1.

Introduction

PUMA SE, brand-named as PUMA, is a multination company with its headquarter located in

Herzogenaurach, Germany who designs and produce athletic and casual apparels, footwear and

accessories. They are the 3rd largest sportswear producer in the world. The company was listed

as Public Limited at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange from 1986. The company has employed

over 13,000 people and supplies its products in over 120 countries in the world. The CEO of

the company is former football player Bjorn Gulden who leads the company since 1st July 2013

(PUMA SE. 2019).

2. Challenges faced by PUMA

2.1.1 Issue:1 Trouble Retaining its Gen Y staffs

PUMA is one of the largest global sports company that produces wide range of footwear,

apparels and accessories behind the two giant competitors namely Nike and Adidas. PUMA

recruit staffs from the age of 18 but the average of their employee age is 33. The company

faced difficulty of retaining their creative Gen Y staffs which is mainly due to their

determination for progressing in their career path with different opportunity. In order to attain

this, the company implemented a talent management cultures that focuses on career

development and management training. It was expected to increase the average employment

period from 5 to over 7 or more years (Lumesse, 2016).

2.1.2. Resolution

PUMA having a goal of retaining their employees for an extra couple of years. The organization

required to implement a different strategic approach for tackling the talent challenges, a fine

technology solution and implementing new talent management culture at company wide. In

order to aid PUMA’s goals, the current Lumesse TM solution was to upgrated to ETWeb 11.3,
for simple, solid and flexible talent management solutions. “Peope@PUMA” was introduced

with new and elegant portal for providing support to all talent management process.

Subsequently, a ‘Regional Superusers’ community was introduced all over the world for

assisting local configuration. Currently over 4750 employees all over the world in the PUMA’s

offices use People@PUMA and its talent management modules. Managers got the

opportunities for close communication with their teams using the Lumesse ETWeb 113.3. This

helped to enable the employee’s career desires and safeguards that PUMA has employed

suitable people for the suitable roles.

PUMA introduced a talent management simulation to enable its leaders with skills and self-

reliance to recognize, recruit and grow internal talent. Managers were requested to skim

through functions and roles in their department, for recognizing potential successors and

develop career paths for their crews. Following this manager simulation, PUMA created a

promotional video for inviting employees to enable them responsible for their own careers.

PUMA focused on developing wider international career prospects and a new approach in

global hiring. Talents conferences and talent pools were arranged for sharing information. This

facilitated employees longer-term and wider career paths opportunity while assisting PUMA

with its goals of holding its Gen Y employees for extended period (Lumesse, 2016).

2.2.1. Issue 2: Gaining information on candidate capabilities

PUMA required to recognize highly qualified and motivated candidates for their international

finance training programme and took cut-e for evaluating the relevant capabilities before their

closing stage assessment. Many applicants were attracted as they were recruiting for this

project from China, India, Brazil, Korea and Russia but their requirements are pretty specific.

Together with well command in their local language, fluent business English and an

exceptional Master’s degree in business and Finance. Additionally, selected candidates were
required to demonstrate intercultural competence, willingness to learn, the ability to

strategically think, organizational and planning skills (Cut-e, 2014).

2.2.2. Resolution

PUMA selected cut-e for providing online assessments subsequently to its research of online

test procedures for its pre-selection of applicants for the international Finance Trainee

Programme. Based on application documents, the candidates were preselected through a

telephone interview and then invited to take a set of cut-e online assessments: beginning from

personality questionnaire shapes, then scales clues, which evaluates information competence.

Followed by that is scales cls whereby the candidate required to identify rules and contexts

before moving on to last industry-specific versions of numerical and oral ability tests designed

exclusively for the financial sector. Upon successful finish the questionnaires and tests, one or

two personal interview taken place and shortlisted applicants were called for a closing stage

Assessment Centre. The retrieved information from the beginning stages of selection assisted

the PUMA team to make the right decision later in the process (Cut-e, 2014).

2.3.1. Issue 3: Unsolved Grievances

PUMA started receiving complaints directly from factors workers in different regions

regarding the workplace issues in 2013. PUMA is obligated to create a confidential grievance

procedure for aiding independent investigations of non-compliance situations as they are a

member of FLA. They received about 135 complaints in different areas with working hour and

wage-related problems was the main concern raised by factory labours. Different channels were

used by the workers to get in with PUMA: Telephone were majorly used channel followed by

“QQ”, which is a social network similar like Facebook in China and lastly SMS text messages.

Domestic hotline is available in China through which they received majority of the grievances

from China and International hotline were used by the labors in other countries.
2.3.2. Resolution

PUMA provided difference channels for grievance to the workers in their manufacturing

factories. For instance, the company’s Code of Conduct is showed (Figure 1) in all Tier 1

suppliers worldwide, and holds the email addresses and phone numbers of its compliance team,

which received and processed over 100 worker complaints every year. Other channels

including the use of the social network “QQ” in China, SMS messages and the third party

complaints procedure run by the Fair Labor Association, of which PUMA is a member.

Figure 1: Complaints Received

The highest complaints logged were mostly related to wages, health and safety, working time

together with benefits management from the workers in the supply chain. The improvements

in grievance solving rate can be seen in the Figure 2 which shows an increase of about 10%

every year turning 77.8% in 2013 to 98.7% in 2015. There were 100% resolution rate in three

regions comprising of EMEA, Americas and India/Bangladesh; followed by China with 99.3%

and Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia with 50%. All Critical issues and Zero Tolerance

issues were resolved in 2015 (PUMA, 2016).

 Figure 2. Resolution Analysis

3. Strategic Approaches

3.1 Recruitment

PUMA’s average age of employees is 33 which falls under Gen Y category. PUMA hired more

Gen Y candidates having long term ideas in mind and their benefits, compensation & flexible

work modules had attracted more of the Gen Y applicants. PUMA uses an online portal known

as People@PUMA for managing its employees. This portal helps PUMA to analyse all of its

employees to ensure that right people are placed in the right roles. Managers at PUMA use this

portal for identifying potential successors and to create a career path for their teams as well.

Moreover, this system also created specifically for talent management to retain its Gen Y staffs

for long term by creating diverse career path.

Employee Engagement

Gen Y employees prefers to be updated about the company’s objectives for them to feel valued

and empowered in helping to reach those objectives. PUMA does this using the portal

Peopl@PUMA created for this purpose. This strategical approach helps to keep PUMA’s staff

engaged to show their purpose and their value for the company. According to a Society for

Human Resource Management (2012), Strategical approach through talent management helps
in driving employee engagement in turn showed increased performance of 23% over revenue

expectations. Studies also shows that talent management practices lead to job satisfaction

through work engagement which in turn increases employee’s retention and increase

productivity.

3.2 Training and Development

Providing Learning opportunities for achieving consistent professional development and

training is the main strategical approach for training by PUMA. PUMA offers wide variety of

trainings courses and workshops both online and offline, which are fixed or personalized to

individual needs. PUMA LEARNING PLAZA is an online platform used for providing online

contents to all managers and employees. Another learning platform offered by PUMA through

Lynda.com which contains over 6,300 videos of tutorial and self-study courses. Besides,

training program with a broad range of individual courses and workshops, a large number of

seminars is offered for developing employees and managers over the longer term.

Employee Engagement

This training and development approach supports employees to achieve their personal goals

which in turn helps the company achieve its goals as well. This strategy helps the employees

to improve their morale and support them in better decision making and effective problem

solving. Besides it also aids in encouraging and achieving self-development and self-

confidence of staffs which in turn leads to expand profitability and optimistic approach towards

profit orientation of the company (Bailey, 2015).

3.3 Flexible work management

In order to increase the employee retention, one of the strategic approach carried out by PUMA

is providing flexible working modules and conditions. PUMA provides pleasant and attractive

working environment for employee engagement in a positive way to acquire employee’s

loyalty and commitment. More than 30% of employees terms were bind through a collective

bargaining agreement. Flexible working conditions available in most of their stores worldwide.

Employee Engagement

Flexibility in the workplace enabled the staffs to organize their working conditions to suit their

personal needs. This eventually leads to a more productive and engaged workforce. Employee

satisfaction is important for the recruitment and retentions. Flexible working arrangements

enable employees to have a greater control on their working time and probably work harder to

be more productive, in turn benefits the company (Forbes, 2017).

3.4 Performance Management

When it comes to performance management strategy, PUMA ensure it employees meet the

required competencies for their positions and are perfectly equipped on the way to achieving

its business goals. Every employee is involved in a performance management process that

consists of feedback and coaching by the managers. People@PUMA which is used for talent

management and targeting pools, also used for evaluating individual performance against

business-linked objectives and sustainability targets.

Employee Engagement

A good performance management is necessary for the management performance through

ensuring that employees are aware of their necessary contribution towards PUMA’s goals and

objectives. It will help the employees to understand what is expected by the company and what

are the skills required for fulfilling those expectations. Besides it will positively impact the

employees on their job satisfaction and loyalty through regular and transparent feedbacks from

managers (Risher, 2015).

3.5 Succession Planning

PUMA uses the portal People@PUMA for their strategical approach on success planning as

well. It is a worldwide talent group that provides access to PUMA employees all over the world.

Data about talents who is ready and capable of progressing towards the next level

internationally is also available.

Employee Engagement

Talent data available at People@PUMA helps PUMA to match internal talents with openings

to discover potential successors that possess the comparative skills. This helps to align human

resources and strategic goals to facilitate “the right people in the right place at the right time”

to achieve PUMA’s objectives. This strategic approach also facilitates attractive career and

development opportunities to PUMA’s employees and guarantees succession planning and

talent management (Bratcher, 2018).

3.6 Benefits

Appreciating the best talents through rewarding is a strategical approach by PUMA for

benefiting the employees. PUMA offers range of benefits and compensation programmes that

is attractive and for retaining its talented employees. Most of its subsidiaries have cooperative

bargaining agreements that will enable salaries to be more than industry average and extra

annual leave. PUMA also provides different benefit plans such as deferred compensation and

defined contribution retirement plans.

Employee Engagement

Providing employee benefits helps to get top candidates for recruitment and also retain them

in the long-term which in turn strengthens the workforce of PUMA. It also helps to show that

PUMA cares about its employees to gain their loyalty. Loyalty brings the employees and the
company closer to each other. By providing the benefits to the employees, it helps the company

to retain them for a long term (Tolhurst, 2015).

3.7 Equality and Diversity Management

As a strategical approach on Diversity, PUMA follows diversity Charter since 2010 which was

introduced to ensure unbiased working environment. It ensures that all employees get equal

opportunities, irrespective of gender, nationality, religion, origin, age or sexual orientation.

PUMA committed to keep the female ratio of 20% or 30% in all management levels. PUMA

supports women development through special training courses and access to networks.

Employee Engagement

This strategical approach enables PUMA to create a working condition with high employee

morale, emerging a good reputation and the capability to hire top talent. Besides through

diversity, PUMA acquired the advantage of hiring top qualified workforce, minimizing

employee turnover and form an innovative workplace. Diverse workforce also results an

increase in creativity due to various backgrounds method in solving problems through different

approaches (Petty, 2016).

4. Conclusion

In conclusion, PUMA faced various challenges in their 70 years of run, but the crucial

challenges they faced in the past 5 years were retaining its Gen Y staffs, gaining information

on candidates and too many unsolved grievances. They were able to tackle all of these problems

with solutions through introducing People@PUMA portal, Cut-E online assessment and

provided various channel for complaints. Employee engagement is necessary for better

productivity. PUMA should continue to provide all the current rewards and facilities which

they are currently following. It is recommended for PUMA, to constantly engage with the
employees through People@PUMA to identify the changing requirements of the employees.

Annual survey may be conducted for improvements and suggestions from the employees as

the employee’s satisfaction level is important for the company’s productivity. Lastly, the

employees should be stayed informed about the company’s goal so as to make them feel valued

and empowered towards achieving the goals.

5. References

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