"This nice store clerk not only gave me a great pesto recipe, she also sold me the fresh ingredients."
Rewe in Person. Well-qualified and satisfied employees are becoming more and more important for survival in these conditions of tough competition. They are the interface with our customers, and our customers have to be reconvinced every day. One of the main factors behind Rewe's success thus lies in developing the expertise of our own employees systematically in targeted areas. Rewe continues to achieve good year-end results only by having motivated employees who are committed to their work and who know what is expected of them, employees who can handle pressure and who are willing and able to learn more, and employees who understand their roles when interacting with customers - and who are ready to carry out their job duties responsibly. Human resource management at Rewe is thus an active and integrated part of the overall management process. Permanently increasing the earning power requires that Rewe always have at its disposal well-trained and well-informed employees who are also flexible and who can work with new technologies. For its part, Rewe tries to strengthen employee loyalty and, hence, motivation by being an attractive employer. Once this is optimally achieved, human resource management can make an immeasurable contribution to the success of the company. In total, 196,224 employees (calculated on a full-time basis) were employed at Rewe <strong>Group</strong> throughout Europe at the end of <strong>2004</strong>. That is 3,365 or 1.74 per cent more than in the previous year. In contrast to many other firms, Rewe <strong>Group</strong> thus created new jobs. Even in the pessimistic consumer climate in Germany, 297 new employees were hired. With 131,032 employees, Rewe <strong>Group</strong> is one of the major employers in Germany. Rewe employed a total of 65,192 employees in thirteen countries beyond its domestic German market at the end of <strong>2004</strong> - 4.91 per cent more than a year earlier. 39 EMPLOYEES In the context of the difficulties on the job traineeship market, Rewe <strong>Group</strong> offered jobs to 2,800 trainees during the reporting year, 400 more than the firm needed. Wolfgang Clement, the German Economics and Labour Minister, duly praised this effort: "Rewe <strong>Group</strong> is one of the largest companies offering vocational training in Germany. Without the commitment of Rewe and other trading firms, the Dual System of job training and vocational education would not be possible." The minister made his remarks at the signing ceremony for the "Vocational Training Checks" in the framework of his <strong>2004</strong> Job and Career Training Tour. With a total of 6,800 trainees at the company, Rewe is among the largest firms offering vocational training in Germany. Rewe has been bearing its social responsibility in this manner for many years, and the company always trains more than it needs. Throughout Europe, a total of around 8,000 young people are in training with Rewe <strong>Group</strong>, with 1,300 trainees at Rewe Austria alone. Different training options at Rewe provide opportunities starting at an early age all the way up to supermarket store manager or independent Rewe retailer. For those ready to begin their careers - and depending on their qualifications and school certificates - training options are available at the subsidiaries or at the Head Office of Rewe <strong>Group</strong> to pursue the careers of district manager, buyer or IT specialist, to name just a few. School leavers consistently begin their traineeship searches with an outdated picture of traineeships and apprenticeships in retailing. This is particularly true of their view of the working hours. Yet with modern human resource methods, the stress is no greater than in other businesses. Rewe <strong>Group</strong> is responding to the elevated expectations throughout the business even in the form of its training. Aside from training on the job, computer-based training (CBT) and web-based training (WBT) are becoming more important. The modern combination of theory and prac-
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