One of the biggest advantages and strengths of Fortenova grupa is the synergy and size of the organization, in which care for employees, potentials and talents in all positions, as well as continuous employment, both inexperienced young and experienced professionals, experts and managers, throughout the region ensures horizontal or vertical advancement within companies, but also through different businesses and countries. We use state-of-the-art tools and systems to develop potential and successors, thus ensuring the Group’s further progress.

Fortenova grupa’s shared values, attitudes and behaviours are creating a company culture that makes our organization one of the best working environments. Management is trusted and transparent about the challenges and the mission in front of the organization, communication is open and encouraged between the management and employees, workplace rules and procedures are set and updated accordingly. In addition, competitive benefits are enabled to all employees of the organization.

Excellence, responsibility, integrity, collaboration, innovation.

Most of our companies have collective agreements in place, which provide numerous benefits for our employees, including rewards for special occasions, additional health insurance and organized medical checks for all employees, paid warm meals and various non-financial benefits. For example, the companies provide a day off for parents and gifts for children for their first day at school, subsidize sporting activities, support in using parental leaves for fathers etc.

Regarding other activities provided by the companies to their employees, worth being singled out are the possibility of volunteering in different initiatives organized by the companies, the ‘Let’s Meet’ project, where employees in retail can visit a Group company in another country, meet their colleagues and learn about the differences in other retail companies; once a year, all companies organize a Town Hall meeting to present key information, and the employees actively take part by asking questions to be answered by the management.

Employees are encouraged to participate in running events such as B2Run Zagreb, Ljubljana Marathon, Belgrade Marathon, etc. The Group also has a basketball team that competes in the Business Basketball League and all the employees are welcome to participate.

There is a comprehensive range of activities whereby the Group gives back to the community on all five markets where it operates. Above all, the Group employs more than 46,000 people for whom the Group, in addition to regular salaries, provides numerous other benefits. Due to Fortenova Group’s regional significance, the improvement of relationships with the local communities, work on improving the quality of life and contributing to their economic growth are high on the list of priorities. By devising and implementing appropriate socially responsible programmes and policies and taking part in common partnership projects with the local communities, the Group exerts efforts to improve various aspects of life in the local communities. Investments in the local communities have continuously been growing. Thus in 2023 there were almost 50 projects directly related to the local community. The Group supported more than 20 humanitarian activities, over 50 projects focused on socially sensitive groups and more than 40 cultural projects. Viewed by the individual markets on which it operates, most of those investments took place in Croatia, followed by Slovenia.

Training and education are important backbones of the company’s competitiveness, and at Fortenova Group all employees have the opportunity to receive additional professional training, depending on their own and the business’s needs. In 2023, there were almost 332 thousand hours of training provided across the Group, whereof 72 percent was internal training. The Group follows the career development of its employees with potential to assume more complex jobs or transfer to other positions within Fortenova Group. Employees recognized as talents can put their career development forward as one of the topics at their annual interview with the managers, and the employees’ interest and potential are documented in an individual development plan. Fortenova Group is particularly proud of its own, internal long-term DRIVE Beyond Excellence programme, intended to improve the knowledge and skills of its employees, which started in 2021 and consists of three different group education programmes – Discover, Accelerate i Navigate – with the ultimate goal of further strengthening Fortenova Group’s human potential and contributing to the creation of an encouraging working environment and a winning mentality, which strongly drives the entire Fortenova Group forward.