METRO Potentials is a crucial part of how METRO acquires and retains talent

Nowadays, one of the biggest challenges for companies worldwide is acquiring the best talent and then retaining them. In the METRO Potentials programme, we provide our talents with 2-year-long training, a chance to experience the company from many different perspectives such as the stores, headquarters and another METRO/MAKRO country. This programme is a way for the company to capture the best talent available in the market, but also to retain them by giving them a fast-paced orientation that would have taken longer for a regular talent to achieve.

One of the biggest aims of the programme is to show the METRO Potentials different sides of the company and help them understand the various aspects of the business. Thanks to the planning of the programme, the METRO Potentials gain different perspectives in each block and gain invaluable experiences that might not have been available otherwise. The first block gives them the chance to understand how our store operations work, the second block creates their connection to the HQ and the third and fourth block helps them understand how METRO functions in other countries. In the end, after two years, METRO Potentials emerge from this programme as well-rounded METRO employees who have a good comprehension of the sector, customers and the company.

Recently the last batch of METRO Potentials, presented their experiences in the store as they ended their six months and it was wonderful to see how much information they have gathered and how they interpreted what they experienced. Thanks to their training in the store, Potentials have gained insight and a deep understanding of the company that they were able to share after six months and will be building upon in their next block in the Head Quarter.

This is why being a mentor for a METRO Potential is as exciting. The most important part of being a mentor to a METRO Potential is the chance to gain insight and understand different perspectives. During monthly meetings, we focus on areas for growth and discuss learnings from the programme with the METRO Potentials. The mentor-mentee relationship is a two-way relationship and it helps both the mentor and the mentee to learn from each other and grow together.

Being in this programme is an important opportunity to build a career in the wholesale business and one of the best ways to learn about this sector. During this programme, we expect the participants to enjoy and exploit this opportunity to the fullest. Not many companies give such a well-planned and thorough training to their talents and therefore, it is crucial for the METRO Potentials to make the best of every project and training they are a part of. Once they have given their best to complete the two years of learning and absorbing as much as they can, we expect our METRO Potentials to create and add value not only to the company but also to our customers.

Another important factor in this programme is the networking aspect of it. By changing locations every six months, we offer METRO Potentials a very important chance to grow their networks and create valuable relationships throughout the entire company. The biggest advice for METRO Potentials would be to form bonds wherever they go and keep building on those bonds because it is not easy to have a network like that with a regular position in the company and it is a chance that shouldn’t be missed at all costs. When they complete the two years, they will have contacts in the store operations, in their local Head Quarters and on the global scale which is something people work towards for years. It is also very important to seize every opportunity presented during this programme because it will benefit your growth personally and it will be relevant during a point in your career in the wholesale business.

You can find more details about this fulfilling two-year-programme on https://www.metro-potentials.com/

Asli Aracioglu,
Chief Financial Officer - METRO Turkey

Asli Aracioglu, Chief Financial Officer METRO Turkey

Seda Yapca (left) and Asli Aracioglu (right)