FAQs & Useful Information

Below you’ll find answers to some common questions along with some useful documents for vans delegates. If you can not find the answer to your question, or the document you are looking for, please call the Training and Development team on: 01908 245150.

Frequently asked questions…
How do I apply for the Van Talent Programme?

If you would like to be #BePartOfUs@Mercedes-Benz, please visit our careers website https://careers.mercedes-benz.co.uk/ or email our recruitment team. for further information.

What support will I receive during the programme?

Throughout the duration of the programme you will be mentored by a member of the VanTalent Development Team.

What is mentoring? Mentoring describes a one-to-one relationship between a more experienced and a less experienced person. It is based upon encouragement, constructive comments, openness, mutual trust, respect and a willingness to learn and share.

There are five core elements in a mentoring relationship:

  • Provision of assistance by one person to another
  • A relationship outside your immediate management chain
  • A relationship that is primarily about your learning and development
  • A relationship that helps you maximise your potential
  • A focus on learning and development that is driven by your individual needs
What are the benefits of the mentoring process?

As a Trainee you should find you benefit from the mentoring process in a number of ways:

  • It provides you with someone other than your manager with whom you can share and discuss difficult situations
  • It allows you to discuss and set SMART objectives for your own progress
  • It enables you to review your performance and identify your strengths and improvement areas
  • It helps you to accept responsibility for, and take control of, your personal learning and development
  • It develops your ability to analyse issues and problems and come up with practical and effective solutions
How is progress measured and actions agreed to ensure that I am receiving the right amount of development?

Progress measurement

Measuring your progress through the programme is vital to ensure success. This is done via a series of checkpoints and assessments that take place during the programme.

Performance Checkpoints

Your performance is assessed against development milestones or specific job-related skills that you should be able to demonstrate. These milestones are aligned to the training and development activities you undertake during that period.

Personal Development Plans

Identifying your individual development needs and creating opportunities for you to address these and review your progress are key elements of the Talent Development Programme.

So you will have a Personal Development Plan (PDP) focusing on the development areas that have the biggest impact on your development. The PDP identifies specific actions you can take to improve your performance over a specified period of time, usually 3, 6 or 12 months.

It is completed by your Business Mentor, or an appropriately qualified member of your Dealership's Management Team, with input from you and your Field Mentor. The PDP invites you, your Mentors and Dealership staff closely involved with supervising your work, to review your progress against specific targets and identify further ways for you to improve your performance.

The programme overview mentions shadowing and secondments, what are these and where do they happen?

During the Talent Development Programme you complete a series of shadowing periods, generally 1 to 2 weeks each, in different departments of the dealership. These ensure you fully understand how each department works and help you to achieve your maximum potential in the future.
You also undertake a series of secondments. These include:

  • Used Van Sales (if it's not part of your role)
  • Customisation/bodybuilding department or contractor
  • Key customer (fleet or multinational). This will enable you to develop your knowledge of how various customers operate, their business requirements, and to understand different buyer behaviours and needs

You are responsible for organising your shadowing periods and secondments with your line manager. A schedule of the shadowing periods and secondments, together with the structured learning tasks that accompany them is provided separately.

The programme overview mentions assignments, what are these and where do they happen?

Assignments are used throughout the programme to measure your knowledge and understanding and your ability to apply this to your experience in the workplace. There are three different types of assignment:

Shadowing and secondment assignments

In order to consolidate the knowledge you gain during your shadowing periods and secondments, you will complete a piece of structured learning for each one you complete.

Workplace assignments

Over the course of the programme, you will be set a series of work-based assessments. These serve a dual purpose; to encourage you to reflect on your experiences so far and to enable you to achieve a professional sales qualification.

Business improvement projects

You are required to complete 2 business improvement projects throughout the programme. One is based on a fictional dealership and the other your own dealership. These focus on activities that have a real impact on the value and performance of your dealership. You present your findings to key stakeholders, including your dealership sponsor, mentors and senior representatives from Mercedes-Benz, at an event held at the end of each year, these will mark the completion of the programme.

Will I gain a qualification at the end of the programme?

As part of the Talent Development Programme, you have the opportunity to work towards a professional sales qualification.

The curriculum covered by the Talent Development Programme has been aligned with the requirements of an internationally renowned sales institute to ensure it covers the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to obtain the qualification.

You need to complete the workplace assessments which have been specifically designed to be applicable to the van sales environment. These are assessed by your Field Mentor.

You also need to create and maintain a portfolio to provide evidence of your experience and competence. Your Field Mentor, in conjunction with your Business Mentor, are responsible for helping you collect and display appropriate evidence.

How will I keep track of where I am in the programme and keep in touch with my mentor and others on the programme?

Mercedes-Benz TalentLive Facebook page is a closed community that connects you with other trainees on the Talent Development Programme, your mentoring team and the Training Programme Manager.

It enables you to view and interact with:

  • Communications
  • Latest news
  • Resources
  • Programme updates
  • Questions and Answers
  • Achievements