The year 2024 presented significant challenges for the Group’s human resources strategy, the first being the continuation of an unstable geopolitical context and the macroeconomic situation marked by deflation in the food sector. Another key challenge to sustainable people management in the Group remains the competition for talent in a scarce job market (especially at store level), mainly considering low unemployment level, as well as the low attractiveness and difficulty in retention that arises from the demanding nature of our business. To respond to this challenge and maintain our competitiveness in the labour market, we continued to increase salaries for operational teams, which was reflected in an increase in labour costs.
The urgency of responding to new ways of working and the constantly changing expectations of candidates and employees, along with the growing need for new skills, profiles and roles that ensure the organisation’s competitiveness and that respond to business opportunities and team productivity (generated, for example, by the emergence of new technologies) are some of the other identified challenges.
These and other challenges at local HR management level are assessed annually and monitored each quarter by the Risk Committee, to anticipate the potential negative impacts of the current context, in response to the five concerns that underpin our people management strategy:
- How to mitigate talent shortages in a sector with low attractiveness?
- How to ensure a sustainable leadership pipeline, and the right roles to respond to the challenges of each moment?
- How to have the right workforce configuration and the necessary skills to grow the business?
- How to ensure our workforce engagement?
- How to anticipate future organisational challenges, in terms of external obligations and new ways of working?
Our response to these concerns is embodied by the commitments we make every three years, monitored quarterly Group-wide and in each Company, for each of the priorities within sustainable people management, described in “Sustainability commitments”.
We also identify opportunities to continue to generate a positive and lasting impact on the lives of our employees and their families, namely through our investment in internal social responsibility, wellbeing and development, among other areas of activity.
As a result of the work carried out, in 2024 Humpact1 considered us one of the companies with the best social performance among the 46 assessed in the consumer goods sector, giving us the maximum score for the way we contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We were also distinguished in the Wellbeing Awards2, in the “People Choice Awards” category, reflecting our employees’ positive perception, and by the Dream Employer Hub3, which awarded Biedronka the Dream Employer 2024 award.
1 Sustainability analyst focused on the social dimension.
2 Organised by Workwell and AGIS, the Wellbeing Awards distinguish companies that excel in promoting well-being, health and happiness in the workplace.
3 DreamEmployer is a competition promoted by the Dream Employer Hub which distinguishes companies that implement innovative and effective practices in people management and organisational culture.