To have the best staff and make them stay is often the most important ingredient when building a healthy brand, companies say. But how to keep the best staff in a fast-growing industry such as the sports business? Puma seems to know what they are doing in this field. The Dutch HR company Top Employers Institute has certified the company a Top Employer of 2025. Puma received this certification for the 6th time in six years and also received recognition from employees in all regions and from its 50 subsidiaries, which was unique, the institute said.
Top Employers Institute’s business is about helping companies all around the world to become even better workplaces. The company has helped big organizations in over 100 countries and has been around the business for 30 years. For 2025, about 25 companies like Airbus, DHL and Pepsico got the award “Top Employer”. The Top Employer certification is based on a survey by the Top Employers Institute. It reflects Puma’s efforts to provide an attractive workplace. The survey covers six HR areas and 20 topics, including people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning, diversity & inclusion, and well-being.
Puma’s employees have access to a comprehensive sports offering, including courses and a free gym, as well as “Be Well Weeks”, during which the company promotes a healthy lifestyle and offers free nutrition courses and health checks. The company prides itself in filling many key leadership positions with its own talent and offers a comprehensive set of courses and programs to allow employees to prepare for the next step in their careers.
With hybrid working, which combines mobile working and office presence, and flexible hours, Puma makes it easy for its employees to find the right work-life-balance. It also gives them the opportunity for part-time work or sabbaticals at different stages in their careers.
Puma has also been independently certified as having no adjusted pay gap between men and women in several locations, including Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Sweden the United States and the Middle East, meaning employees in the same position are paid the same regardless of their gender.
“By achieving Enterprise Certification, Puma not only ensures consistent standards in employee experience, development, and well-being across all regions but also cultivates a unified culture of engagement, innovation, and performance,” said David Plink, CEO of Top Employers Institute. “This achievement highlights the company’s unwavering dedication to fostering an inclusive and exceptional workplace culture, with people always at the heart of their success.”
It’s not the first time SGI Europe has heard that Puma employees are happy with their workplace. So we decided to ask how the they do it.
In the Swedish Puma office, outside Stockholm, SGI Europe spoke with Martin Willners, Marketing Manager Golf Nordic. Willners pointed out some of the aspects of why he thinks the company, where he has been working since 2018, stands out as a good working place.
“For me, it’s a lot about the fact that they care a lot about the staff,” Willners said. “Everything from the fact that there should be no pay differences between men and women to organizing activities, providing free training hours every Friday and really caring about the environment. It’s a company with sound values, and one that lives by them. It’s also fun to work for a company that wants to grow, and that allocates resources to achieve its goals. There is a lot of action, not just talk.“
SGI Europe also reached out to Dietmar Knoess, Vice President People and Organization at Puma, in Herzogenaurauch.
What is the most important work you have done to get this recognition as a brand and place of work?
“The recognition we have received reflects the work our colleagues have done all over the world to ensure that our employees have the same great experience, no matter where they work for Puma. By advancing from a Global Certification, with 24 certified countries, to an Enterprise Certification that encompasses 50 countries, we demonstrate our dedication to aligning people policies on a global scale for maximum impact.“
Why is this important for Puma?
“We want to ensure that all Puma employees, no matter where they are, have an exceptional experience working with us. The Top Employer certification helps us deliver on this aim, as it validates our consistent, leading people practices. This helps us attract and retain top talent globally. It also provides valuable insights into evolving HR trends, keeping us competitive. By continuously benchmarking ourselves and improving, we stay focused.“
What can you still improve?
“While Top Employer is an external audit that compares us to other companies, we are also constantly looking for ways to improve by listening to our own employees. As a company, we want to put people first and understand the needs of our employees, as we put them at the center of our decision-making. We really value the feedback we receive in our regular employee surveys because it shows us the areas where we are on track and where we can still improve. By taking the feedback of our employees on board and applying worldwide best practices, we can constantly improve as an employer and stay ahead of other companies. Our latest employee survey has shown that people are proud to work at Puma and that they appreciate the benefits and possibilities they receive at our company.”
