfully been developed in several cities in Bulgaria - Sofia, Pernik and Pleven.
The successfully graduated students receive an offer to continue their career path within the retail chain network.
Over 120 young people successfully passed through BILLA's Internship programme in the period 2009-2020. Even in the challenging year 2020 11 interns fully assist in accounting, sales, management and marketing activities. In 2021, five new talents joined the company's team. From the beginning of 2022, five more young people joined the company's teams with a desire for career development.
The company has 4 training centres in Sofia, Stara Zagora, Varna and Pleven. These are simulation environments adapted as chain stores. Regardless of their position, every employee goes through them, as part of their initial onboarding training.
As a next step, BILLA provides language training and certification opportunities in the office, at the expense of the company, available to every single employee motivated to improve their qualifications.
PENNY offers trainees an attractive programme. In future, the discounter will focus even more on diversity and position itself as a modern employer. This sometimes takes the trainees to Phantasialand. The shortage of skilled labour also affects PENNY. Employers have to offer trainees a lot to be considered attractive. PENNY is therefore breaking new ground: training takes place in levels like in games, trainees sometimes take over a store, and the discounter is also present at festivals. Finally, PENNY relies on its own employees and trains them to become senior managers. An effective way to combat the shortage of skilled labour.
Martina Weinhold
"Training at PENNY offers numerous benefits," says Martina Weinhold, HR expert at PENNY. The work-life balance is more important than ever these days, and PENNY is the first discounter to be awarded the "audit job and family" certificate. In addition to the traditional dual training programme, junior employees can look forward to numerous seminars, excursions and projects, such as independently managing the trainee store at the Parookaville Festival.
PENNY provides the trainees with intensive support during their training. They always have contact persons and personnel developers, and a trainee booklet teaches the steps in a fun way. This ranges from level 1 "Starter Cup" to the "Cashier Cup" in level four to the highest level ten, including exam preparation and management tasks. If the first few months are more about sales or the fruit and vegetable department, management, labour law and the final exam are on the agenda later on. Each level is signed by the trainer, and the trainees tick off their tasks and always have a clear overview of what they are learning and what progress they have made.
Trainees run the market
The path to a management role is clearly defined. For two years now, PENNY has been working on the "NEO" project (young talent development offensive) to organise training and further education in such a way that store managers can be recruited from within the company. "The best senior managers of tomorrow are the trainees of today," says Martina Weinhold. This also includes placing trust in employees: at the beginning of 2022, over 100 trainees took over five stores in the West region. "In addition to practical training, it is important to us that the trainees quickly take on responsibility," says Sandro Piffczyk, Head of PENNY Region West at the time. The trainees reported on their experiences on Instagram and promoted training at PENNY.
Trainers and district managers regularly hold development meetings to evaluate how the trainees are progressing and who is suitable as senior managers. These assessments have also been available in PRIMUS since January 2022. This ensures transparency for everyone involved. Apprentices use the PENNY learning app to prepare for exams, including quizzes and a product lexicon. "PENNYpedia" serves as a modern knowledge portal.
Diversity moves applicants
"Identity, cultural diversity and diversity are important to young people. We are seeing more and more young people asking about this in job interviews," says Weinhold. So it's all the better that PENNY emphasises diversity, puts rainbow stickers on all its stores, lives diversity in its shops and has trainees attending seminars on the subject. Fittingly, PENNY was responsible for designing the REWE Group float for Christopher Street Day in Cologne this year. REWE Group's LGBTQI network di.to also welcomes trainees.
PENNY is also present at training fairs. New portals such as "DeinersterTag.de" are aimed at the digitally savvy target group, with a "360-degree store video" offering guidance to school pupils. On the PENNY Instagram channel, which is followed by more than 50,000 people, PENNY shows insights into the diversity of retail with formats such as "A day in the life of". This allows the discounter to reach potential trainees on all channels. Finally, the traditional highlight at the end of the apprenticeship is the graduation party at Phantasialand.
