Under Armour, Inc. Is An American Sports Equipment Company That
Under Armour, Inc. Is An American Sports Equipment Company That
Under Armour, Inc. Is An American Sports Equipment Company That
Introduction
Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that
manufactures Footwear, sports and casual apparel.
Under Armour has one mission: to make you better. The Brand was created on a football
field in 1996 when University of Maryland special teams captain Kevin Plank looked down at
his heavy, Under Armour cotton T-shirt and thought: there has got to be something better. So,
he made a T-shirt that keeps you cool, light, and dry, so you can push themselves further.
And it changed the way athletes dress forever. Today, UA makes a lot more than
performance T-shirts—shoes that make you faster, gear that takes on the elements, digital
tools to help you get healthier—but that commitment to innovation still lies at the heart of
everything UA does. With offices all across the globe, the Brand is committed to inspiring
athletes with performance solutions they never knew they needed and can’t imagine living
without.
Leading members of Under Armour's Human Resource Team include Carolina Pagano, Emily
Hawse, Kendall Fielding, Sara Reshoft, Jim Fulks, Troy Barnett, Maryam Seveur, Pascha
Jeffries, Lori Opiola, and Bryan Kaminski. Under Armour's Human Resource Team has a direct
impact on the company’s overall culture which is scored a C- by employees. Let’s not forget
culture starts at the top. Kevin Plank, Under Armour's CEO, has been rated 67/100 by
employees.
Kendall Fielding
Lori Opiola
Executive Talent Acquisition
Director, Talent Acquisition - Corporate
Coordinator
Under Armour HR Team Versus Other Departments
As the enforcers of company culture, it’s intriguing to know what the human resource
department thinks about Under Armour's culture in comparison to other departments. The
human resource team at Under Armour has not yet rated their overall culture. The average
overall culture rating at Under Armour is 64/100. Other notable culture scores are 73/100 from
the Engineering department, 67/100 from the Design department, and 61/100 from the Product
department.
1) Apply
Under Armour encourages to tailor the application to the opportunities that
best match one’s experiences and interest.
Update and upload resume at Careers Site. Take the time to proofread the
resume and portfolio (if applicable) and ensure they are up-to-date and free of
any typos.
Once the resume is uploaded, information will auto populate into the
application fields. Make sure everything is accurate before officially clicking
“apply”.
If Under Armour feels experience is aligned to the role, a member of Talent
Team will reach out to set up a conversation. Should it not be quite the right
fit, they will notify via email and encourage one to keep an eye on posting for
future opportunities.
2) Stay Connected
Under Armour encourage to follow what’s going on with the brand on their
LinkedIn page, UA Newsroom and @LIFEATUA.
Join the Talent Community to stay up to date with the latest career
opportunities and Under Armour news delivered right to you.
3) Interview
The Recruiter and team will review the qualifications to determine one’s fit
for the opportunity.
Interviews are conducted via phone, video and in-person. The interview
process will depend on the role location, requirements of the role and what
stage you are in the process.
If one is selected for an interview, the Under Armour team will contact to
schedule next steps and provide further details about whom to meet and what
to expect.
Each office location, store location, and position have a contact method and
hiring process that varies. Positions will have behavioural-based interviews,
in addition some will include a skill assessment or project.
Following the interviews with the team they will be in touch regarding next
steps.
4) Offer
The offer letter will outline job title, benefits, compensation and other pre-
employment details.
1) Goal Management
Under Armour is designed for resilience and over the past two years, Under Armour’s Global
HR Team has worked tirelessly to transform their business - operationally, strategically and
culturally," said Under Armour Chairman and CEO Kevin Plank. "With a distinct strategy
engineered around a clear, uniquely defined consumer supported by a disciplined go-to-
market process and data-driven demand mapping, they have never been more inspired,
aligned and capable of achieving their goals."
"As Under Armour execute against their long-term strategy, Under Armour remain
unwavering in their commitment to protecting and growing the Under Armour brand," Plank
continued. "Led by a strong management team, an accelerated innovation agenda and
comprehensive discipline around their commitment to increasing total shareholder return,
Under Armour look forward to delivering the next chapter in their growth story."
The new 5-year plan is architected around two strategic priorities: protect and perform.
The first priority is a continued focus on elevating and protecting the Under Armour brand by
taking actions to ensure the ability to consistently deliver what consumers, customers and
shareholders expect from the company. This means an accelerated innovation agenda, driving
even deeper connections through return-driven demand creation and brand experiences, and
utilizing an optimized supply chain model along with improving service levels to keep pace
within a dynamically evolving market. Simultaneously, the second priority is performing
with balance and working to create greater financial and operational agility across the
company's portfolio of businesses to ensure future growth is repeatable and consistent.
Serving as a foundation to its 5-year strategy are the following core elements:
2) Performance Evaluation
The Hr Team evaluates everything from how workers are hired to if, how and when, their
employment with the supplier ends. They also review how employers perform their core
management and employment functions including whether they have created necessary
and effective policies and procedures, conducted training about them, Implemented and
communicated them, identifying responsibility and ensuring accountability for them, and
conducting related process reviews and updates. HR Management Team also analyse
supplier records such as new worker request forms, application forms, employment
contracts, worker personnel files and payroll records, including timecards and
termination documentation and collective bargaining agreements.
4) Compensation Management
At Under Armour “Every worker has a right to compensation for a regular work Under
Armour that is sufficient to meet the worker’s basic needs and provide some
discretionary income. Employers shall pay at least the minimum wage or the appropriate
prevailing wage, whichever is higher, comply with all legal requirements on wages, and
provide any fringe benefits required by law or contract. Where compensation does not
meet workers’ basic needs and provide some discretionary income, each employer shall
work with the FLA to take appropriate actions that seek to progressively realize a level of
compensation that does.”
Over time, the work may be grouped into the following areas: Understanding, Planning,
and Acting.
I. Understanding
• This began with due diligence in assessing social compliance
performance of the factories of under Armour’s suppliers including against
requirements of applicable laws, rules, and regulations, the UA Supplier
Code of Conduct, and FLA Code and Benchmarks.
• In 2018, Under Armour started to measure and track compensation
received, wages paid to, and benefits received by certain suppliers’
workers using the FLA’s Fair Compensation Wage Tool and analyse their
wages in the FLA’s Fair Compensation Platform and Dashboard, which
also compares wage levels against various wage standards and
benchmarks.
• In 2019, Under Armour enhanced how they evaluate their purchasing
practices by joining Better Buying, which channels vendors’ voices and
feedback to inform us whether they are operating and adhering to
contractual agreements and identifies areas in which their purchasing
practices may improve.
• Recognizing that under Armour could not succeed alone and need multi-
stakeholder engagement, including with governments, to advance fair
compensation, Under Armour began seeking new partners to work toward
affecting change. This included becoming a signatory of the ILO Call to
Action, supporting a sustainable system for social protection, and serving
on its Working Group and International Financial Institutions (IFI) Task
Force. Second, they have engaged with and evaluated the Action
Collaboration Transformation (ACT), an agreement among global brands,
retailers, and Industrial Global Union, which aims to achieve living wages
through national industry-level collective bargaining, supported by
responsible purchasing practices and freedom of association.
II. Planning
• In 2018, Under Armour issued an enhanced formalized Responsible
Sourcing Policy (RSP), acknowledging that their purchasing practices may
affect the social compliance performance of their supplier business
partners. The Hr Team continue to train internal leaders and teammates on
the RSP and how their actions may impact their supplier partners’ working
conditions.
• Since 2018, Under Armour have used the FLA’s Fair Compensation
Wage Tool to collect data from 18 factories in 8 countries: China (7),
Dominican Republic (1), El Salvador (2), Honduras (1), Indonesia (2),
Mexico (1), Philippines (1), and Vietnam (3).
• In 2020, Under Armour joined the ILO Call to Action’s Working Group.
• In 2021, Hr Management Team worked with the FLA to develop a “Fair
Compensation Blueprint,” which serves as the operational workplan to
drive progress on fair compensation, detailing how under Armour (1)
collect and analyse wage data, (2) gather feedback, (3) set goals, (4)
communicate and engage, (5) plan and execute operations, (6) measure
progress, (7) report, and (8) improve and adjust.
• Additionally, the next year, Under Armour expect to join ACT,
formalizing their support for advancing living wages by signing a
Memorandum of Understanding with Industrial Global Union that
acknowledges the necessity for long-term partnerships with suppliers,
purchasing practices that facilitate living wages, promotion of freedom of
association, sector-level collective bargaining, and government advocacy.
III. Acting
• In 2021, Under Armour increased the minimum pay for Under Armour
teammates at UA-owned Retail and Distribution Houses in the US and
Canada to $15 per hour (15.25 Canadian dollars per hour in Canada).
• Under Armour continue to expand the FLA’s Fair Compensation Wage
Tool application to collect baseline wage data at all of their strategic
vendors in the coming years.
• Over the next few years, led by the UA Sustainability Team and in
consultation with a cross-functional team of leaders, they will conduct a
variety of pilot interventions at select strategic vendors to identify methods
for progressively enabling employers to achieve and maintain fair
compensation. Following the completion of successful pilots, Under
Armour plan to build out further fair compensation interventions.
• As Under Armour specific action plans are evolving, Under Armour
remains committed to testing pilots and sharing performance with the FLA
so that by 2030, their strategic vendors may be included in some form of
fair compensation programming and annual reporting.
HR Team Training
UA works mostly with FLA-accredited third-party service providers and provides all
auditors periodic training on the UA audit tool and UA standards and methodology, to
ensure auditor consistency. Following the second FLA audit field observation in 2017
in Vietnam, the FLA recommended UA provide guidance for auditors on
documentation review and Health, Safety & Environment assessments. The
Sustainability Team has since trained auditors on union and CSO engagement,
walkthrough observation, root cause analysis, worker interview selection, and
grievance mechanisms.
The HR Team, Sustainability & CSR, has trained 304 UA employees on the UA
Supplier Code of Conduct by outlining its formation, importance, and any pertinent
updates through case studies for each element. The FLA observed this training in
Hong Kong in 2018 and verified the training covered all aspects of the UA Supplier
Code of Conduct. Moving forward, this training will be delivered annually to all UA
staff including through a Under Armour-based training system. During 2018, 223 UA
employees participated in live Teammate Safety Awareness Training (TSAT). This
training is conducted annually and designed for UA staff who work closely with
supplier facilities, such as the Steering Services Team. This training educates
participants on key health & safety issues, so once trained, UA staff can recognize and
efficiently report these issues if they arise. During the HQ assessment, the FLA
verified a UA Quality Specialist and TSAT participant observed and reported HSE
issues in a factory to the Sustainability Team, following the protocol set forth in the
training, demonstrating training impact. The Sustainability Team conducts a Pre-
Training Awareness Survey and a Post-Training Impact Assessment for both the Code
of Conduct and Teammate Safety Awareness Trainings to improve, enhance, and
modify training to increase effectiveness, measure knowledge gained, and garner
participant feedback to inform and improve future trainings. The Sustainability team
keeps training trackers to record feedback received and changes made, based on the
feedback. The FLA verified the Sustainability Team provides regular updates to the
Sustainability Leadership Council on the aggregate performance of trained staff.
HR Initiatives
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Under Armour believes that sports can unite, inspire, and change the world. The world
feels much different since they launched this idea last spring. Under Armour have
witnessed a global pandemic, intense racial violence, xenophobia, civil unrest, and
increased division. It has been an emotional and challenging year. Ability to endure has
been tested as they continue the fight for progress. Through it all: Under Armour stand
firmly for equality. It is at the center of its pursuit and remains a central value in all they
do. Though they had a diversity and inclusion strategy for years, they held their selves
accountable to more action after the global outcry for justice in 2020. They accelerated
their diversity, equity, and inclusion approach by making bold commitments for each of
their strategic pillars. Under Armour has a responsibility to build an equitable workplace
for their teammates and to support the communities where they live and work. they are
now reflecting on their journey to fulfil their vision. they aren’t yet where they want to
be, but remain committed and focussed. They have positive momentum in their push for
a more diverse, equal and inclusive Under Armour.
Using Hawthorn Phases
Hawthorne studies are used to discover aspects of the task environment that would maximize
workers output and hence improve organizational efficiency.
Hawthorn Major Phases marked the Hawthorne studies: the illumination studies, the relay
assembly test room studies, the interview program, and the bank wiring room studies.
1) The Illumination studies
The HR team at Under Armour used this study to determine the influence of lighting
level on worker productivity.
Two groups of workers Under Armour isolated. For one group (the control group),
lighting was held constant. For the second (experimental) group, lighting was
systematically raised.
In this a group of 6 women where isolated who use to work in the manufacturing
department at Under Armour
Changes Under Armour then introduced to this group, including incentives plans, rest
pauses, temperature, humidity, work ethic, and refreshments, (all discussed ahead of
time).
3) Assembly Cont.
Social satisfaction arising out of human association in work Under Armour more
important determinants of work behavior in general and output in particular than
Under Armour any of the physical and economic aspects of work situation to which
the attention had originally been limited.
Understanding the needs of individuals and how they best perform is important to any
organization, specifically something that Under Armour has taken and, potentially
grew their business further.
Emerging HR Trends
Under Armour just Revamped its HR, Hires New Chief of “People, Culture”
As it moves to reshape its company culture in what is a shifting environment for many global
companies, Under Armour announced that they found a new head of human resource.
The Baltimore-based athletic label has hired Technavio Rocker as its chief people and culture
officer, a newly created title to emphasize the firm’s focus on its employees and their overall
work satisfaction.
Rocker had spent more than 18 years in various HR leadership roles at Harley-Davidson Inc.,
most recently serving as VP and chief human resource officer. She will join Under Armour
— which has about 14,000 employees worldwide — in February to lead all aspects of its HR
functions.
Like many leading-edge companies, Under Armour has its pick of top talent. Under Armour,
HR realized it needed a way to respond quickly to the talented people who want to work at
Under Armour, and provide them with the ability to excel from streamlined onboarding
through targeted career development plans.
Scaling an international, highly collaborative, HR process was at the top of the company’s
agenda. This was the impetus behind replacing disparate systems
with SuccessFactors Performance & Goals, Compensation, Succession & Development,
Learning Management and Recruiting.
The streamlined application process features dashboards where recruiters can easily monitor
and manage the real-time status of requisitions and candidates. On-boarding is faster than
ever as new-hires can automatically populate resume details into the system from existing
documents. Most important, Under Armour now provides the same strategic HR support to
managers, employees, recruiters and candidates worldwide, meeting each location’s unique
regulatory compliance and language requirements.
Overall, speed and ease of use have helped reposition HR as a business partner. Calling
SuccessFactors’ recruitment capabilities, a huge win, Barnett said Under Armour added
Akamai network technology underneath to quadruple system speeds, allowing teammates and
candidates easier anywhere, anytime, any device access to manage hiring.
Future Innovation
At the core of Under Armour’s HR system is a road map that identifies process and system
integrations points, as Under Armour as gaps and service level agreements. Armed with this
blueprint for success, HR is able to document its present and future value to
business. Amanda Oxenreider, Senior Manager of Business Relations at Under Armour,
advised HR departments considering transformation to adopt a highly collaborative and
constantly evolving approach.
“Don’t make decisions in silos. You want to involve everybody because having more
information will help you build a more solid program foundation,” she said. “Under
Armour’ve re-evaluated often since Under Armour began with SuccessFactors Recruiting and
Onboarding in 2011. Every year Under Armour continue to build something new, looking at
the quarterly releases to determine how and when that new functionality can help us.”
Key takeaways from Under Armour HR department traits on inclusive workplace and
talent acquisition:
Top tips for HR leaders to retain and nurture a diverse and inclusive workforce
First things first, you must recruit a diverse workforce without equitable
their organization. To retain their talent, their culture must truly embrace,
teams and what diversity means to a specific part of the organization. From
there, Under Armour have various levers Under Armour can look at from an
diversity into the selection process for a role. Additionally, Under Armour
On the inclusion side, Under Armour worked with their employee resourcing
groups to create strategic value for the Brand, focusing on culture, community,
commerce, and career as Under Armour build out those groups’ strategic plans.
Under Armour can use to connect teammates across offices, and others that
To combat the tendency to recruit in the “same old” ways, from the “same
old” places, automation can be a scalable alternative that’s easier, more cost-
than ever, and companies can find candidates in ways that wasn’t possible 5
years ago. For example, Handshake, a career community for college students
Armour can now connect with a potential teammate anywhere and aren’t
restricted to the same list of target schools and the students who attend them.
Best practices for business leaders to manage Gen Z and Millennials in the workplace
Every teammate is unique and it’s important Under Armour recognize that as
Under Armour design their workforce, workplace and the experiences Under
understanding the needs of this teammate and offering programs and support
that meet those needs. Gen Z is following right behind them and will likely
differ somewhat in their priorities, so, it’s important for HR to stay close to the
One thing to be noticed is the increasing importance of mission, values and the
contribution they can make to the team early on their career. Their mission
aligns Under Armour with these generations as it’s not only speaking to the
products Under Armour create but the experience they have while they are
References
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