Before the end of the year, Picnic wants to grow to around seventy sites. The company says the search for suitable staff is putting a brake on growth.
The FD writes that. Picnic currently operates in around fifty Dutch locations. To facilitate its growth to seventy locations, the online supermarket is looking for 1,000 runners and 1,000 order pickers.
'Human limit to growth
"There is a human limit to growth," co-founder Michiel Muller tells the FD. The online supermarket wants to find the right people first and is therefore expanding step-by-step on a city-by-city basis. Many households have to wait several weeks before they can order groceries. Some 50,000 households are now on the waiting list.
According to Muller, that waiting list helps Picnic grow in a controlled way and avoid consumer disappointment. "We only get one chance to make a first impression. Then unfortunately just wait a few weeks."
Runners can continue to grow
The average age of staff at Picnic is 27. The distribution centres often employ groups of friends, who nominate each other. Picnic offers runners the opportunity to progress to higher positions. They can eventually become hub managers. Muller: "Then you are 23 years old and in charge of a hundred men, which is not always easy. How do you address a friend who doesn't show up after a night out? That's where we coach and guide them."
Techtalent
Besides runners and order pickers, Picnic is also diligently looking for technical talent. The online supermarket employs seventy software developers. However, in its search for talent, Picnic has to compete with big tech companies like Facebook and Uber. The supermarket therefore searches all over the world for suitable candidates. "If we find a talent who still lives with his parents in Argentina, we will fly him in for an interview," he says.
