Ahold Retail Academy
Albert Heijn
Stop Shop
caring company culture, empowerment
(with clearly-defined responsibilities and
accountability), selected levels of com
pensation and benefits, and a healthy
balance between work and a personal
life. Ahold believes its ability to deliver
attractive packages to associates forms
the foundation of its employment brand
image and ensures success in sourcing
and retaining talented staff to manage
its growing network.
Management development
Much progress was made in 1999 in
making management development a more
transparent process with local, regional
and strong corporate involvement. Ahold
has become a preferred employer in nearly
all its markets. In 1999, Ahold's global
management development program was
well underway in the United States,
Europe and Asia (and introduced in Latin
America in 2000). It attracts the best,
then develops and retains these key
individuals. It is crucial to have the right
person in the right place at all times.
The global MD initiative assists corporate,
regional and country management by
keeping pools for key positions filled
with talented people eager to grow and
gain responsibility. It is interesting to
note that newly-acquired companies and
joint venture partners also appreciate
the opportunities offered by Ahold's
worldwide MD program, as it enhances
job satisfaction and self-fulfillment.
A key element of these programs, on
and off the job, is supportive training.
Ahold Networking
Ahold has made considerable progress
in developing an intranet knowledge
network enabling thousands of key
specialists around the company to discuss
business issues to the benefit of both
local operations and Ahold as a whole.
The overriding objective of Ahold
Networking is the sharing of knowledge
and expertise to add value at all levels.
Last year, the organizational instruments
and technical applications were assem
bled to assist these specialists to identify,
capture and exchange these opportunities.
The first 2,200 participating specialists
have been trained and readied for the
Ahold Networking initiative in the United
States, Europe and Latin America
(the Asian region will follow in 2001).
Ahold Networking is carefully structured
to connect operating companies and
joint venture partners. It makes Ahold
the first international food retailer to use
state-of-the-art information technology
to share best practices in key aspects of
the business, online and for internal use
only. Shared areas of expertise include:
procurement, logistics and distribution;
IT, business-to-business initiatives,
e-commerce and the development of
new sales channels; human resources
and MD; marketing communications
and publicity, loyalty and card-based
marketing, private label, advertising,
promotions, public relations, public
affairs, consumer affairs and food safety
issues; store format design and opera
tions. This initiative is expected to add
the equivalent of at least one per cent
in sales to Ahold's operating earnings.
The Ahold Retail Academy, started last year, has devel
oped into an important vehicle to groom young, high-
potential Ahold executives and give them a better
insight into fundamental issues that determine the
company's success. The Retail Academy runs a two-
week course twice a year, structured by Ahold special
ists in cooperation with Cornell University in the USA
and Nyenrode University in The Netherlands. Participants have several years working experience at
Ahold or its joint venture partners and are invited to follow the program as part of their individual
career development plan. Senior executives, including Corporate Executive Board members, are among
the lecturers. The course is designed to raise participants' knowledge levels, leadership and manageri
al skills. Particular attention is paid to updating best practices in food retailing and developing strate
gic thinking. Other objectives include fostering internal cohesion and encouraging the sharing of best
practices in individual situations.
Royal Ahold Annual Report 1999
35
