Today, we continue our series of interviews with experts from companies included in the Top 100 Employers on Undelucram.ro, featuring Lidl Romania. Thanks to the sustained efforts of the team in creating a work environment where every employee feels appreciated and supported, the company ranked first in the Top of the Food Retail Industry.

To understand what makes it a highly sought-after employer in the job market, we spoke with Ionela Sulugiuc, National HR Director, about the strategies contributing to Lidl Romania's success.

We invite you to discover in this interview how the HR team supports the continuous development of employees and how the organization manages to "offer the best salary and benefits package" to remain the first choice for retail employees.

1. What aspects of the work environment within the company do you believe are most appreciated by employees and potential candidates?

We are a constantly expanding company, and this fact fosters an environment where there are opportunities for learning and development, both for Lidl team members and for candidates who want to join our team. At the same time, our central concern is the well-being of our employees, and this is reflected in concrete actions we take year after year, aimed at providing a fair salary package and benefits that contribute to financial well-being. Our colleagues highly appreciate the pleasant work environment – we see this reflected in the feedback we receive on the undelucram.ro platform, as well as in various internal studies we conduct. One of our team's core values is belonging, and some of the most beautiful examples of how this value manifests are seen in the interactions among our colleagues in stores, including the appreciation they leave for each other on our internal communication app.
We are happy that many of our colleagues choose to stay with us long-term. Today, we have around 900 employees out of the more than 13,000 who have been with us since 2011, when we entered the Romanian market, and approximately 5,000 have been part of the team for over five years. This is also thanks to the development-oriented work environment – from the onboarding period and throughout their professional journey with us, we make sure that their development needs are addressed individually and that they receive constant feedback and support.

2.How do you build an employer brand that attracts the right talents for your company?

In order to maintain and grow our team, we look both at the opportunity to attract new talents and at ways to remain relevant to our colleagues who are already with us. Our goal is to be the highest-paying company in the food retail industry, and that means having the best compensation and benefits package in Romania. Therefore, this year, we raised the salaries of all our colleagues, with the salary package being complemented by other financial benefits such as annual Easter and Christmas bonuses, meal vouchers, anniversary bonuses, and other types of bonuses and allowances.

We know that an attractive package of financial and non-financial benefits is still an important criterion for potential candidates, so we will continue to keep a close eye on what’s happening at the macroeconomic level.

Moreover, we constantly invest in the development of our colleagues, and this has a strong influence on our employer brand and communication – we offer employees advancement opportunities and the support they need to grow, and this is well-known in the market, being one of the most important attributes that make us attractive to new colleagues.

Last but not least, we are always mindful of our reputation and the work environment we create. At Lidl, we have over 13,000 colleagues across all counties of the country – in stores, warehouses, and office locations. We thus have an extremely diverse population, with different profiles and needs, and our efforts are directed towards building an employer brand that resonates with all of them. To ensure we remain relevant to all categories of colleagues, we are constantly connecting with them and gathering continuous feedback through various tools, from internal surveys to feedback from colleagues to Persons of Trust, as well as feedback received through our internal communication app, We Are Lidl.

3. How do you see the impact of leadership on attracting and retaining talent in the context of the labor market in Romania?

Managers are ambassadors of a company’s culture and play a crucial role in both attracting and, more importantly, retaining talent. Among the most important competencies of a leader in 2025, beyond technical skills, are soft skills, with interpersonal communication becoming increasingly important. Managers who truly listen to their team members, are attentive to people’s needs, and observe each colleague both as an individual and within the dynamics of the team. Another competency we focus on and invest more in is the ability of leaders to manage change.

At Lidl Romania, we have complex programs designed for the development of managers, which also address topics such as conflict management, constructive feedback & recognition, and stress management.

4. What measures do you implement to keep Lidl Romania competitive in the Romanian labor market and attractive to candidates, considering current trends?

Our efforts at Lidl Romania to remain attractive to our colleagues and potential candidates are confirmed primarily by the fact that today we have around 900 employees, out of over 13,000, who have been with us since 2011, when we entered the Romanian market, and approximately 5,000 have been part of the team for more than five years. This is due to a combination of initiatives—from development platforms tailored to each level within the company, to a benefits package increasingly adapted to the needs of each category of employees, including those specifically created for parents, who make up over 50% of Lidl’s team.

Stability is an essential criterion we focus on, so we make continuous efforts to offer our over 13,000 colleagues a secure job. Furthermore, we remain committed to our objective of offering the best salary and benefits package and thus remain the first choice for our employees. As demonstrated by the Undelucram.ro ranking, Lidl Romania is ranked first in food retail again this year, just like last year.

We aim to provide our team with a challenging and dynamic work environment, which is why, in turn, we aim to be the best employer and the place where each of our colleagues can grow and develop a long-term career.

5. What do you consider to be your most important contribution to the company’s success so far?

Lidl Romania is one of the few companies on the local market where HR has a representative on the Board, and this speaks volumes about the strategic role this department plays. On one hand, it has an important administrative role, and on the other, it is responsible for the well-being and development of our employees. Therefore, my team’s activities positively influence a broad spectrum of aspects that directly contribute to the company’s success.

For example, at Lidl, we have a Talent Management model focused on employee development and identifying potential for promotion or succession. This is why the majority of leadership positions at Lidl, over 80%, are filled through internal promotions, which helps us save both time in finding the most suitable candidates and costs, allowing us to focus our resources on onboarding colleagues for their new roles.

Another example of how my colleagues and I have made a significant contribution to the company’s success, this time through a measure aimed at the well-being of the team, was the recommendation to cover the additional 10% tax cost on meal vouchers, following the legislative changes that came into effect at the beginning of 2024. We implemented this measure so that the total monthly income of each Lidl colleague would not be negatively affected and to demonstrate once again our commitment to the well-being of #teamlidl.

6. What important lessons have you learned throughout your career, and how do you apply them in your daily work?

Throughout my career, I’ve learned that success in leadership doesn’t just come from well-thought-out strategies and quick decisions, but also from the patience to build strong relationships and allow things to fall into place at their own pace. Some changes happen immediately, while others require time, patience, consistency, and trust.

Another essential aspect is the ability to truly listen. People don’t just need solutions; they also need a space where they can be heard and understood. That’s why I’m always learning to ask good questions and create contexts in which my team can express their ideas and concerns. Only by doing so can I make informed, fair, and relevant decisions.

I strongly believe that authenticity and honesty are fundamental in leadership. You can only lead people genuinely by being open, having the strength to admit when you don’t have all the answers, and maintaining your values regardless of the challenges. Every day, I aim to be an example of these principles, knowing that trust and respect are built through transparency, truth, and consistency.

7. How do you support the professional development of your team members?

Lidl constantly invests in the development of its employees, which is why most leadership positions are filled through promotions from within the company. This means that any sales assistant has the opportunity to advance into management positions—whether that’s as a store manager, sales leader, or more. We place great importance on the personal and professional development of our team, and we have adapted our people development strategy to create effective and high-performing teams. We’ve created programs aimed at every category of employees and every level of seniority. These are aimed equally at colleagues in sales, logistics, and departments at the headquarters, such as purchasing, administration, construction, expansion, human resources, communication, and more. As a result, annually, Lidl's team participates in over 450,000 hours of training.

8. How do you identify and leverage each team member’s strengths to maximize their impact on overall performance?

Since we want every team member to grow with us, we’ve implemented a Talent Management process, ensuring that their development needs are addressed individually through constant feedback and discussions with their direct managers. Thus, every colleague benefits from an individual development plan, which can include both training and social development elements (mentoring, coaching, job shadowing, etc.). Through our Talent Management process, we also lay the foundation for developing a talent pipeline and provide colleagues with opportunities to move from a specialist role to a management role.

9. What key trends do you observe shaping the labor market, and how does your company align its strategies to stay ahead?

Increasingly, agile thinking, or rather employee adaptability, is becoming more important. The ability to make changes quickly while staying motivated is essential. Unlike in past decades, when most employees worked in the field they trained for, we now see more and more employees working in different fields and performing well in their jobs. Therefore, the skill set and competencies that employees can develop—such as through training—are becoming more important.

At Lidl, we have a well-established internal recruitment process, and for certain roles, we first look for colleagues from within the company, offering any colleague the opportunity to grow and try a new job, while remaining with us.

10. What recent changes in candidates’ preferences have influenced your recruitment and retention strategy?

In recent years, transparency regarding a company’s salary policy has become an increasingly important topic for candidates, and we at Lidl have made this a priority for a long time. For many years, we’ve made public the starting salaries and benefits we offer for all roles where we recruit a large number of colleagues, both from stores and warehouses and offices.

At the same time, we’ve adapted our recruitment process to meet candidates' expectations. Clarity, speed, and flexibility are becoming increasingly important for them. Especially for blue-collar roles, but not only, candidates want to be able to apply for the job they desire with ease, and to meet this need, we adapted our online application process last year to make it as simple and quick as possible.

More and more, candidates are looking for stability from the jobs they apply to—and for us, job stability has been one of the most important aspects we focus on for many years. To provide this stability, we constantly review our compensation and benefits packages and offer development opportunities for all categories of employees and from all areas of activity.

11. How do you adapt your benefit packages to meet the expectations of different categories of candidates?

When it comes to benefits, we look at both how to remain relevant to our current colleagues and to meet the expectations of potential candidates. We continue to monitor macroeconomic trends to ensure that our team enjoys well-being in all aspects. We do this to provide our colleagues with the stability they need. We will continue to offer benefits that are more tailored to the needs of each employee category, considering that an attractive package of financial and non-financial benefits remains an important criterion for potential candidates.

12. What message would you send to candidates who might be interested in joining your team?

At Lidl, we remain committed to the goal of being the best employer for everyone who joins our team. We want each of them to stay with us for the long term, so we make efforts to remain connected to their needs and expectations in all aspects—from the benefits package to career development within the company. In #teamlidl, we value curiosity, a desire to learn, mental flexibility, and adaptability, regardless of the role. We have numerous examples of colleagues who joined us in entry-level roles, grew with us, and are now in management positions.

13. How do you encourage a culture of continuous feedback from employees, and how does this contribute to maintaining your company's top employer status?

We have been investing for many years in bidirectional communication with our team, using multiple channels to facilitate this. A very valuable tool is our internal communication app, We Are Lidl, used by over 97% of our colleagues, which helps us keep them constantly updated with company news and stay in real-time touch with their pulse. With the help of our internal communication team, we actively collect feedback through the app and engage in dialogue with colleagues from across the country. Additionally, Lidl has a special role, Person of Trust—neutral, trustworthy individuals who maintain ongoing communication with colleagues from all areas of our business. Furthermore, we consistently collect feedback from all colleagues through various tools, from surveys to focus groups. This allows us to have a clear picture of our colleagues' desires and expectations regarding the work environment, benefits, and their professional development wishes, enabling us to make the best decisions in these areas.

Moreover, because fairness to each colleague and compliance with legal and internal regulations are fundamental to us, we have an internal system where our colleagues can send us feedback on any situation where they notice potential violations. They can leave their feedback on our online notification platform, where they can choose to remain anonymous, or they can write to a dedicated email address. Based on the details they provide, we carefully verify each situation and take action to address any irregularities.

14. What role does leadership play in your company’s success as a Top Employer, and how is this reflected in your team development strategy?

The contribution of every colleague is what makes Lidl Romania what it is today. For us, the role of leadership is to provide teams with the support they need to perform, grow, and come to work with joy. One of the values we cultivate in our team, including among managers, is to remain grounded—to actively listen, always stay connected to real needs, and be attentive to each other. This way, leaders can make the best decisions so that the experience we offer our colleagues across the company meets their expectations and provides all the reasons for them to stay with us long-term.

Moreover, one of the most important aspects our colleagues appreciate at Lidl is that they can grow and receive support to develop into leadership roles. Through our development strategy, we’ve created the foundation for building an internal talent pipeline, offering our colleagues the opportunity to advance into management positions. We have created programs designed to meet the needs of first-time managers, especially in the post-pandemic context and an ever-changing environment—from the economic and social context to challenges brought by the labor market.

Are you looking for a job in food retail?

Join the company ranked first in the industry! Visit Lidl Romania's career page and discover the benefits you can enjoy as an employee of an organization that emphasizes a fair salary package and advantages aimed at ensuring your financial stability.