We continue our series of interviews with employers who put people at the heart of their development and actively contribute to building a more transparent labor market in Romania.

Today, we are speaking with Aurelia Mihai, Head of Talent (Recruitment, Learning and Development), and Alina Andrei, Head of Internal Communication and Employer Branding at Auchan Romania, about the company’s organizational culture, the “Enjoy Life” experience, and how every colleague can maximize their professional and personal potential.

Discover below what a deeply human work environment means—one based on trust, collaboration, and continuous development—and how authentic communication and real listening transform Auchan into an employer where every voice matters.

1. How would you describe Auchan’s organizational culture and summarize it in a few words?

Aurelia Mihai, Head of Talent (Recruitment, Learning and Development):

I would describe our culture as profoundly human, based on trust in ourselves and in one another. That’s what keeps us united and working together in an atmosphere of joy and collaboration. We love what we do and we do our best—together. We share with each other, we learn from each other, which helps us progress and develop, especially since we have such diverse profiles and professions. We are happy that what we do is appreciated by our customers and the communities where we are present—that our work truly matters.

2. Describe Auchan’s culture and explain how you ensure it is authentically reflected in your institutional communication.

Alina Andrei, Head of Internal Communication and Employer Branding:

At Auchan, we always talk about the Human Project, alongside the business project. Purpose is very important to us. We constantly ask ourselves: “Why do we do things a certain way? What is the impact of our actions—not just today, but in the long term, for colleagues, the community, citizens, shareholders, and partners?” It’s not just the outcome that matters, but also the way we achieve it—with meaning, with humanity, and with a positive, lasting impact.

One key advantage is that Employer Branding and Internal Communication are part of the same department. This gives us responsibility for communicating with all colleagues. Through our internal communication strategy COMPAS (Communication for Performance and Success), we reach nearly 7,000 employees via both digital and physical channels. Our communication is authentic because messages don’t come only from the communication team but also from colleagues with different roles and experiences.

A relevant example is the Human Project 2.0 workshops, where we reached almost all colleagues with the support of over 110 ambassadors from different departments. In these meetings, we openly discussed our culture, the atmosphere that sets us apart, the daily efficiency we need to remain relevant, and, most importantly, each person’s role in building this culture—whether they work in a store, a support service, or a warehouse.

In addition to direct interactions—which we prioritize—we also use digital channels. Every colleague has access to a company email address, available on any device and from any location. We also communicate via posters, TV content, and internal platforms, ensuring presence across all communication media.

This way, every colleague stays connected in real time to messages and remains an active part of the Auchan community, either through institutional communication or functional communication supported by key managerial teams—essential for successful communication within the organization.

3. What does the “Enjoy Life” experience mean at Auchan? How do you bring the employer promise to all Auchan teams?

Aurelia Mihai, Head of Talent (Recruitment, Learning and Development):

To enjoy life means doing your job with pleasure and feeling rewarded in every way. We are diverse—in age, expectations, and interests—and it’s important for us to offer everyone something meaningful. Not just fair pay or good working conditions, but lived experiences, opportunities to learn or share expertise, to contribute to the success of teams or projects.

It means the satisfaction of a job well done, alongside people you can rely on. Most often, when I ask colleagues—many of whom have been with the company for years—why they stayed with Auchan, they say they never got bored. They’ve learned a lot and developed more than they ever thought possible.

4. How do you build efficient internal communication that inspires and connects employees to the company’s vision and values?

Alina Andrei, Head of Internal Communication and Employer Branding:

To be efficient, we split communication into two main directions, tailoring resources and messages to each audience.

The first is institutional communication, where we constantly integrate colleagues’ feedback. For example, we introduced new communication channels when we noticed that some employee categories weren’t well covered by traditional methods. Our goal is always to measure how many colleagues we reached, using clear indicators—just like in business. We don’t want to communicate just for the sake of it, but to create real, measurable impact.

The second is functional, managerial communication. From a leadership course I attended, one key takeaway was that managers set the tone for organizational culture. They are closest to their teams and directly filter the information passed on to employees.

I strongly believe both directions are equally important. When messages are coherent, aligned, and adapted to each audience, every colleague understands not only what they need to do but also why it matters—for them and for the company—that is, the purpose.

This year, with the launch of the new internal communication strategy COMPAS, we integrated into the standard managerial toolkit a dedicated training module, “Communicate”. Communication has become an essential competency for organizational success, designed to bring performance and sustainable results through achieving objectives.

5. How do you encourage employees to contribute new ideas and make a meaningful impact both within the company and in the community?

Aurelia Mihai, Head of Talent (Recruitment, Learning and Development):

Auchan has always embraced a culture of open doors and transparent communication. At the same time, individual accountability and high standards for results have always been—and still are—central in all our programs and projects. This means we encourage the expression of ideas, initiatives, and autonomy, fostering people’s confidence to take responsibility.

To provide employees with the right solutions and infrastructure to express themselves and generate real impact, we launched a reward program for initiatives that bring value—whether through efficiency gains or added value creation. Some of our colleagues’ ideas are already delivering results.

As for community impact, our employees can access the “Enjoy Life” platform to view all active CSR and responsibility campaigns across Auchan locations—focusing on healthy eating, sports, and healthy living. Additionally, through a gamification system, they are encouraged to get involved as much as possible, with the chance to win various prizes.

6. How do you encourage employee involvement and strengthen the sense of belonging to the Auchan community?

Alina Andrei, Head of Internal Communication and Employer Branding:

At Auchan, we believe that the true promoters of change are those who apply and live processes and ways of working every day. That’s why we build a culture where responsibility and each person’s involvement actively contribute to our shared success. We even have a concept for this: empowering management. It doesn’t refer only to managers, but to every Auchan colleague, regardless of role—capable of making decisions and driving change where needed, as close to the field as possible.

We are recognized by the Top Employers Institute, in the 2025 certification, with above-average scores compared to Romanian retail for “employee listening”—one of our strengths.

We run extensive listening and engagement projects, where colleagues directly contribute to shaping Auchan’s future. Whether through Human Project workshops, dedicated to strengthening a culture that supports objectives, or RESTART Lab, where we gather initiatives to generate savings, operational efficiency, or process improvements. For example, cost-saving processes proposed and implemented through RESTART Lab turn into rewards for the colleagues who initiated them.

When each colleague is heard and then sees an idea implemented—whether their own or their team’s—the sense of engagement becomes real. And we continuously encourage this.

7. What does a professional and personal growth journey look like at Auchan, and what helps employees reach their full potential here?

Aurelia Mihai, Head of Talent (Recruitment, Learning and Development):

Professional growth has two dimensions: expertise and hierarchical/managerial.

We support both dimensions at every managerial level and across every professional area. Concretely, we have processes in place to detect training and development needs, periodically bringing to HR’s attention employees who can be supported to make a leap in expertise and professionalism, or who are our potential future managers and leaders. These two dimensions also overlap.

We run professional training programs that address all employees’ needs, but we also have special programs dedicated to those who can accelerate their development within the company. Our career paths include training for every stage of a professional journey, ensuring the right level of professionalism for each role.

At the same time, at each career stage, employees identified as high-potential are enrolled in programs preparing them for the next level. Every year, each employee has a personalized plan, which can include various actions: 360° feedback, trainings on different topics, etc.

For certain professions, such as commercial department managers, we have a well-defined journey including assessment centers (for recruitment or internal detection), job-specific training, managerial skill development, peer coaching, and leadership programs for those with director potential.

Additionally, our employees can learn foreign languages through our platform. For their well-being and personal development, they also have access to the “Enjoy Life” platform, which includes continuous feedback tools, peer recognition, educational resources, and wellbeing solutions.

On the same platform, employees can also see how they can get involved in our CSR and sustainability campaigns. Thus, every employee is encouraged to maximize both professional and personal potential and to be an active contributor in the community.

8. How is the human organizational culture—where each member feels they truly belong and are supported—reflected in daily interactions and team atmosphere?

Alina Andrei, Head of Internal Communication and Employer Branding:

We are fortunate to have a strong DNA defined by solid values—Trust, Openness, Excellence—and by an organizational culture with family roots. When we talk about “human” at Auchan, we mean the work atmosphere, open communication, and the fact that every colleague should feel that wellbeing on the job, even during difficult professional or personal times.

It matters to feel appreciated and supported, but also to continuously improve the way we do things—more efficiently, more consistently, learning from each other.

A key part of the “Human” pillar are the Human Project workshops, which never stop, because we want them to be a continuous exercise. In these sessions, we step away from the daily rhythm, listen to colleagues, and commit to delivering on the promises made in those moments of listening. Each colleague thus contributes to a unique Human Project, built bottom-up, together.

9. How do you support employees during periods of change or new challenges, and what opportunities arise from these situations?

Aurelia Mihai, Head of Talent (Recruitment, Learning and Development):

Change is inevitable, and in recent years the pace has accelerated—we all feel it. Professions evolve, influenced by external factors, progress, and innovation. At the same time, any change generates stress and requires adaptation. We are ritualistic beings—we need safety and predictability, both of which are affected in times of change.

To support employees, we launched the Auchan Refresh program – “You, at the Next Level.” The program supports employees in areas undergoing organizational transformation—whether it’s changes in structure, processes, solutions, technology, or even roles and competency profiles.

In these Refresh programs, employees are accompanied through assessment and diagnosis, needs analysis, followed by customized training and development programs to help them quickly acquire the knowledge and skills required to succeed in the new context. These moments often bring opportunities for self-discovery and awareness.

10. How do you encourage open dialogue and listening within the organization, and how do you integrate colleagues’ feedback into organizational culture?

Alina Andrei, Head of Internal Communication and Employer Branding:

Auchan’s listening strategy has several pillars:

- Constant social dialogue with the union through regular meetings, both centrally and locally, where we negotiate the collective labor agreement every year.

- Annual Engagement and Satisfaction Barometer, conducted with all nearly 7,000 colleagues. We don’t just listen—we turn responses into strategic directions for the company’s future.

- Human Project workshops, organized every two years with all colleagues, to allow time to implement the changes resulting from proposed actions.

In addition, we maintain continuous listening through managerial teams—key populations in our strategy—who ensure direct communication with colleagues.

At the institutional communication level, our COMPAS strategy integrates employee feedback regularly—from channel choices to faster or more efficient communication methods—all designed to support daily work.

We ensure feedback translates into concrete actions through constant measurement. We use pulse surveys and periodic analyses to validate that we’re moving in the direction desired by colleagues, while also staying aligned with business goals.

11. At Auchan, everyone contributes to “building together the culture of emotion.” What role does internal communication play in this process, and how do you measure the impact of your efforts in creating a culture based on emotion and engagement throughout the organization?

Alina Andrei, Head of Internal Communication and Employer Branding

The Culture of Emotion emerged with Auchan Group’s 2032 Vision. The essential pillars of this vision are, on the one hand, Auchan products—without which our business wouldn’t exist and for which customers choose our brand—and on the other hand, emotion. Emotion is 100% human and represents what makes, and will continue to make, the difference in our business—especially now, in the age of AI.

We extended this concept of a culture of emotion to employees, inspired by the quote attributed to Maya Angelou:
“People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Starting from this, we launched the Human Project 1.0 – Culture of Emotion, encouraging colleagues to open up and realize that how we feel—at work, at home, anywhere—matters and can be influenced, responsibly, by each of us.

Internal communication played a key role. Both the 2032 Vision and the Human Project – Culture of Emotion were launched internally, to all employees. The communication team managed the entire project so that the message reached the entire organization from 2022 to 2023, and beyond, since the Human Project never ends. It constantly evolves, and today we are already at version 2.0.

12. How do you communicate and perpetuate this strong organizational culture, ensuring that new employees understand and embrace it? And how does it contribute to talent retention?

Aurelia Mihai, Head of Talent (Recruitment, Learning and Development):

We ensure the perpetuation of our culture and organizational atmosphere through the onboarding program for new employees, as well as through ongoing programs and actions that support Auchan’s culture and managerial standards. For us, onboarding is a mix of training, guidance through tutoring or mentoring, communication, integration into Auchan communities, proximity management, and collecting feedback from newcomers.

In addition, we regularly run communication and engagement actions around Auchan’s vision, company strategy, and results—occasions where company leaders connect directly with employees and provide the clarity and direction needed to align everyone toward achieving objectives.

13. How does the diversity of over 50 professions and 250 roles at Auchan translate into concrete career paths, and what initiatives support employees’ professional and personal growth from the moment they join and over the long term?

Aurelia Mihai, Head of Talent (Recruitment, Learning and Development):

The diversity of professions and roles means, first and foremost, more opportunities—whether lateral moves, professional mobility, or internal promotion. Career paths at Auchan can even begin at school, through programs like Auchan StarTalents, internships, dual education, apprenticeships, and traineeships.

To ensure visibility for all employees regarding career opportunities, we have an internal job market where they can view and apply not only for positions in Romania but also abroad. Through our talent management process, we create personalized career plans and fast tracks for high-potential employees, anticipating both their needs and those of the organization.

For specific development needs, we run a coaching program. On the personal development side, we focus on awareness, education, and accountability for a healthy lifestyle, offering a comprehensive package of health insurance and benefits to support both physical and psychological wellbeing.

Are you looking for a workplace where trust, growth, and care for people are real?

Visit the Auchan Romania company page on Undelucram.ro and discover all available career opportunities.