Mercedes 2013 Annual Report Download - page 110

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Cooperative State University in Baden-Württemberg. After
completing their college degrees, they can directly join
our company or launch their careers at Daimler by taking
part in our global CAReer training program.
In 2013, CAReer once again enabled approximately 300 college
graduates from around the world to begin a career at Daimler.
The program focuses on young people who have graduated
in technical and commercial fields with above-average grades
and applicants with practical experience. Women currently
account for around one third of CAReer participants; our trainees
and alumni come from approximately 30 different nations.
We are also making our training activities more international
so that we can establish high training standards in growth
regions and recruit highly qualified skilled employees. In 2013,
we developed the Mercedes-Benz Qualification System
(MBQS) for our international car locations. The system describes
the general conditions for efficient training programs outside
Germany that provide participants with the required qualifica-
tions, including programs for training master craftspeople.
We are also incorporating some elements of the German work-
study system in various projects outside Germany.
We had 8,630 apprentices and trainees worldwide at the end
of 2013 (2012: 8,267). A total of 2,014 young people began
their vocational training at Daimler in Germany during the year
under review (2012: 2,109). The number of people we train
and subsequently hire is based solely on the Group’s needs and
its future development. In 2013, 89% of Daimler trainees
were hired after completing their apprenticeships (2012: 91%).
High standards for awarding contracts for work and services.
Contracts for work and services are important instruments
to enable companies to remain flexible and competitive in their
business operations. Through such contracts, Daimler pro-
cures services that can be provided better and more efficiently
by the specialists of the respective supplier than by the Group
itself. They include for example facility management services
and the operation of plant canteens as well as specialized logis-
tics and highly complex services in areas such as development,
IT and consulting.
Contracts for work and services regulate the provision
of a precisely defined service in return for a fixed payment.
In order to secure transparent and fair conditions for all
parties in the execution of such contracts, Daimler decided
on new standards for the award and execution of contracts
for work and services on Daimler premises in autumn 2013.
These standards apply in particular to working conditions
and the wages of the employees deployed by contracted com-
panies, and go significantly further than the conditions
required by applicable law.
To ensure that the new social principles are effective also
on a sustained basis, Daimler will systematically monitor
for adherence to them. Daimler therefore checks not only during
an invitation to tender whether the participating companies
fulfill the standards, but also regularly while the services are
provided.
In May 2013, Daimler introduced a new human resources
concept that takes advantage of the experience of the
company’s retired employees. These “senior experts” can volun-
tarily return to the company for a temporary period if the
departments need their services. The program promotes coop-
eration among people of different ages in order to benefit
from their specific strengths. In this way, the concept combines
the young employees’ innovative strength with the retirees’
wealth of experience. The experience we have gained with the
senior experts so far confirms that the program’s aims are
being achieved.
Number of years at Daimler. In 2013, our employees had
worked for the Daimler Group for an average of 16.2 years.
This figure was slightly above the previous year’s level
(2012: 15.8 years). In Germany, employees had worked for
the Group for an average of 19.2 years at the end of 2013
(2012: 18.8 years). The comparative figure for Daimler AG was
19.5 years (2012: 19.1 years). Daimler employees outside
Germany had worked for the Group for an average of 11.3 years
(2012: 11.0 years).
Diversity management activities. Diversity management
is a strategic success factor for the company’s future viability.
Because mixed teams are better than homogeneous ones
at solving complex tasks, Daimler’s diversity management activi-
ties primarily focus on making managers more aware of this
issue. We also use mentoring programs, communication activi-
ties, conferences, workshops and e-learning tools for this
purpose. This continuous focus on diversity management enables
our corporate culture to steadily evolve.
Increased proportion of women employees. Our instruments
for supporting the targeted promotion of women include flex-
ible working-time models, childcare facilities close to the work-
place and special mentoring programs. Daimler has committed
itself to increasing the proportion of women in senior manage-
ment positions throughout the Group to 20% by 2020. The
share of women in such positions has risen continually over the
last few years to reach 12.7% at the end of 2013 (2012: 11.9%).
Because we are a technologically oriented company, the targets
take into account sector-specific conditions and women’s
current share of our workforce. At the Daimler Group, women
accounted for 16.3% of the total workforce worldwide (2012:
16.2%). At Daimler AG, women accounted for 14.6% of the
employees at the end of the year under review (2012: 14.4%).
Employee qualification. We provide our staff with training and
continuing education opportunities throughout their entire
careers. Our range of qualification measures includes practical
training courses, seminars, workshops, specialist conferences
and instruction through digital media. In Germany alone, we spent
€107 million on the training and qualification of our employees
in the year under review (2012: €112 million). On average,
every employee spent 4.1 days in qualification courses in 2013
(2012: 4.0 days).
Securing young talent. Daimler takes a holistic approach
to securing young talent. For example, our Genius initiative
enables children and teenagers to gain valuable information
about technologies of the future and professions in the
automotive industry. w genius-community.com High school
graduates can apply to participate in a technical or commercial
apprenticeship at one of our locations or to study at the