What it does: Sells premium vehicles
Staff stats: Daimler employs around 300 people in Australia
The good bits: Working for one of the world’s most respected companies
The not so good bits: Dealing with big-organisation bureaucracy
The Mercedes-Benz story
Almost a century and a half ago, two Germans more or less invented what would become the automobile industry. Long story short, Karl Benz was first out of the blocks, founding Benz & Cie. But Gottlieb Daimler wasn’t far behind, forming a competing auto manufacturer called Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (Daimler Motors Corporation). Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft began producing cars under the brand name Mercedes at the turn of the century. In 1924 the two carmakers merged, resulting in the birth of the Mercedes-Benz brand. By this point, Benz and Daimler had already long been selling their vehicles into the British, French and American markets. Car buyers from all around the world have continued to have a keen interest in the industry-leading, high-quality vehicles Mercedes-Benz produces.
Unlike some American and Japanese car companies, Mercedes-Benz never manufactured vehicles in Australia. Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific Pty Ltd is the importer and distributor of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars, vans and utes as well as commercial truck and bus vehicles through Daimler Truck and Bus. All Daimler companies are headquartered in Mulgrave, Victoria
Mercedes-Benz’s parent company is Daimler AG, which now owns a range of bus, car, and truck brands across the globe. Both Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz are headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Mercedes-Benz now makes around 2.3 million vehicles every year and in 2018 had revenue of €167 billion (A$270 billion).
The culture
As might be expected, the workforce at Mercedes-Benz has historically skewed male. Gender equality is now a major corporate goal. The company’s most senior executives have signed off on the following statement: ‘We would like to affirm our collective commitment to achieving gender equality throughout our workplaces. As a strategic priority, together we aim to eliminate discrimination on the basis of gender, achieve equitable and fair employee outcomes and deliver on our business goals through embracing gender diversity’.
Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity. It fosters a flexible and progressive work culture and is proud to have been recognised as a Workplace Gender Equality Employer of Choice and playing a major role in setting the benchmark and pace of change for other Australian workplaces.
Social contribution
Mercedes-Benz aspires to ‘always treat our colleagues, customers, suppliers and external partners how we wish to be treated’. The organisation is the principle partner with Brainwave Australia, Australia’s only charity which supports children with brain injury and illness.
Mercedes-Benz supports Brainwave via various initiatives and staff regularly volunteer their time at Brainwave Australia events.
The recruitment process
As mentioned, Mercedes-Benz doesn’t manufacture vehicles in this part of the world. However, it does need people on the ground to help sell them. Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific hires ‘talented, energetic and dedicated’ grads with a ‘passion for the automotive business’ from a range of disciplines. These grads go onto work in business areas such as finance, sales, IT, customer services, marketing, HR, procurement and legal just to name a few.
The company doesn’t provide much information about either its recruitment process or its grad programs. However, it can be assumed it approaches both with Teutonic meticulousness. It appears entry-level grad roles can appear on the jobs page of the company website at any time of the year. Once you’ve found an appropriate position, you’ll need to create a profile to be able to apply for it. After that, you should be prepared for the standard psychometric testing, interviews and possibly a visit to an assessment centre. If you are offered an entry-level position, you can expect to be quickly integrated into a team in your specialist area, to work on interesting projects and to be constantly challenged and developed.
Remuneration
Mercedes-Benz offers generous employee benefits, including discounted car leasing and purchase options. Aside from getting their hands on a discounted car, staff can also benefit from a wide variety of employee recognition and reward programs. The company doesn’t publicise its grad salaries and they presumably vary depending on what part of the company a grad is working in. That noted, Mercedes-Benz staff don’t appear to have many complaints about their remuneration.
Career prospects
Mercedes-Benz is big on developing its staff and promoting from within. It offers employees access to plenty of learning and development opportunities. As with any multinational employer, if you do well in your home country, there is always the prospect of an overseas posting.
The vibe of the place
Like most large German companies, Mercedes-Benz expects its staff to be loyal, competent and hard-working but treats them well if they are. The organisation is currently undergoing a culture transformation defined by its 8 leadership principles of: agility, co-creation, customer orientation, driven to win, empowerment, pioneering spirit, learning and purpose. It has high expectations that its people will take these seriously and will live up to them. Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific describes itself as ‘a fast-paced, innovative and truly exciting company to work for’.
Star Rating: Not available
From the employer:
"Be part of something special.
At Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific, we believe our people make the difference. We proudly offer generous employee benefits, such as discounted car leasing and purchase options, on-site parking, employee assistance programs and much more. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We are proud to be recognized as a Workplace Gender Equality Employer of Choice and we support a flexible and progressive work culture.
Our passion for our people also extends to Employee Recognition and Reward programs, as well as providing access to learning and development opportunities. Mercedes-Benz Cars Australia is a fast paced, innovative and truly exciting company to work for. Register for careers with us today to find out more."