STUTTGART – Unlike many German companies, Mercedes does not have to complain that it cannot fill open positions. This year, the Stuttgart giant received around 160,000 job applications from candidates.

There were several times more candidates than open positions, Mercedes' head of human resources Sabine Kohleisen told dpa. She believes this is because the company offers opportunities to young people, but also flexibility at work.

We were lucky because we managed to fill all internship positions, as well as those for dual study programs, she said. The generation now entering the labor market is very aware of its value, “if for no other reason, then because they know there are not enough of them”.

Sustainability – in terms of the environment, social issues and corporate governance – plays an “extremely important role,” said the manager, noting that the new generation is also very demanding.

“They ask themselves: What do I want to do? What do I want to experience in the company,” she said, assessing that it is crucial for them to be able to initiate and shape something.

The pandemic changed the business world in many ways, and one of the side effects is the great popularity of working from home. Kohleisen says that Mercedes has decentralized processes and given managers free rein to create rules. If the job allows it, work can be done exclusively from home.

“We told managers to create rules that suit their teams,” she said. In other words, at Mercedes headquarters they do not intend at some point to announce that “everyone is returning to the office” or that “everyone is working from home”.

The rules of the game may look like there is a team day once a week when everyone is in the company, or a hybrid meeting may require everyone to use their camera.

Source: seebiz.eu