Use Case: Change Agent Qualification for Young Professionals at METRO

Initial situation

As an international wholesale company, METRO operates in a dynamic environment shaped by continuous changes in business models, processes, organizational structures, and management systems. Successful transformation cannot be driven by top management or individual project owners alone. Change needs to reach deep into the organization and be actively supported by employees across different functions.

Against this background, METRO aimed to build structured change capabilities within the organization. Finance was a natural starting point: Finance and Controlling have a broad view of business performance and are closely connected with operational functions through numerous interfaces. At the same time, changes in business models and organizational structures regularly affect management systems, processes, and responsibilities – making Finance directly involved in transformation.

As part of the further development of its Finance organization, METRO had defined five key roles for Finance – with the Change Agent being one of them. To strengthen this role in a targeted way, the Change Agent Certification Program (CACP) was developed.

Experienced professionals were deliberately selected for the program – individuals who already had strong credibility and standing within the organization and were able to act as influential opinion leaders.

The idea went beyond individual qualification: the aim was to build a network that actively supports change, engages additional employees, and helps embed transformation step by step across the organization.

Approach

Together with METRO, CA controller akademie designed a multi-month, international Learning Journey leading to qualification as a Certified Change Agent. Selected professionals were nominated for the program and, from the outset, were not only trained in methods and tools but also actively involved in real change initiatives.

A key feature of the program was that every participant worked on a specific change project of their own throughout the qualification process. Learning and implementation were therefore closely integrated. The core elements included:

• fundamentals of Change Leadership and Change Management
• stakeholder management and the design of effective change architectures
• communication, influencing, facilitation, and conflict management
• peer consulting and reflection on real challenges from participants’ own projects
• individual support and coaching during implementation

Following a joint kick-off, face-to-face and live online sessions alternated with hands-on implementation phases. Finance Management visibly sponsored the program, giving the initiative strong organizational backing.

Another central element was the multiplier logic. The qualified Change Agents were not expected to drive transformation on their own. Instead, they identified and involved additional Ambassadors in their respective areas, engaged colleagues, and transferred core approaches and tasks into their local networks. In this way, a broader change network gradually emerged, reaching from the Change Agents across functions and into operational processes.

At the end of the program, participants presented their change projects, the interventions they had applied, and the experience they had gained. The qualification therefore did not conclude with a certificate alone, but with visible change already implemented in the participants’ own areas of responsibility.

Success

What started as a qualification initiative developed into a scalable approach for embedding change capabilities across the organization. Participants not only built individual methodological expertise but also applied what they had learned in real transformation projects during the program and gained practical implementation experience.

At the same time, the Change Agents and their Ambassadors created a growing network of employees supporting transformation initiatives and involving others. Finance assumed an active role in this process – not only as a contributor to business steering, but also as a catalyst and multiplier for change beyond its own function.

Within just one and a half years, 69 participants from different business functions completed the program. The positive response led to requests from additional business entities for further program runs, and the initiative was repeated several times.

Client testimonial

Zlatka Radeva, Head of Finance/HR Academies, METRO AG

»Pioneering this program in collaboration with CA controller akademie has been a great success. Within one and a half years a total of 69 participants from different business functions have completed the program. The business entities request additional program runs, and we are there to support them.«