Vibrant, passionate and fun

YOUNG GUNS Puma’s sporty, energetic and youthful vibes are an integral and core part of the company. The brand looks for similar qualities in candidates

How do you spot and attract talent?

One of the most important things that we look for in people is the ‘youthful quotient’ and this can come across in their ability to adapt, work with cross functional teams and past experiences of having worked with brands which play in similar space. Apart from functional skills, we look for people who can work together as a team in a highly cohesive cross functional environment. We believe it’s the brand ethos and the organisation culture that attracts people to join us.

The best way to retain and nurture stars?

At Puma we have a strong talent management system where in hi-potential employees are identified periodically and they are taken through specialised talent development programmes to nurture their talent and help them grow. We also have special monetary and non-monetary incentives to retain people. Above all, the best way to retain our stars is by showing MANISHA AGARWAL was part of the inception team at Puma India and worked for four years while heading the apparel and accessories merchandising team. In her second stint at Puma, she now heads the HR function and brings with her five years of HR consulting experience with fashion retail brands, mcommerce/ecommerce startups and fashion manufacturing organisations.

Manisha Agarwal, head hr, puma

them a growth path within the organisation at the country, regional and global levels. A lot of our talent has grown internally and most who have been with us since inception have taken up leadership roles across functions and geographies.

What kind of a workplace environment do you strive to create?

Puma is a brand that employees are proud to be associated with. The brand is associated with energy, passion, sport and fun and also with being

the market leader. We make sure that it stays that way, right from the office environment being vibrant, lively and crackling with energy throughout the day and by making sure that employees are well informed of the business strategy. We strive to create an open, energetic, informative and a collaborative work place. We also aim to create a health and sport focused environment and are trying to achieve this through internal employee engagement activities like Puma Sports League. What specific attributes/values do you look for in candidates being interviewed?

We look for people who have worked in organisations that believe in creating aspirational brands. Drive, energy, sport connect and peoplefriendliness are some of the attributes that we look for in candidates.

What skill sets are important when hiring for your company? An understanding of the organisational culture is very important. We have a collaborative work environment where the functional teams work very closely together in keeping the brand strategy intact and it’s very important for us to hire people who understand this brand culture.

Do you check a candidate’s social media profile when hiring and are you using social media for hiring?

Yes, we do use social media networks to screen potential employees and a lot of our hiring does happen that way.

Coordinated by Gauri Kohli