Metinvest recognition for Corporate Wellness centres on its pioneering Veteran Wellbeing Ecosystem, one of the largest reintegration platforms in the Ukrainian business community. With over 8,000 employees currently serving in the defence forces, Metinvest has built a comprehensive framework that addresses mental well-being, family support, and professional reskilling to ensure a dignified return to civilian life.

Simultaneously, the Retain to Sustain initiative, the driver behind their Recruitment & Retention Silver Award, demonstrates Metinvest’s ability to foster international growth and internal mobility while navigating prolonged instability. By building a “steel bridge” between Ukrainian and European operations, the group continues to develop high-potential leaders who sustain the organisation’s culture and resilience on the global stage.

Interview with Tetiana Petruk, Chief Sustainability Officer of Metinvest Group in the Behind the Brilliance

Congratulations on winning the Brilliance Award for Corporate Wellness and the Silver Award for Brilliance in Recruitment & Retention at the HR Brilliance Awards! Can you share a brief overview of Metinvest and how the organisation has evolved its people strategy during such a challenging period?

Metinvest is an international mining and steel group with assets in Ukraine, the EU and the UK. We continue to face challenges in attracting talent, particularly young professionals. In our key market, Ukraine, the labour market has become significantly constrained due to the ongoing war. That is why we are placing strong emphasis on recruiting veterans of the defence forces who are returning to civilian life and work.

We are looking to hire people from diverse backgrounds, including those with no prior experience. Accordingly, we have made our people-management approach more flexible and responsive to a wide range of training, development and support needs.

For colleagues at our EU and UK operations, we strive to be viewed as an attractive employer and to provide the stability and predictability that they expect.

Your Corporate Wellness recognition highlights the Veteran Wellbeing Ecosystem. What inspired Metinvest to build such a comprehensive approach to veteran support and reintegration?

Metinvest has developed one of the largest veteran reintegration platforms in the Ukrainian business community. More than 8,000 employees – roughly one in six – are currently serving in Ukraine’s defence forces. Since 2014, around 11,000 of our specialists have served in the military. We have already welcomed 1,000 veterans back to the team, and in recent months alone, more than 100 service personnel have rejoined the Group.

That is why we are committed to supporting veterans who are already returning to Metinvest, those who will follow their paths in the future, and the teams they rejoin.

Building a comprehensive reintegration ecosystem is not merely an operational necessity for us. We are creating an environment where the experience of those who have served is respected: workplaces veterans want to return to, and that are ready to welcome back an entire generation of Ukrainians from the front line. It is the least we can do for the people who make it possible for us to continue working.

How does the Veteran Wellbeing Ecosystem support employees beyond physical health, particularly in terms of mental wellbeing, family support, and inclusion?

Metinvest’s veteran support ecosystem goes far beyond physical recovery. A veteran returns not only to the workplace but to civilian life as a whole.

We therefore place particular emphasis on mental well-being. We provide access to psychological counselling, train managers in how to welcome and support returning veterans, and foster safe, supportive team environments.

Another key focus is families. Reintegration after service is a journey that veterans and their loved ones go through together, which is why we ensure the whole family has access to information, counselling and social support services.

And, of course, professional reintegration is essential. If someone is unable to return to their previous role due to injury, we support reskilling and career transition. We adapt workplaces and offer flexible working arrangements so that everyone can find a new professional pathway within the Group.

In short, we are building a comprehensive support system that helps veterans and their families return to civilian life. We want them to integrate into the workplace with dignity, confident in the knowledge that they are full and valued members of both our community and our team.

Turning to recruitment and retention, the “Retain to Sustain” initiative focuses on keeping and developing talent during uncertainty. What were the key challenges this programme set out to address?

On one hand, we operate in conditions of prolonged instability, where attracting and retaining talent has become a major challenge. On the other hand, Metinvest is implementing large-scale international projects. For example, we are building a green steel plant in Italy and developing a pipe mill that we recently acquired in Romania. Cooperation between the Group’s European and Ukrainian operations represents a true ‘steel bridge’, connecting the steel industries of Ukraine and the EU, and strengthening the long-term resilience of our Ukrainian business.

This created a need for a programme that simultaneously supports employee development and retention in an international context, while enabling the Group to continue growing despite external challenges.

How did Metinvest manage to retain employees while also adapting to a global business model and expanding internationally?

We have placed a strong focus on mobility and professional development in an international environment. Our employees receive cross-cultural training and take part in projects across Ukraine, the EU, the UK and Switzerland. Cross-functional leadership and high-quality communication help them to understand local market specifics, adapt quickly and remain effective in diverse settings.

As a result, our people can clearly see their role within the broader strategy and understand that their career opportunities are not limited to one country or function. Ultimately, talent retention and international expansion do not compete: they reinforce one another, ensuring Metinvest’s resilience in times of uncertainty.

Leadership development and internal mobility feature strongly across both award-winning initiatives.

Why are these elements so important to Metinvest’s long-term sustainability?

Our projects are complex and delivered in conditions of high uncertainty. The speed of execution often depends on how well people understand Metinvest’s internal processes, culture and networks.

We strive to balance the need to recruit new specialists with a desire to develop our in-house expertise: assessing employees’ potential and involving them in new projects through expanded responsibilities and lateral moves. This enables faster responses to challenges and ensures effective collaboration across teams in different countries.

At the same time, we create development opportunities through global and local programmes that strengthen professional competencies and prepare employees for new responsibilities. This approach supports the Group’s long-term resilience.

What measurable outcomes best demonstrate the impact of these programmes on wellbeing, engagement, and retention?

Our talent development programme helps to identify high-potential employees and prepare them for leadership roles. Through mentoring and local development initiatives, participants acquire new skills, take on more complex responsibilities and progress in their careers within Metinvest.

Since the programme’s launch, turnover among middle managers and high-potential employees has decreased. Moreover, 10% of participants have been promoted, and around 30% have joined strategic projects beyond their formal responsibilities.

As for veterans, our support system has delivered strong results. Around 80% of demobilised employees have returned to work at our sites, while more than 10% of the veterans we employ had not worked for the Group before. This shows that we not only support successful reintegration but also strengthen our workforce with a reliable talent pool.

Together, these programmes create an environment where people feel supported and see clear growth opportunities. This directly enhances their motivation, engagement and willingness to remain with Metinvest.

How do these initiatives support Metinvest’s future goals, including international growth and long-term organisational resilience?

These initiatives form the foundation of our forward momentum. By investing in talent development and veteran support, we are building a motivated, adaptable and highly skilled team. It is people like these who sustain Metinvest during times of global challenge.

A people-centred approach enables us to plan for the future based on the real capabilities of our team: not solely on production or market indicators. This is especially important amid workforce shortages and the international transformation of our business.

As for global expansion, when the Group has leaders who deeply understand our values and culture, scaling operations and integrating teams across different countries becomes faster and more effective.

Winning these HR Brilliance Awards is a significant achievement. What does this recognition mean for Metinvest, and how does it reflect the commitment and hard work of your teams across different countries?

For Metinvest, these awards are first and foremost about the team and its cohesion. We operate across different countries with diverse cultural and economic contexts, and in Ukraine, under extremely challenging wartime conditions, yet we are united by shared values. International recognition demonstrates that we speak the same language as the global business community.

For our HR team, this is also a validation of professional excellence. Working with people requires consistent daily effort that often goes unnoticed, yet it forms the foundation for sustainable growth. At the same time, participating in events at this level allows us to adopt leading international practices and share our own experience.

About the International Brilliance Awards™

Founded in 2014, the International Brilliance Awards™ recognise work defined by clear thinking, strong execution, and meaningful business impact across organisations worldwide.

The International Brilliance Awards™ serve as the flagship programme of the Brilliance Awards family, which includes Business Brilliance Awards, HR Brilliance Awards, Internal Communications (IC) Brilliance Awards, Marketing & PR Brilliance Awards, Sales & Revenue Brilliance Awards, and Sustainability & ESG Brilliance Awards.

Each programme focuses on a distinct area of organisational performance, while maintaining a consistent standard of evaluation through an independent, blind judging process.

Through initiatives such as Behind the Brilliance, the awards also offer a closer look at the work behind the results, highlighting the thinking and discipline that define award-winning organisations.