Shruti Mishra is the Teamhead People Connection & Attraction at Puma Group. The company was named earlier this year one of the Most Attractive Employers in Sport by a report published by iWorkinSport. This is one of five interviews with top recruiters in the industry featured in the publication.
The study surveyed more than 1,600 people from all continents, with the majority already working in sport, and asked them a simple question: “If you could choose to work anywhere in sport, where would that be?”
Initially, the respondents chose organisations divided into nine categories, and at the end, they indicated one single preferred choice, overall – the “Employer of their Dreams”.
The publication features rankings of the most attractive employers in sport divided in the following categories: Football Clubs, Sports Teams (other than Football), Sports Teams in the USA, Sports Leagues, Sports Governing Bodies, Event Organisers, Sports Marketing Agencies, Sponsors, Sporting Goods Companies and Sports Tech.
Additionally, the report presents the aspects that candidates rate as most important when deciding where they would like to work.
Why do so many people wish to work at PUMA?
PUMA is an international brand with diverse culture and world class products. Our PUMA Family comprises members from 134 nationalities worldwide with a female/male split being 51/49 (in %) with less than 1% defining themselves as diverse. When we look at leadership, we have a comparable figure with 44/56 (female/male leaders worldwide in %, again less than 1% declaring themselves as diverse). We want to continuously create a respectful and supportive workplace that enables everyone to simply be themselves by fostering equality, innovation, diversity, equity and autonomy as well as teamwork and communication. People at PUMA, live & breath the Forever Faster motto in their daily work life. Each day we give our best to accelerate our learning curve and become more agile which finally helps us to add value to our own job profile, rather than sticking to the conventional norms. Hence, even when you leave your workspace, you leave with a desire to return the next day.
What makes PUMA a great employer?
To successfully drive sport and culture forward, we do more than move Forever Faster. We do it with strong values that guide our unique way of working at PUMA. With the spirit that brought PUMA to life and the undeniable joy of working together. The PUMA working environment is especially created and lived by our people who foster a culture that encourages collaboration, flexibility and fairness to enable all employees to unlock their potential and live together. Our continuous drive to be Forever Faster, to build a legacy through great products and supported by the people first strategy make us stand out. This is also acknowledged by the awards we received during the years. One we are especially proud of is being a Top Employer across 16 countries, along with other regional awards in our kitty. This external validation is a reflection of the unique PUMA Family culture we have across all our regions.
How can PUMA become even a better employer?
By not letting good come in the way of great is the first step. Never be satisfied for what is “Good” enough. We at PUMA are always striving for more, for better, for faster. Therefore, we constantly reinvent ourselves to be the employer of choice for our PUMAs as well as for prospective employees. Continuously living our PUMA values and sharing them with the inside and outside world, while going through transformation is something that one can always have room to improve upon.
What advice would you give to someone who dreams about working for PUMA?
At PUMA, we go fast, but as PUMA founder Rudolf Dassler once said, speed is nothing if we leave our PUMA spirit behind. That same Speed and Spirit is what drives us today, and it’s what we look for in candidates who will help us push sport and fashion forward. Self-driven and passionate performers with a knack for out-of-the box thinking tend to do well here. But most of all: Be You! Come as you are & create legacy with us. Bring in your uniqueness and become a PUMA Family member as well as a part of PUMA’s success story.
What are the changes caused by the covid-19 pandemic that will remain in the workplace?
As the COVID-19 pandemic developed at a different pace in different regions of the world, we had to adapt our wellbeing offer when needed, and expanded the number of online options. This included the PUMA Home Academy, which provided helpful resources about nutrition, sports and mental health. To adapt to the new Covid-19 circumstances, we have also made our regular working time models even more flexible.