Polite pronouns such as "Sie", "Vous" or "Lei" are not known in every language area. They are just as unknown in many African countries as they are in North America or large parts of Asia. Here at REWE Group, too, there are now some areas in which the "Du" is practised across all hierarchical levels.

As part of the Senior Excellence Programme in the Goods division, a group looked at the question of whether a "Duz" culture would make sense and, if so, how it could be implemented. Kilian Beschorn, Senior Category Buyer PENNY; Daniel Brune, Category Buyer Full-range; Mirko Sauerbach, Buyer Ultrafresh 1, and Zydre Zimmermann, Quality Management Officer, looked at the topic from different angles: How is the approach handled in different language and cultural circles? How do other companies deal with the issue? And last but not least: How do REWE Group Buying employees feel about the topic? What do they want? And what attitudes do senior managers have towards the "you"? They asked these questions as part of an anonymised survey within REWE Group Buying (RGB). The extremely high response rate of 82 per cent showed just how topical the issue is.

The answers came from colleagues of different seniority and from all age groups. It turned out that the "you" is already very widespread in the RGB. Colleagues in their own teams are mostly on first-name terms with each other, regardless of whether they are senior managers or employees. Colleagues are also increasingly using the first name to address each other across departments. The desire to be on first-name terms is strong in the workforce - the younger the colleagues, the greater - regardless of hierarchical level. In expert interviews, we also looked at the impact of being on first-name terms on collaboration within teams. In addition to positive aspects such as trust, modernity and collegiality, it was also discussed that inhibition thresholds could fall or that an obligation to be on first-name terms could have a negative impact on the atmosphere.

As part of the presentation of the results of the Senior Excellence Programme, the 'Duz' culture was examined from a wide variety of perspectives and discussed intensively and at length in the TOP management group present. With a predominantly positive response in favour of the "Duz" culture, the question then arose as to how a "Duz" culture could be implemented in the department. A question that the senior managers answered quickly and easily: "You can't command a "Duz" culture, you live it." The management of RGB used the overarching information platform "RGB Update" to lead the way, offering all colleagues at RGB the "Du" and encouraging everyone to carry this forward across all departments. It is important to note that a top-down strategy does not work here; leading by example is the key. Senior managers lead the way. The "you" is not an obligation, but an offer. From now on, anyone who wants it will be called Hans-Jürgen instead of Mr Moog.