Maren Alvermann

For nearly 20 years at METRO, Maren Alvermann has witnessed significant changes in learning and development. While learning formats and technologies have evolved, one aspect has remained constant throughout her career: helping people navigate change. Today, she sees Learning & Development not only as a provider of training, but as a key enabler of transformation, leadership effectiveness and cultural change.

Enabling People to Navigate Change

Supporting people through change has been a central part of Alvermann's work. Whether organizations introduce new business models, technologies, ways of working or cultural initiatives, success depends largely on how well leaders guide their teams through the transition.

A key focus of Learning & Development is therefore to equip managers, leaders and project managers with the knowledge, skills and mindset needed to lead change successfully. This includes communication, stakeholder management, create transparency, address concerns and build commitment within their teams. For Alvermann, learning is not only about developing capabilities but also about creating confidence during periods of uncertainty.

Expanding Learning Opportunities Across the Workforce

Over the years, Alvermann has seen access to learning become significantly broader. While leadership development traditionally focused strongly on talent groups and managers, advances in technology and digital learning have made development opportunities available to a much wider audience.

Functional learning remains a critical foundation. Employees need access to product knowledge, operational processes and digital skills to perform successfully in their roles. At the same time, broader access to learning supports organizational agility by helping employees continuously adapt to changing business requirements.

Adapting Learning to a Changing Workplace

Learning itself has changed considerably. Traditional multi-day classroom programs have increasingly been complemented or replaced by digital learning, on-demand resources and shorter learning formats that fit into everyday work.

Alvermann believes effective learning requires both immediacy and reflection. Employees increasingly access learning while performing their jobs and responding to business challenges, enabling rapid skill development. At the same time, dedicated learning experiences away from the workplace remain essential for exploring complex issues, broadening perspectives, and fostering deeper personal and professional growth.

To identify learning priorities, Alvermann starts with METRO's business strategy. Together with leaders, she defines the capabilities required for future success and continuously adapts learning offerings to align with these evolving needs. For her, Learning & Development is not a standalone activity but a strategic lever for improving performance, building critical capabilities, and enabling the successful execution of business priorities.

Sustaining Cultural Change

For Alvermann, successful transformation goes beyond implementing new tools, processes or systems. Lasting change requires cultural change, and culture develops over time through consistent reinforcement.

Drawing on her experience with large-scale transformation initiatives, she notes that establishing new behaviors and mindsets can take years. This is why Learning & Development plays an important role in reinforcing organizational values and desired behaviors through leadership programs, talent initiatives and other development activities.

Consistency is particularly important. Learning messages need to be aligned across development programs and repeated throughout the employee lifecycle to ensure that change becomes embedded in daily practice rather than remaining a short-term initiative.

Staying Curious About the Future

Throughout her career, curiosity has been one of Alvermann's key drivers. She sees curiosity as the foundation of learning and an essential capability in a constantly changing environment.

Looking ahead, she believes organizations will continue to face increasing levels of change, making adaptability and continuous learning even more important. Her advice to future Learning & Development professionals is simple: stay curious, stay optimistic and never stop helping people prepare for what comes next.