Hey all,
I was just thinking about my PTS again and I wanted to talk with you about something I think they are doing really well.
As many of you know, I worked with PUMA SE in Herzogenaurach in Germany. I was an intern there for 7 months in the PLM Kids Apparel Team.
In the company there were around 120 interns besides myself. I believe this is an amazing measure to on the one hand save loads of money and on the other hand giving over 100 young people the chance to work in an internationally successful company.
What is more is that PUMA is giving all of their interns the chance to keep on working in the company by storing their data in the internal database. I was really surprised when my two bosses told me that they have been interns before. And I also heard that from the head of HR, the headwear PLM, two girls from the marketing department and so on.. So in my opinion this is really a good HR measure. PUMA has so many interns from all over the world and if they have a vacancy they just contact the former interns that would be perfect for the job. And one more time it is a win win situation. PUMA gets an employee who already knows a lot about the company, the systems and already have social contacts in the company and the former intern has the chance of getting a fixed position in this really amazing company.
What do you think about this measure? Is it good to have a lot of interns you can turn to if you have a vacancy or do you think it would be better to also give people a chance who never worked with this company before as they might bring in something new?
I am curious to hear your opinions on this topic.
-Steffie
Dear Steffie,
AntwortenLöschenI personally think that this is a fantastic approach. As you already mentioned, PUMA is thus able to hire people with whom they were already engaged in a close working relationship. The company is well aware of how those people perform and what they can achieve, and whether their talents and qualifications match the company's own requirements. But what's probalby most important: the company knows that they can rely on and trust these people.
When completing an internship with a company - besides benefitting from general work experience which is of vital importance for us "newcomers" to the working population, and the opportunity to figure out what we like and excel in and what we would like to do for a living - you are able to gain vast experience from both, a personal and professional aspect, start to understand the company's business practices and objectives, and can identify yourself with their vision, mission and values.
If you really ejoy your practical training, you even get emotionally attached to the company or the team you are working with and hence, develop a certain degree of engagement and passion for the job and organisation. These are characteristics an employer can highly benefit from. Additionally, since there is no necessity of induction or initial training, offering former interns permanent employment can reduce costs for companies remarkably.
This is a win-win situation for both parties, the employer and the intern.
In fact, there should be much more companies like PUMA out there following this recruiting policy.
I totally agree with both of you. I think this is a great tactic from PUMA.
AntwortenLöschenFirst of all they have a huge database for possible positions if a vacant job appears, so they do not have to put their ad online or somewhere else.
Secondly also the interns get attracted to work at PUMA and are also motivated as they see that they have real job chances!
Therefore they will fulfill their tasks carefully and in a good way.
That PUMA hires interns it also means that the interns get interesting tasks. As I experienced in my PTS (and apparently many of us) we were quite bored at work and I think this makes an internship not really attractive for further employment.
As already mentioned there are a lot of benefits for the company as well (as they already have been mentioned I won't repeat them again :) ).
However one problem could be that the company gets a certain reputation of only or mainly hiring interns and therefore other people might think that they won't have any chance at all.
But still I think this is a really good concept and I think too little companies give the interns interesting and challenging tasks.
Hi Steffie,
AntwortenLöschenI also do think that storing the data of interns in the database and contact them when there is a suitable job for them is an excellent idea. I do agree with you that it is a win-win situation for both. The former interns do not need extensive training when they start the job, as they already got an insight into the company - and thus the company is saving a lot of money. Furthermore, the company is saving a lot of money as they do not need to create ads and make a number of interviews with possible candidates.
For the former intern it is great as first of all it is kind of a recognition that the person has done a really good job in their internship and furthermore they know what to expect.
I think it is great that PUMA is handling the employment like this.
Hi all,
AntwortenLöschenI also agree with your opinion and think that this is a great approach for recruiting. Not only it's a win-win situation as the new employee already knows the working environment and the company can benefit from that. Moreover as Steffie said that also her bosses started as interns, it makes it visible which job possibilities you have at a company. And in my opinion it's always good when the people in the management positions have started from the very bottom and made their way up. This way they know all the working processes and tasks much better and moreover it gives the employees below them the feeling that their boss has actually been in the same position and was not just appointed. If I'd be working there and I knew that my superior was in my position before I believe that I would appreciate his advices and help much more than if the superior just came from somewhere else.
So it's a really great approach and definitely should be done by other companies as well.
I also think that this is a great idea!
AntwortenLöschenOn the one hand it will save the company some time and money with recruiting and on the other hand it will enhance motivation among the interns, if they know that their data and performance it stored and might benefit them for a later application.
I do not think that there is the problem of only hiring "in house" since every intern came from "outside" and brought something "new" to the company anyways.
And since they are accepting more than 100 interns every year, they have a big diversity pool to choose from!
I agree with you that it is a good approach from the company. It is a beneficial situation for the company as well as for the interns. It motivates the interns to deliver a good performance within the internship as they have a chance for a future employement if they already proved that their abilities fit the vacant position. The interns already know the company's culture and processes and Puma knows what they can expect from the interns and give them an opportunity for employement.
AntwortenLöschenHi, finally also to this thread! I also like the PUMA approach, very smart thing to do! And the even go a step further, they actively look for people at universities they have good experiences with! We just yesterday got a request in again from Puma! And I also know that sometimes they also offer students to stay immediately with them and complete their studies part time! We had that one also already! I really think they do it right to attract the people they know will fit to their company and them make it possible to stay!
AntwortenLöschen