Our Employees

Since it was founded, Detsky Mir has devoted special attention to Human Resources management. The Company aims to form a professional team in which each member strives to perform at the highest level. All Detsky Mir employees are united by the goal of making a significant contribution to the growth of the Company and bring benefit to its customers.

Strategic Development Areas in Human Resources

Providing equal opportunities for all employees
Ensuring safe working conditions
Expanding employee training and development programs

Headcount

The average headcount of the Detsky Mir team in 2021 exceeded 16,000 people. Each year, our retail chain continues to expand in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus, giving decent employment opportunities to more and more people

The average headcount increased by 8.4% year-on-year during the reporting period. As the number of retail stores has grown, the number of management personnel has increased only slightly – this trend is typical for both the central and regional offices of Detsky Mir..

In 2021, the IT Department saw the largest headcount growth due to the accelerated development of the online business. The staff numbers increased by 53.3% year-on-year to 345 people in 2021. Own IT development and increased IT staffing will be a focus of future work in this area.

The average age of Detsky Mir employees is 30. At the same time, approximately 95% of employees have not reached the age of 50, which is in line with industry standards in the countries where the Company operates. More than 80% of employees are women, and for managerial positions the figure is 76%.

In 2021, total employee turnover grew by 28.7 p.p. vs. 2020 due to the pandemic-related drop in the turnover rate in 2020. However, the decreased turnover of 2020 had a delayed effect into 2021. Border shutdowns in 2020 led to higher salaries in 2021. The Company took measures to stabilize the situation. The increase in turnover did not affect performance, and we were able to maintain adequate staffing levels.

The following measures are being taken to reduce turnover:

Monitoring wages in regions of operation, with comparable dynamics of changes in the level of wages being maintained
Goals to reduce turnover set by a number of managers, with plans to further expand the number of managers aiming to reduce it
Holding contests to find top employees Supplements to wages and salaries for seniority are accrued for a number of employees
Providing opportunities for further career development at Detsky Mir
Implementing adaptation plans and staff training
Conducting an analysis of reasonsfor termination, with results transmitted to managers in the retail chain (including store directors) to develop measures to remove negative factors relevant to the region

Incentives and Remuneration

We have various remuneration systems (time-based, time-bonus, time-job), which are used in divisions, depending on the nature of their operations. All employees receive an official salary in accordance with their employment contract, as well as additional payments for performing the duties of different positions, overtime, and/or night work, weekends, and holidays. The remuneration system considers not only individual efficiency but also the entire Company’s financial performance for the year.

Our remuneration system aims to engage employees in achieving Detsky Mir’s goals. An important part of motivating our people is the availability of clear, specific goals for each reporting period and the Company’s willingness to reward the team for contributing to the achievement of the overall result.

Social Guarantees

Our sophisticated corporate benefits system remains a key motivator. Alongside free corporate training, we provide our employees with a number of benefits:

Discounts in our retail stores and corporate discounts offered by our partners from the very first day of employment at Detsky Mir
Free rides home by Company transport or to convenient public transit nodes for those working at stores that close at 11 p.m. and are located far from public transport stops
Corporate shuttles to work as well as free meals at the logistics center for distribution center employees
Events for employees’ children
Access to corporate mobile services for business purposes
Opportunities to undertake full-time classroom training or distance education courses • Awards for top-performing office employees, territorial managers, and store teams
Motivational contests among territorial managers, store directors, and a number of positions at distribution centers
Opportunities for remote work arrangements for office employees
Membership in our voluntary health insurance (VHI) program following six months of service at Detsky Mir for all employees of the central and regional offices, store directors, and distribution center managers

Employees are also provided with various benefits and guarantees under the Labor Codes of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus, which significantly improves the well-being of our employees.

Annual paid vacation
Additional paid vacation
Educational leave
Maternity and parental leave
Benefits and guarantees for working mothers with three or more children, as well as for single mothers
Benefits and guarantees for employees with disabled children
Benefits and guarantees for employees with disabilities
Guarantees when undergoing medical examinations, etc.

Corporate Culture

We make great efforts to ensure that employees of the central office, retail stores, and distribution centers feel like a single team working toward common goals.

To support team spirit among our employees, we regularly hold sports, volunteering, and charitable events, as well as corporate cleanup days. We also celebrate national, corporate, and personal holidays within our teams.

Detsky Mir won silver on Russia’s Best Employers List by Forbes and KPMG. We also received high marks in the Community category for our social and charitable work.

Based on a study conducted by the Superjob.ru portal among employers, Detsky Mir was granted the status of Attractive Employer 2021. The study notes not only robust recruitment activities and a great response from job seekers but also decent remuneration. The Attractive Employer badge, which has been awarded to Detsky Mir for several years, guarantees decent working conditions for applicants.

In 2022, we plan to take part in the following employer competitions:

Forbes 50 Best Employers in Russia 2022
HeadHunter Rating of Employers
SuperJob Attractive Employer

Training and Development

The Company’s strategic goals can be achieved through the personal contribution of each employee. Our investment in human capital is driving ongoing improvements in the Group’s financial performance. One of our achievements in the training and development of our people is our system of continuous professional development, which relies heavily on distance learning. We pay special attention to building core skills and upskilling for our retail employees, which is key to improving service and driving sales growth.

We organize regular, free-ofcharge upskilling courses for each category of our retail employees based on a compulsory training matrix. The matrix includes training courses both on technical skills for frontline employees (such as SAP Stock Movement) and managerial skills improvement for administrative staff (such as Basic Manager Skills and Staff Recruitment and Development).

Types of training provided for central office staff:

Short-term training (one-day or two-day courses)
Short-term refresher courses on specific subjects such as finance, law, IT, and HR management
Professional certifications (for employees of the IT and Internal Control Departments)

Employee Engagement Assessment

We assess employee engagement on a regular basis for all divisions: Offices, Distribution Centers, and Retail. The most recent assessment was undertaken in 2018 in collaboration with AXES. This assessment showed an employee engagement index of 66%, which exceeded the average in Russia in 2017 by 3 p.p. . The previous survey was conducted in 2017, and showed an employee engagement index of 52%.

No study was done in 2019, as the Company was implementing a new method to obtain relevant feedback from customers, namely net promoter score (NPS), a consumer loyalty index. After these methods were implemented, it was decided to use them internally to study employee engagement, among other things. In 2020, no assessment was conducted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2021, the Company held a large-scale engagement assessment that covered 14,604 employees. The overall employee engagement index came in at 83.6%, which is 1.3% above the industry average. The assessment was done based on the Happy Job methodology.

Occupational Health and Safety

Occupational health and safety is a key area of focus for Detsky Mir Group. Comfortable and safe working conditions are a key factor affecting the recruitment and retention of skilled employees. Our occupational health and safety system at Detsky Mir is fully in line with applicable legislation in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus.

Key measures and initiatives minimizing injury rates at offices, retail stores, and distribution centers:

Assessing working conditions at workplaces • Training workers in occupational health and safety (training sessions, briefings, internships in occupational health and safety, testing knowledge of occupational health and safety requirements)
Monitoring employees’ health (medical examinations)
Providing employees with personal protective equipment, washing and/or sterilizing agents
Monitoring compliance with occupational health and safety requirements
Implementing professional risk management • Improving occupational health and safety management systems