EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

REWE International AG is part of REWE Group - one of the leading trading, travel and tourism companies in Europe. From their headquarters in Wiener Neudorf, they manage business in Austria as well as REWE Group's international food trading operations in eight other European countries. REWE International AG is one of the largest employers and apprentice trainers in Austria. Almost 46,000 devoted and skilled employees as well as more than 2,000 trainees are responsible for their success. The foundations of their success in all markets is based on the highest product quality at fair prices, strong regional roots as a component of the local economy and a sustainable commitment to people and the environment.

Goal

In Austria, large businesses (250+ employees) struggle the most to fill open positions, followed by medium-sized businesses and small businesses. Additionally due to the continually changing conditions of the Austrian market and several current issues, young professionals' behavior and expectations have drastically changed with respect to their career prospects/choices.

This project’s goal is to define what an employer needs to offer to attract the best talents in the future in order to remain competitive on the labor market. It is important to understand what daily life might be like for the target group in 10 years and also what value proposition an employer  should provide. The objective of this project is to create/develop some useful recommendations as well as to determine a clear picture of the expectations of young professionals in a competitive and uncertain world.

Methodology

To tackle the project partners’ problem, we made use of the scenario planning method. It combines the analytical approach of secondary research with techniques such as interviews and the development of scenarios. At the beginning of the project we read consulting reports, and scientific articles and journals to gather a large number of general trends and we sorted them by Pestel categories, impact on the focal question and uncertainty. In the next step we used tools such as the correlation matrix, impact-uncertainty matrix and the causal loop diagram to narrow down our trend collection to only the most uncertain and impactful trends. Taking this into account, we selected two trends as the primary axis for our scenario planning landscape and created four plausible narratives and scenarios within the scenario matrix. Afterwards we derived strategic implications for the project partner from our findings, the personas and the value proposition canvas. Furthermore, we conducted a gap analysis for each scenario to reduce disparities between the status quo and the desired state. In the last step early warning signals were identified which help to anticipate the occurrence of a specific scenario.

Results

During the project we analyzed more than 80 trends, conducted 10 interviews with CEOs, industry experts and professors, derived numerous strategic implications and early warning signals. All based on four scenarios namely, “Where real becomes virtual”, “Home is where my glasses are”, “Back to the roots” and “Local heroes”.

In the first scenario “Where real becomes virtual” digitalisation and implementation of virtual technologies increases which change the working environment (meetings, workshops, etc.). Due to economic reasons the importance of sustainability among society in this scenario is low and people get more self-centered. Therefore, faster career development plays an important role for young employees.  

In the  second scenario , called “Home is where my glasses are”, virtual technologies and sustainability play a big role. This is a world where people use virtual worlds for work and leisure purposes in order to contribute to the fight against climate change and natural disasters.       

The scenario “ Back to the roots”  represents a world where an economic crisis and privacy concerns slow down digitalisation. The role of sustainability for society is low. Therefore, one of the most important  expectations of young employees towards their workplace is job security. 

Lastly, the scenario “Local heroes” describes a world, where trade between eastern and western countries is very restricted. This leads to little technological innovations and therefore a low usage of technology. People care a lot about social values and the environment and expect the same for their employer.

Cooperation Partner

• REWE International AG
  Industriezentrum NÖ-Süd, Straße 3, Objekt 13
  A-2355 Wiener Neudorf
  Austria

         www.rewe-group.at 

Contact Person

• Pia Kappler - p.kappler@rewe-group.at

• Stefanie Alge - s.alge@rewe-group.at

Student Team

• Jonas Pamminger

• Kristina Nayden

• Niklas Hall

• Tsveta Hristova

Project Manager

• Erik Kommol, M.Sc.

• Alexander Staub, M.Sc.