A good employee policy has a lasting effect, and a commitment to sustainability plays a major role in finding and retaining good employees: Daniela Büchel, Board Member for People and Sustainability since 1 January, on the most pressing issues and challenges in her areas of responsibility.
one: Dr Büchel, since the beginning of this year, you and your six colleagues have formed the new REWE Group Management Board. How are you feeling after the first few weeks?
Daniela Büchel: Absolutely marvellous. It's a great feeling to be part of the Management Board team now. I was really looking forward to it, as I've been working in a team with most of my colleagues for a long time. It's cool when things can really get going.
one: Now we have the position of "Chief People and Sustainability Officer" for the first time at REWE Group...
Daniela Büchel: Yes, that sounds a bit unwieldy, doesn't it (laughs)? - So Management Board member for Human Resources and Sustainability. In my opinion, the new term "People" is much better than Human Resources, because it's about being there for our colleagues at eye level.
one: Let's stick with "people": what do you think our employees expect from you in these times?
Daniela Büchel: I think many people hope that if employee issues are now at the top of the agenda, they will become even more important. And that's exactly what we want to say: The "People" area is a strategic priority for us. After all, our entire company ultimately depends on people; they make the difference.
one: What issues are particularly important for employees at the moment?
Daniela Büchel : Against the backdrop of inflation, salary development is of course a very important issue for many. The upcoming round of collective bargaining will be a major challenge. The pandemic has also permanently changed our working environment. This continues to concern many colleagues. With our "DNA - Your New Working World" project, we have already established a future-proof framework for collaboration, but the topic will continue to occupy us. The question of work-life balance is also a perennial issue. How does my employer support me in dealing with the challenges of both areas and harmonising them? We are already doing a lot on this topic, for example the measures as part of the "job and family audit" such as job sharing in management and non-management positions. Unfortunately, however, the programmes are not yet being used everywhere.
one: Conversely: Which topics are important to you? What goals do you have?
Daniela Büchel: We need to become even more attractive as an employer. Together with my colleagues on the Management Board, I want to ensure that we are the best employer in the retail sector. I want REWE Group to continue to be a pioneer and trailblazer when it comes to Sustainability. With Retail and Tourism, we are a large company in Germany and Europe. That's why we can make a big difference and set new standards - we've already proven this many times, whether it's by switching to more sustainable cocoa or palm oil, abolishing the killing of chicks, phasing out plastic bags or with the Nabu climate fund.
one: On the subject of Sustainability: do you think that being anchored in the Management Board will give you even more opportunities to drive the issue forward?
Daniela Büchel : As Divisional Director, I already had many opportunities to anchor sustainability and employee issues in the right place. Now at Management Board level, we can utilise the synergies of the entire Group even more intensively. Together with all those responsible for sustainability, we will have a steering committee with the Sustainability Steering Board, in which we can select and quickly implement Group-relevant topics. And we will proceed in the same way with employee issues, where the people responsible from all units will come together in a People Steering Board. An initial project: together we are reorganising the existing KNP process. We will work across the board to strengthen an open and transparent feedback culture at REWE Group. We want a feedback and performance culture in which the development of employees is supported and facilitated across the Group.
one: Why are you tackling the career and succession process?
Daniela Büchel: The world of work has become much more dynamic - conditions and requirements can change quickly. Back then, we wanted to use a qualitative and systemic process to ensure that discussions between employees and senior managers are actually held on a regular and comparable basis. This has been achieved, and at a good level. However, even the term KNP sounds super technical - it's actually about dialogue and, in addition to looking back, above all about looking to the future. The discussions are often very focussed on the past year. However, it is just as important to talk about the prospects for development. We want to change the emphasis here and create simple processes that can be applied flexibly and in line with requirements. We are also looking at which tools we can provide for feedback and discussions during the year. In other words, we want to move away from a strong retrospective towards a regular, development-oriented dialogue.
one: Is there such a large project for the sustainability area? Where do you see the biggest challenges here?
Daniela Büchel: The biggest challenges are the climate crisis and dwindling biodiversity. Bringing together the right players from politics, society and business will play an important role in overcoming these crises. This is where the food retail sector - and we as a major player - can make an important contribution in our role as a mediator between manufacturers, service providers and consumers.
one: Where do we stand?
Daniela Büchel: We have really firmly anchored the topic of Sustainability throughout the company. I also have the feeling that, in everyone's eyes, this is the right way to earn our money. This is the triad of Sustainability: harmonising economic issues with ecology and social issues. We firmly believe that we are economically more successful with organic products, with regional products, with more sustainable products. This is what we strive for every day. And we are currently seeing that we can actually achieve cost efficiency with energy, climate and the environment. We have invested in green buildings, energy-efficient stores, efficient refrigeration systems and much more - and this is now paying off.
one: Sustainability and culture go hand in hand, you say.
Daniela Büchel: Yes! Our commitment to sustainability also has an impact on the topic of "people": Many employees now say: 'We're staying here because we think it's cool that Sustainability plays such a big role here.' This is also a huge issue when it comes to recruiting. At the same time, our employees are the best ambassadors. So many of them contribute great ideas and work hard with us. And the retailers are so committed that we are able to implement pioneering topics such as doing away with printed flyers or plastic bags. That's why I think it's so important to bundle People and Sustainability in one Management Board department, because they are also cultural issues.
one: Are there any other points of contact between your departments?
Daniela Büchel: In the People area, we are working intensively on how to incorporate the topic of Sustainability into training and our learning programmes. The REWE Group Star, for example, is pure Sustainability. Another project that combines both is corporate volunteering. For the first time, we are sponsoring the Special Olympics taking place in Berlin in June. Employees have the opportunity to help out on site for three days - during their working hours, with us covering the full costs incurred. In this way, we are creating even more awareness for the topic of inclusion. I'm really pleased about that, because being involved there does something to you, and you certainly look at things differently afterwards - I'm convinced of that.
Sustainability is an attitude, a value, an attitude - it also has to do with emotions. That's why it's clearly a cultural issue and therefore also a personal issue. Incidentally, it is also very important to think about it: How do we get it integrated into recruiting, because we are deliberately looking for people who tick like that.
one: Keyword employee market: How do we recruit today?
Daniela Büchel : Above all, we need to retain our employees even better, which for me is absolutely the first step: the fewer employees we lose, the fewer we have to recruit. We are already experiencing the effects of a growing labour market and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find good people. Staff turnover is a problem throughout the industry. However, we have built up a very professional recruitment process in recent years, which has enabled us to generate a growing number of applications and hires.
one: Is that enough to combat the shortage of skilled labour and applicants?
Daniela Büchel: Demographic change is affecting almost the entire labour market, let's not kid ourselves. I firmly believe that digitalisation can also help us here, which is why we need to invest in it. Self-checkout, for example, is not designed to save on staff - instead, it ensures that our employees are freed up for other activities in the market in favour of customer service.
one: You are the only woman on the Management Board. Are you setting an example?
Daniela Büchel: If it is a sign, then the Supervisory Board has set it. But yes, it has already been recognised and I have been approached by many employees, especially female employees, who were really pleased about it. Ultimately, equal rights is an issue for the entire Executive Board, which my six colleagues are pushing just as hard as I am. But I certainly have a very special focus on it.
Episode 4
"Frankly speaking" - the talk with the Management Board
In January, our newly formed Management Board took over the management of REWE Group in what continue to be turbulent times. Ines Schurin, Head of Corporate Communications, spoke to the Management Board members about their strategy, what it takes to work together and how we can remain competitive despite all the challenges in the new video format "Offen gesagt" over a hot drink of their choice.
And this is the last episode:
- 22. March Telerik Shishmanov, Management Board member for Finance
All previously published episodes of "Offen gesagt" are now available in the one_Mediathek.
Both German and English comments appear here.
How great is that? A board member who loves punk and plays the drums and says so openly! And the fact that the REWE Group communicates this openly makes the company a great employer!
I wish you good luck, success and a good hand in whatever you start and tackle!