REWE International AG is part of REWE Group - one of the leading trading, travel, and tourism groups in Europe. From their headquarters in Wiener Neudorf, they manage the business in Austria as well as REWE Group's international food trading operations in ten other European countries. With more than 2,570 stores of the trading companies BILLA, PENNY, BIPA, ADEG & AGM, REWE International AG is Austria's leading local supplier.

The Challenge

Around 46,000 employees and 2,000 apprentices make up the foundation of the company's success. At the headquarters in Wiener Neudorf alone, more than 6,800 employees work in over 400 different professions at all levels, from young career starters to senior experts.

For sustainable corporate success, it is important to inform young talents as early as possible about crisis-proof career opportunities at REWE Group Austria.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, REWE Group Austria faced the question of how to continue to reach talented job seekers in a targeted manner. Due to the discontinuation of physical career fairs as well as the long-standing and ever-popular tours on the company's own premises, there was no suitable way to present the company to potential trainees and young talents.

REWE Group Austria first participated in a recruiting event on Talentspace as an exhibitor. From this previous positive experience came the idea to directly cooperate with Talentspace to connect with young talents. 

The first important event to be organized was "Experience Retail" (Den Handel erleben). This event is aimed specifically at young students in their final years, with the intention of introducing them to the world of food retail, food wholesaling, and drugstore retailing, as well as the training companies of REWE Group. The goal was to create an interactive and easily accessible format for interested students who are looking for suitable apprenticeships and traineeships.

The Result

With Talentspace, Rewe Group Austria found the ideal format for the first event. The event lasted about 2 hours and was met with a great deal of response and interaction. 111 young participants learned about the opportunities at Rewe Group Austria and the food industry in general through speeches and subsequent exchange in the Live Booths (virtual booths). At peak times, up to 50 participants were logged into the Live Booths at the same time.
The 1:1 chat and video function were especially very well received because the students had the opportunity to talk to the right contact person.

The first fully digital event was a complete success for both the students and Rewe Group Austria.

"The platform offers us an innovative solution for efficiently approaching candidates regardless of their local location. Via the platform, we can optimally convey information (whether in writing or in the form of a presentation), connect students and teachers with the right contacts from our company, and provide an overview of our vacancies. Talentspace thus offers us a great opportunity to professionally present ourselves as a company that embraces the digital age."

- Michaela Schlögl, REWE Group Austria Recruiter

“Rewe in der Thoer-Galerie” by Joehawkins is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.