YES stands for “Young and Experienced together Successful”. The initiative represents an integral diversity management practice that views demographic change as an opportunity. The demographics mirror is an instrument for evaluating and designing demographic measures at Mercedes-Benz, with the goal of helping Daimler’s car manufacturing units to improve the work conditions for employees, promote cooperation, and establish a comprehensive awareness for the importance of the topic.

In cooperation with the company’s business units, individual demographic issues were “indexed”. The results include ACTUAL and TARGET values. These values will help each of the business units to determine the measures needed to meet their goals.

The topics of the demographics mirror

We’re getting older! We’re living longer! We’re becoming more diverse! At Mercedes-Benz, our motto is: “Each generation helps the others, from the start of their career right up to retirement.” That means that employees need to preserve their health and their motivation throughout their careers and pass on their knowledge to others. At the same time, a variety of generations also means a variety of experiences, perspectives, and new inspiration. And that is something to be promoted and enforced.

Mercedes-Benz’s demographics mirror is currently examining the following five topics:

1. Managing resources
2. Acquiring and retaining employees
3. Paradigm shift
4. Keeping employees fit for work
5. Sharing and preserving expertise