What HR Can Learn from the Bundesliga Summer
Reading time: 7 min
The stadium lights are off, the turf is being given a rest, and the ball is at a standstill—at least at Germany’s largest soccer stadiums. In short: The Bundesliga’s summer break is here. But anyone who thinks the clubs’ executive suites are now a yawning void is sorely mistaken. The summer break is the most strategically important phase of the year. This is when analysis takes place, decisions are made, investments are made, and tactics for the new season are shaped with the future in mind. While the players are on vacation and recharging their batteries (at least those who aren’t competing in the World Cup in the U.S.), the infamous transfer merry-go-round is running at full speed behind the scenes.
After recently exploring what HR transformation can learn from the padel craze, we can’t stop thinking about sports as a blueprint for the business world. The current transfer merry-go-round in the Bundesliga raises questions that go far beyond soccer. It’s about the question of “to stay or to go,” but above all, it’s about how we can use quieter periods—such as the summer—to define our own priorities for the future.
In a work environment driven by constant optimization, we often overlook the most important thing: What does it really take today to be successful tomorrow? And do we really always have to chase after the next, supposedly bigger thing?
1. Strategic Roster Planning: How We Set Our Priorities and Make Use of the Summer Break “Tactics Lab”
In professional soccer, no sports director uses the break to simply sit around twiddling their thumbs. It’s a time for a ruthless assessment. Which playing philosophy has cost us points? Which patterns do we need to break? Which players no longer fit—either in terms of character or tactics—into the system of the future?
Applied to the business world, this means: The summer break is the perfect opportunity for strategic “team restructuring” and consistent decision-making. In the daily grind of operations, we often find ourselves chasing projects that should have been shelved long ago. We cling to processes simply because “that’s how we’ve always done it” (the so-called sunk cost fallacy). But isn’t it much cooler to be able to proudly say that you’re doing the right things and doing them right? Let’s do just that and radically reevaluate our strategy for the second half of the year:
- Prioritizing future-oriented topics: Which strategic initiatives require our full investment and undivided attention right now so that we can still compete at the highest level tomorrow? How can we stay ahead of the curve and work today on the things that will make us successful tomorrow and keep us relevant the day after tomorrow?
- Consistently deprioritize: Successful management isn’t about what you put on your to-do list, but about what you consciously leave off it. Which deadlines can be postponed? Which reports does no one read anyway? For certain secondary issues, what level of detail is sufficient for us?
- Seeing a Vacancy as an Opportunity: When a position opens up in the summer, HR departments often tend to react instinctively: the position must be filled on a one-to-one basis. A thoughtful sports director, on the other hand, asks: Do we even need a traditional center forward again, or might it make more sense to adjust the system—whether through a flexible redistribution of responsibilities among the existing team or a revised approach to the job requirements for the new hire?
2. Perks and Benefits: What Makes the New “Team” Attractive
Of course, the issue of employee retention and recruitment is always a factor during this time. When the market offers opportunities, even top performers start looking around. Headhunters take on the role of agile player agents. But just like a savvy Bundesliga club, companies in the “race for talent” should move away from a purely blunt, one-dimensional bidding war over salaries.
Today, we need to completely rethink how we address the question of the right opportunities and benefits. Players rarely switch teams just for a few extra euros in their bank accounts. They switch for the best overall package of development opportunities, a modern work environment, psychological safety, and appreciation.
For companies, this means that employee benefits must align with new strategic priorities. The market is suffering from “benefit inflation”: fruit baskets, colorful gaming corners, or a company bike are appreciated as “nice-to-haves.” But what people are really looking for is structural added value:
- A basic attitude of trust: trust instead of micromanagement. Coaches who help their players improve and support them are the biggest reason players stay.
- Presence and genuine interest: It’s precisely in extreme situations that we learn the most from one another. When employees reach out to their manager—whether the day went particularly well or particularly badly—the relationship is strong, and both sides gain the most insight.
- Focus on mental health: An environment that recognizes that even top performers need breaks to recharge. It is important to establish mutual guidelines for collaboration that enable a healthy balance between periods of high workload and periods of lighter workload.
Aside from the points mentioned above, the idea of granting employees a day of special leave on their birthday seems extremely appealing from an employer branding perspective. Why? The birthday person usually receives numerous calls and messages. When the answer to the question “So, what do you have planned for today?” begins with “Definitely not working, because my employer gave me the day off…,” the person on the other end of the line is sure to be amazed, and the thought “I’d love to have an employer like that” is bound to come to mind.
3. The “Always More” Trap: What We Should Never Forget
This brings us to the core philosophical question of the job market, one that constantly challenges us in our professional lives as well: Should I leave, or should I stay? We live in a hyper-optimized society. Career platforms like LinkedIn suggest to us every day that the next step in our careers is just a click away. This is where the Olympic-inspired motto usually comes into play: “Citius, altius, fortius” (meaning “faster, higher, stronger,” commonly translated as “faster, higher, further”). People are then lured with promises of a bigger budget, more managerial responsibility, and greater prestige, among other things. Yet every year, the Bundesliga transfer window also reveals the tragic downside of this mindset: Young, highly talented players who move to an absolute top-tier club too early, simply because the offer seems more glamorous—only to end up languishing on the bench there. The joy of the game is gone, their connection to the team is lost, and their careers stall.
In the business world, we call this the hedonistic treadmill. We chase after the next job title, get used to the new salary within a few weeks, and immediately feel that same emptiness again. In doing so, we often forget to factor in the costs associated with changing jobs: the loss of a well-coordinated team, the blind trust in our colleagues, the standing within the company built up over the years, and the certainty of how the culture works.
That is why, during this summer break, we are calling for a conscious counter-movement: the discovery of the “return on loyalty” and the art of contentment.
It’s perfectly legitimate—yes, even a sign of emotional intelligence and mental strength—to simply be content with what you have. Contentment isn’t stagnation, and it isn’t “quiet quitting.” It’s the conscious decision to say: The field I’m standing on here is really great. The culture is right, the work fulfills me, and the team supports me.
Players like Christian Günter in Freiburg or Thomas Müller at Bayern aren’t legends simply because they never had another offer. They’re legends because they understood that developing and maturing in a familiar, healthy environment is invaluable. The same applies in business: consistency fosters deep expertise, genuine creative momentum, and psychological security. Those who switch companies every two years may leave behind nothing but hot air instead of lasting value.
Key Takeaways for HR and Leaders During the Summer Break
Therefore , let us reorganize our personal and organizational tactics board and take the following impulses to heart :
- A Love of Learning and Vitamin N: Use your free time and available slots to consciously explore new tools and topics. Listen to your inner voice: What have you always wanted to know or be able to do? Pursue that exactly. And, if possible and compatible with company goals, take to heart what marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge considers the central key to mental strength and self-discipline: Vitamin N. Here, the “N” stands for “No” and describes the ability to say no to distractions, temptations, and anything that doesn’t serve your own priorities.
- Genuine interest and meaningful offers: Take a close look at your employee benefits and ask yourself whether they truly contribute to the long-term well-being and performance of your “core team” (e.g., through professional development and flexibility), or are they just superficial incentives? Don’t be afraid to talk openly about career visions and aspirations, and explore how you can work together to make them a reality.
- Assess your own satisfaction: Create a corporate culture that celebrates consistency. Ask yourselves and your employees quite openly: Does it really have to be the next big change, or do we actually have a fantastic foundation here that we want to continue building on together? Show them that you’re planning with them—and how. Awareness of—and gratitude for—a permanent position in volatile times can make a big difference in terms of mindset. And let’s be honest: In the end, we decide whether we go to work with joy or focus on the negatives.
The transfer window will close again eventually, but clarity about your priorities and the value of a loyal, satisfied team will remain your most important competitive advantage throughout the year. Let’s use the summer to focus on exactly that.
