How MediaMarkt Uses Beekeeper to Support Innovation and Communication

MediaMarkt is Europe’s largest retailer for consumer electronics and puts a large emphasis on innovation. Every MediaMarkt store allows customers to try out and compare products, making it the perfect place to learn about the latest technologies and evaluate them before purchasing. With such a large percentage of frontline employees who don’t have corporate email addresses, internal communication can be challenging.

Luca Turina joined MediaMarkt in 2015 and has been responsible for various projects in HR, Legal & Compliance. He helped implement and drive Beekeeper amongst a predominantly young employee demographic at MediaMarkt to solve these communication challenges.

We met with Luca to discuss how Beekeeper has helped a large, distributed workforce like MediaMarkt support innovation and improve communication within the organization.

1. The retail environment is changing quickly. How does MediaMarkt stay competitive?

The retail business never stands still—it’s a very dynamic environment. It’s important to fully embrace change in order to proactively spot opportunities and trigger success, rather than purely reacting to change after the fact.

There is always a lot going on at MediaMarkt. Our teams constantly work on our approach to remain competitive and be able to act fast and efficiently to changes and demands within the industry. This focus is what continues to bring us closer to our customers and allows us to deliver a better customer experience.

2. How critical is fast and efficient communication among retail associates on the shop floor?

Trying to fill the communication gaps on the shop floor among retails associates is more challenging than people would probably expect. Retail associates, unlike office workers, are always on the go and don’t depend on emails to communicate. Because they are moving in the same space as shoppers, they also cannot use traditional communication channels like desk phones or two-way radios. It wouldn’t be a pleasant customer service experience for both shoppers and retail associates if there was an uncontrollable amount of beeping and ringing going on in the background. We needed a way to communicate with our retail associates without disrupting the customer experience.

Implementing Beekeeper at MediaMarkt was the perfect solution to fit these needs. We now have the ability to reach our colleagues fast and efficiently. We can communicate the right information to the right colleagues at the appropriate time, which has not only increased our productivity, but also enriched the employee experience.

3. MediaMarkt has a very popular Apprenticeship Program. How important is technology at work for Generation Z?

At MediaMarkt, we are a team of true enthusiasts when it comes to new technology and try to pass this passion on to our customers. The group that sticks out the most are our apprentices since they have a natural affinity for technology. Generation Z is the first generation of true digital natives. They don’t know a world without computers, smartphones, or internet access on demand, which influences their personality and character traits, specifically regarding socialization and development. As Generation Z matures and enters the working world, companies need to adjust the way they operate to remain an attractive employer.

Generation Y and Z are not so different, but Generation Z feels stronger about expressing their needs and priorities. They desire self-realization, freedom, flexibility, and mobility. Fast-developing technologies have enabled us to offer our employees exactly what they want. Digital technologies will play a key role in adapting the working experience to employees’ needs. For example, being flexible about when and where they work will be much easier in the future.

4. What has changed since MediaMarkt started using Beekeeper?

Our Beekeeper platform, “MM Chat,” has supported us in many ways since its implementation. For the first time, we are able to reach every single employee in a fast, easy, and reliable way. We can steadily inform our workforce about important changes and our business performance, and we can include them in all internal matters.

Our employees have never felt more informed than with Beekeeper. And that’s not the only benefit. They now have a way to interact with each other while working in different locations, building a stronger team spirit and identity within the organization. Through sharing ideas and creative initiatives, Beekeeper supports innovation throughout the whole company.

5. What do you and your team love most about Beekeeper? Have you seen any use cases you didn’t expect?

Beekeeper has a lot of functionalities that are really valuable for our organization including accessibility, usability for employees of every age, and it holds a number of different communication streams. What we like most about Beekeeper is the ability to target information and measure our communication. The detailed Analytics Dashboard makes it possible to customize our internal communications and optimize them accordingly.

Critical information can be shared with every single employee through personalized Campaigns. Subsequently, the analytics show us in real-time how many people already accessed the information and how they reacted to our message. The Beekeeper team always listens to their clients and consistently implements new features, always giving us more diversity with how we can use it as a communications tool. All of this, along with many other capabilities, make Beekeeper the communications tool of choice for MediaMarkt.

To learn how Beekeeper can foster innovation and improve communications for your specific organization, fill out the form below to request a free personal demo.