Puma rolls out Workday to boost global HR & talent growth

PUMA has deployed Workday's Human Capital Management (HCM) solution to overhaul its global HR operations and support talent development efforts in key Asia Pacific and Japan markets.

The adoption of Workday comes as part of PUMA's continued response to international growth, with more than 20,000 employees worldwide and a particularly strong presence in regions such as Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. The company's move is intended to help standardise HR processes, maintaining the company's culture through streamlined digital solutions.

The suite of solutions implemented by PUMA includes Workday Learning, Workday Recruiting, Workday Compensation, and Workday Absence Management.

This comprehensive adoption aims to provide consistency across PUMA's expanding footprint, contributing to employee engagement while reinforcing operational efficiency.

Dietmar Knoess, VP People & Organization at PUMA, emphasised the central role employees play in the company's direction, stating, "At PUMA, our success is defined by our employees, and that's why we're all in on Workday. Workday gives us the data and processes to drive significant improvement in collaboration and allows us to identify, develop, and retain top talent, giving us a competitive edge."

PUMA's focus on digital HR transformation is positioned as a strategic move to drive both speed and innovation within the business. The company reports that the use of Workday's platform has delivered improved data integrity and transparency, giving the firm real-time insights for more informed decision-making across all levels of the global organisation.

The adoption of Workday has also brought changes to daily HR operations. A significant portion of business processes, estimated at 95%, are now initiated by employee service. This increase in self-service functionality allows PUMA's People & Organization team to devote greater attention to strategic initiatives, made possible by the process standardisation and automation introduced by the Workday platform.

The shift in HR operations has enabled PUMA to increase its emphasis on talent development.

Through the use of Workday, the company can assess workforce skills and focus on retention efforts. This has resulted in a notable increase in promotions from within: 80% of PUMA's leadership roles are now filled internally. The company attributes this figure to its commitment to staff development and the ability of Workday's centralised data system to support talent mobility, recruitment, performance management, and feedback processes.

Workday's role in supporting PUMA's objectives was highlighted by Fabio Tiviti, Group Vice President, APAC & Japan Field Operations, who stated, "Workday is proud to partner with PUMA in their pursuit of operational excellence and innovation. Our unified platform provides PUMA with the agility and data-driven insights necessary to optimize HR processes, enhance employee engagement, and support strategic business objectives."

With the introduction of Workday, PUMA reports improved capacities for strategic talent management and operational efficiency, supporting further growth within the competitive global sports sector.

Other notable brands in Australia using Workday for HCM include Canva, The Iconic, MECCA, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Qantas, Nandos, and The Salvation Army.