Ahold Delhaize
future-proofs
global HR teams
Ahold Delhaize used their own HR
capabilities framework and implemented it
in a Global HR Academy that responds tolocal needs.

1Building HR capabilities in adecentralized organization
Ahold Delhaize's global HR team created a capability framework tofuture-proof the function. But how do you build HR capabilities atscale across a global organization?

Challenges

Balancing local and global“As HR, we tend to always focus on thebusiness and that is our primary purpose.
But it was time to also look at ourselves andlook into our know-how,” says Ruben
Santos, European Strategy Director for
Ahold Delhaize.

An academy was a logical tool tooperationalize the new framework. But a
one-size-ﬁts-all solution wasn't an option.

The challenge now was: how to build
these capabilities at scale? And how tobalance standardization and scalability
with different needs across 19 brands?.

Ahold Delhaize is one of the world’s
largest food retail groups. Formed inJuly 2016 from the merger of Aholdand Delhaize Group, they are a leader insupermarkets and e-commerce.

150

HR upskilling at scale

To ensure HR could add increasing value
to the business, Ahold Delhaize focusedon supporting HR’s professional
development. They created a newcapability framework, outlining the 18
roles and 8 capabilities needed tofuture-proof the HR organization.

About Ahold Delhaize

As a family of brands spread across 10
countries, Ahold Delhaize needed an
academy flexible enough to meet adiversity of needs.
The academy would need to provide
content that supports the development of
the desired capabilities, but also allows for
localized content about e.g. legislation.
It was also important to facilitate andsupport multiple implementation
approaches to accommodate different
cultures, needs, and business objectives.

Years of driving
innovation in retail

19
Brands in 10 countries
worldwide

414,000
Associates across morethan 7,600 stores900
HR professionals
supporting the business3

“For learners, thegoal was to create
clarity aboutdevelopment
opportunities. For
the organization, thegoal was to have HR
professionals able tosupport the strategy
implementation.
Vladimir Ionescu
Global Associates
Development Manager at
Ahold Delhaize

Global HR academy
implemented at a local level
SolutionContent mapped to capabilities
Ahold Delhaize decided to operationalize
their capability framework with a global
HR academy, and they chose AIHR as themain content provider.
"The content is practical, up-to-date, andit ﬁts the skills we aim to build for the
future," says Ruben. "And mostimportantly, we can create a curriculum
for the roles that we deﬁned in ourcapability framework."

Implementation per brand"We got expert support," adds Tamara
Kovacevic, L&D Specialist. "How to
implement digital and self-paced learning,
engage students, and support managers— AIHR is with you at every step."

Engaging platform & practical,
innovative content
The platform and diversity of content wasalso well-received. "I love the innovative
approach AIHR takes with their courses,
the resources library, and the career
center," says Vladimir.

AIHR took a consultative approach to help
Ahold Delhaize differentiate theirimplementation strategy per brand. Eachbrand had different objectives and needs.

"I really liked being able to extract HR,
templates and playbooks, and the live
events on diverse topics," says Linda deBruijn, L&D Manager.

"Our success manager worked with eachbrand 1 on 1 to help them go live," says
says Vladimir Ionescu, Global Associates
Development Manager.

They saw the same level of quality in thecontinuous improvements to the learning
platform. Vladimir: "I really feel AIHR acts
on customer feedback."

4

A successful ﬁrst step on acontinued learning journey
Results

More aligned & conﬁdent

Moving the business forward"The feedback is very positive fromlearners and managers," says Kostas
Markou, Organizational Development &HRBP CSO Director. "It helped us create acommon language. And learners are more
conﬁdent taking on new roles andresponsibilities."

Ahold Delhaize isn't done future-prooﬁng
HR. "We deﬁnitely want more students togo through this learning path. Ultimately,
it is to better serve the business," says
Ruben

After the ﬁrst year, the teams are feelingmore aligned. They are developing a cultureof learning, sharing best practices, andtaking ownership of their development.

"We want to see smoother processes. We
want to better align technology with ourassociates’ learning needs. We want topartner with the business on the mostcritical topics to move the businessforward."Learn how you canupskill a global,
decentralized teamHelp your HR team become
better at what they do anddrive more business value.
From targeted skill-building
to transforming HR
capabilities at scale, AIHR
has a learning solution foryour organization.
Find out how AIHR can help
you develop your HR team.

Get free consultation

Upskilling at scale

Culture of learning

Global alignment

Global HR academy

HR professionals owning

Decentralized teams

tailored to local needs

their development

speak the same language

5

AIHR | Academy to Innovate HR
HR teams are only as successful as their skills are relevant. With
engaging in-depth training and resources, AIHR helps HR teams
become better at what they do and drive more business value.
Learn more at AIHR.com

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