Employer attractiveness
Our employees, their know-how, and their commitment is crucial for achieving our strategic and financial targets. Increasing complexity and a fast-moving competitive environment lead to growing demand for skilled employees and executives. For this reason, it is all the more important for HUGO BOSS to further strengthen its position in international competition for the most qualified employees. To increase our attractiveness as an employer, we therefore not only focus on a fair and value-based corporate culture, but also on actively promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) within the Company, opportunities for individual development, and a variety of offers to make it easier to combine professional and private life.
HELLO Teams
The passion and dedication of our teams are vital for the success of HUGO BOSS. By embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion we enhance creativity and foster innovation.
Learn more Learn moreThe Global Human Resources (HR) division is responsible for personnel strategy and Group-wide personnel management. Human Resources reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and remains in close contact with the executives of the central departments, as well as the HR departments and executives of the Group companies. The Managing Board is kept regularly informed about the progress of personnel work and is involved in all major decisions.
Targets
Further enhancing our attractiveness as an employer is a key target of HR work at HUGO BOSS. This is intended to further strengthen our position in international competition for highly qualified employees and to increase motivation, commitment, and loyalty among our almost 19,000 employees.
Measures
For HUGO BOSS, in addition to promoting diversity in the workforce, the systematic training and development of its employees, as well as supporting work-life balance are among the top strategic priorities in HR management. Employees and Teams
As an international company, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) is a fundamental element of our corporate culture. All employees are to be guaranteed a discrimination-free working environment with equal opportunities and inclusive work culture. Organizationally, the important topic of DE&I is firmly anchored in the Global Employee Experience department as part of Global Human Resources, with the Global DE&I team focusing on further raising awareness of DE&I throughout the Company and also externally. Centrally initiated measures are driven forward by a diversity task force. A policy and commitment against discrimination and harassment are emphasizing our Group-wide efforts towards a discrimination- and harassment-free working environment. To further promote DE&I across the organization and strengthen it within our corporate culture, in 2023 HUGO BOSS defined a comprehensive DE&I ambition. As part of the execution of its DE&I ambition, HUGO BOSS launched the MIX & MATCH initiative, bundling numerous internal and external measures aimed at promoting a culture where differences are celebrated and inclusivity thrives.
HUGO BOSS offers its employees a wide range of individual development opportunities. Structured HR development programs for professionals and managers shall enable the promotion of employees according to their competencies, expand their knowledge, and strengthen their skills, for example with regard to a management career. In addition to the existing Employee Development Program (EDP), Leadership Development Program (LDP), and High Potential Program (HIPOSS), we launched the Experienced Leaders Collection (ELC) in 2023. The ELC provides experienced leaders with a comprehensive learning and training collection, supporting a common understanding of leadership at HUGO BOSS. Our employees also have access to a broad selection of face-to-face and guided online live trainings as well as e-learning courses on social, professional, and management skills via the Group-wide “HUGO BOSS University” and “HUGO BOSS eLIBRARY” platforms. At our own production and logistics sites, face-to-face training sessions and workplace briefings form an integral part of the induction process for industrial staff.
The annual “Performance & Development Dialog” (PDD) provides process and system support in creating individual development opportunities. An online tool collects data relating to performance assessment, potential evaluation, and development planning of our employees and is designed to ensure the greatest possible objectivity, also through the display of multi-dimensional feedback. The aim of the PDD is to increase transparency, particularly with regard to possible cross-divisional and international development paths within the Group, to get the best out of employees, and retain talent in the Company for as long as possible. In addition to preparing and conducting the annual performance review, the tool also supports in conducting mid-year reviews and collecting other structured feedback from managers and colleagues.
To increase our attractiveness as an employer, we also support our employees in combining professional and private life. A variety of flexible working models, such as individual part-time arrangements, trust-based working hours, or working from home, are designed to further increase their motivation and commitment. Working models such as job sharing and co-leadership complete the offering. The majority of our employees already benefit from flexible working hours and possible part-time arrangements. For example, employees in our own production facility in Izmir (Turkey) are also able to reduce accrued overtime hours or take advantage of other part-time arrangements. Working from home is available to almost all administrative staff at HUGO BOSS. In particular, we offer administrative employees in Germany the hybrid work concept “Threedom of Work,” which provides for three days of attendance at our headquarters in Metzingen, while employees are free to choose their place of work on the other two days. Similar models have also been established at selected international locations.
At HUGO BOSS, we are also committed to strengthening family friendliness as part of the Germany-wide cooperation “Success Factor Family.” Already today, we are offering a broad variety of family-friendly options to our employees. For example, young families at the Metzingen site have access to places in the local day care center and holiday care programs. In addition, we opened our own day care center at our headquarters in Metzingen in early 2023, offering space for around 50 toddlers. Employees in the U.S. and Canada have free access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which offers independent advice on matters such as childcare and caring for family members. In addition, most our employees in the U.S. have the choice of spending part of their gross personal income for external care and support services through flexible spending accounts (FSAs).
The employer attractiveness of HUGO BOSS was again recognized several times in 2023. In the “Working in Fashion 2023” study conducted by the German industry magazine TextilWirtschaft, HUGO BOSS again secured a strong third place. As part of this, we took first place in the category “future potential of the company,” and second place in the categories “salary levels,” “opportunities for promotion and training,” and “attractive products.” In addition, we maintained our strong midfield position among the Top 50 Diversity Leaders in 2023 – based on an independent Europe-wide ranking by Statista and the Financial Times. In the global study “World’s Best Employers 2023” by Forbes and Statista, HUGO BOSS improved its ranking significantly in 2023 and for the first time made it into the top 200 globally.
Performance indicators
We assess the satisfaction and the needs of our employees as part of an employee survey conducted annually in cooperation with Great Place to Work Germany. The findings provide us with important impetus for the further development of our HR work and corporate culture. In addition, the results of the annual employee survey in terms of the so called “Trust Index” represent an important component of the long-term incentive program (LTI) as part of Managing Board compensation. With a Group-wide participation rate of 77%, overall satisfaction amounted to 77% in 2023 (2022: participation rate of 70%; overall satisfaction of 78%). Going forward, we aim at maintaining a strong level of at least 75% overall satisfaction. At HUGO BOSS AG, overall satisfaction increased to 87% in 2023 (2022: 86%), with employees particularly appreciating the just and open corporate culture and also stating that they were proud to work at HUGO BOSS. Compensation Report