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"Learning here isn’t a sidetrack — it is the main road to success, for both our people and the business," writes Reuben Rethinalingam, GM Human Relations and Performance Operations Head for APAC, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia.
In the fast-evolving automotive landscape, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia is steering ahead with a people-first approach to learning & development. Anchored by its people-first strategy, the company is investing deeply in talent development, leadership capability, and future-ready skills to build a resilient, forward-looking workforce.
From experiential initiatives such as Turn2Learn and Toastmasters Club, to digital fluency efforts and mental wellbeing support, learning here is not confined to the classroom, the organisation's goal is to make learning a shared value, not just a HR function — empowering employees to lead, innovate, and grow in meaningful ways.
Reuben Rethinalingam (pictured above), General Manager Human Relations and Performance Operations Head for APAC , Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, gives us a sneak peek in this article.
At Mercedes-Benz in Malaysia, our commitment to developing our people is at the heart of everything we do. We believe that learning is not just a hygiene factor — it is a mindset that shapes how we lead, grow, and evolve together. As part of this commitment, we have designed our people-first strategy built on four key pillars: Employee development, health & wellbeing, employee experience, and DEI.
'Turn2Learn Malaysian Chapter' is a comprehensive and experiential learning framework under Employee Development pillar that fosters a culture of continuous development. Through this initiative, we empower our people to pursue personal growth, nurture leadership capabilities, and drive innovation across all levels of the organisation. Learning at Mercedes-Benz in Malaysia goes beyond formal programs or digital platforms — it is deeply embedded in our daily operations, leadership practices, and long-term vision.
We are building a future-ready workforce by making learning a shared value and a strategic priority, ensuring our people thrive as individuals and contribute meaningfully to our greater ambition to be a leading luxury automotive company.
What our current focus on learning & development looks like
The current focus of our L&D strategy is anchored in three key areas: talent development, managerial capability-building, and future-ready skills acceleration.
We recognise that nurturing the right talent is central to long-term organisational success. This is why we place strong emphasis on structured development programmes that target high-potential employees and future leaders. Our globally aligned Mercedes-Benz Talent & Potential Programme offers these individuals exposure to strategic business projects, cross-functional collaboration, and leadership readiness journeys that extend across borders. These initiatives are designed not just to develop competence, but to instill confidence and foster growth mindsets.
In parallel, we are equally focused on empowering our people managers to lead with clarity, empathy, and adaptability. Leadership in today’s hybrid and fast-evolving workplace goes beyond performance metrics — it demands emotional intelligence, communication agility, and the ability to inspire. Our leadership development programme, certified coaching programme, and Leadership Impulse series are carefully crafted to provide managers with the insights, tools, and frameworks they need to succeed in this new leadership paradigm.
Beyond leadership, we’re also heavily invested in building future-ready capabilities. As the automotive industry undergoes a digital transformation, we are proactively upskilling our workforce in areas like AI, digital fluency, strategic thinking, and systems innovation. Our Digital Champions act as internal catalysts, running peer-led workshops, reverse-mentoring and knowledge-sharing sessions on emerging tools such as Microsoft Copilot, Loop, and MB Direct Chat, ensuring that digital adoption is practical and relevant to employees’ daily work.
The employee learning & development journey: Why it matters to us
At the heart of our approach is a deep belief in people-first growth. We recognise each individual’s unique potential and are committed to supporting their personal and professional development at every stage.
We are intentional in creating development experiences that reflect each employee’s unique learning style, growth aspirations, and career phase.
From structured programmes to on-demand resources and collaborative learning sessions, we empower individuals to take ownership of their development journey. This ownership mindset is further encouraged through our self-learning framework, supported by platforms such as LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, and the MB Learning Management System, which are readily available and widely adopted across the organisation.
As part of our infusing experiential learning journey, we’ve partnered with Toastmasters International to launch the Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Toastmasters Club, fostering a vibrant culture of community-based learning and personal growth. This initiative provides our employees with a supportive platform to enhance their communication, public speaking, and leadership skills — all critical capabilities in today’s dynamic workplace.
By creating a safe space for self-expression and feedback, the club encourages confidence-building, cross-functional collaboration, and peer-to-peer learning. Ultimately, this aligns with our broader organisational goals of nurturing future-ready leaders, strengthening our internal talent pipeline, and cultivating a high-performance culture driven by continuous development.
To make learning truly sustainable, our leadership has championed practices that promote consistent habit-building and reflection. A key example is Focus Fridays — a leadership-driven initiative where no business meetings are scheduled and weekly block of time during the second half of every Friday across the organisation, allowing employees dedicated time to invest in their personal growth and development. This deliberate move from the leadership team not only reinforces our culture of continuous learning, but also clearly signals our unwavering, organisation-wide commitment to nurturing learning mindset.
Moreover, we understand that employee growth is holistic. Our collaboration with our EAP partner Naluri ensures that development doesn’t end with skills — it also encompasses mental wellness, resilience, and work-life balance. Through the CARE programme, employees have access to digital health coaching, mental health support, and holistic wellbeing services — reinforcing that thriving employees are the foundation of a thriving business.
We also place a strong emphasis on inclusivity and knowledge-sharing. Initiatives such as Lunch & Learn, Nugget Learning, and Gen Z-led Reverse Mentoring allow employees across levels and generations to learn from one another in a psychologically safe and engaging space. These aren’t just events — they are microcultures that reinforce our belief in shared learning, collective intelligence, and inclusive growth.
Turning our focus into impact
Translating strategy into action requires more than good intentions — it demands structure, leadership buy-in, and systems that support continuous improvement. At Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, we have built a purposeful learning ecosystem that delivers on our strategic intent while remaining agile to business needs.
Underscoring our deep commitment to continuous upskilling, we provide fully sponsored education support of up to RM20,000, flexible work arrangements for up to three years, and dedicated examination leave with goal in mind empowering our employees to pursue further studies and grow their capabilities without compromising their career progression.
Importantly, we embed learning into all touchpoints of the employee's lifecycle. Our university partnerships support entry-level pipeline development through work-based learning (WBL) programmes and industry immersion. Beyond these collaborations offer long-term value through academic partnerships, where employees (and even their family members) can access postgraduate and undergraduate courses at discounted rates. This reinforces our vision of being a lifelong learning partner, not just an employer.
Finally, our L&D model follows the 70:20:10 framework — where 70% of development comes from real-life experiences, 20% from coaching and mentoring, and 10% from formal learning. This approach grounds our ecosystem in day-to-day realities, while still offering high-quality, strategic learning when needed. By encouraging this blended approach, we ensure that learning is both scalable and sustainable.
In summary, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s L&D philosophy is not about ticking boxes — it is about transforming mindsets, empowering individuals, and future-proofing talent. We take pride in the fact that our people don’t just go through training — they go through meaningful growth.
Learning here isn’t a sidetrack — it is the main road to success, for both our people and the business.
Photo: Provided
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