This week, we distill insights around BMW Today for Tomorrow - an initiative to prepare for an aging workforce. For more about Today for Tomorrow and how BMW maintains productivity at its plants,read: http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com/peoplesinsights/bmw-today-for-tomorrow-peoples-insights-volume-2-issue-37 100+ thinkers and planners within MSLGROUP share and discuss inspiring projects on reputation, employee engagement and citizenship on the MSLGROUP Insights Network. Every week, we pick up one project and do a deep dive into conversations around it -- on the MSLGROUP Insights Network itself but also on the broader social web -- to distill insights and foresights. We share these insights with you on our People’s Insights blog and compile the best insights from the network and the blog in the People’s Insights Quarterly Magazine, as a showcase of our capabilities. We have further synthesized the insights to provide foresights for business leaders and changemakers — in the ten-part People’s Insights annual report titled Now & Next: Ten Frontiers for the Future of Engagement, now available as a Kindle eBook. For more, see: http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com/future-of-engagement

1. Reputation | Employee Engagement | Citizenship
BMW Today for
Tomorrow
People’s Insights: Volume 2, Issue 37

2. What is Today for Tomorrow?
BMW launched the Today
for Tomorrow initiative as
early as 2005, to prepare
itself for an aging
workforce. In the early
years of the initiative,
BMW introduced health
management programs for
employees.
By 2011 and 2012, BMW
piloted and implemented
ergonomic changes across
plants in Germany and is
now beginning to roll these
out internationally.
Source: csmonitor.com

3. Aging workforce at BMW
An audit on its workplace
revealed the average age
of BMW workers at its
Dingolfing plant was 39 in
2007, and was projected
to rise to 47 by 2017 (it’s
currently around 42),
raising questions like :
How does the new age
structure affect
production?
How can physical labour
be organised more
ergonomically and ageappropriately?
Source: CSR at the BMW Group report (November 2011)

4. Prevention potential
BMW identified four areas
where they could slow
down the effects of aging,
and has introduced
programs catering to all
four:
• Individual healthcare
• Qualification and
leadership
• Ergonomics & individual
working time
• Social contacts
Source: CSR at the BMW Group report (November 2011)

5. Why bother?
There are more older
people in the workforce
today, as a result of aging
and shrinking populations,
higher life expectancy,
individual aspirations and
financial hardship.
In addition to these
external trends,
companies like BMW,
simply need experienced
and high skilled workers.
Source : UN Population Ageing and Development 2012 report

6. An ergonomic makeover
In 2011, BMW simulated
the predicted average age
at a production line at the
Dingolfing plant and
piloted ergonomic changes
to combat productivity
loss. 70 changes were
introduced, including:
• barbershop chairs to
allow alternative sitting
& standing
• orthopaedic shoes for
comfort
• magnifying lenses to
reduce eye strain and
minimize sorting errors

7. Return on investment
The total investment on
the production line was
around $50,000. The
return - the group
increased productivity by
seven per cent in one
year, making it as
productive as lines made
up of younger workers.
Source: bbc.co.uk

8. Achieving scale
BMW launched similar
programs at all Germanspeaking plants – over a
few hundred sites.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
Since 2011, 10,000
employees have benefitted
from the program. An
international roll out was
launched in 2012,
beginning with a
production facility in
Austria and a plant in the
UK.
In 2012, BMW opened a
car plant specifically for
older workers.

9. Rising trend: Flexibility
BMW also supports its
older employees with
various flexible work
options, including
temporary part-time
positions, intermittent parttime work, and job-sharing
among several employees;
a sabbatical program
allowing employees an
additional 20 days off a
year; and a phased
retirement program.
Source: aarp.org

10. Are employers prepared?
The extent of BMW's
support for older workers
stands out in stark contrast
in a world where few HR
managers and boards are
actively preparing for an
aging workforce. For
instance, surveys in the
UK found that only 14% of
managers believe they are
well equipped to cope with
an ageing workforce.
Source: The Ageing UK Workforce by unum

11. Young vs old workers debate
Lack of preparedness can
be explained by the
polarized view of the
performance of older
workers – some argue that
older worker’s life
experiences help them
relate to customers better,
more patient and more
loyal; while others argue
that physical and mental
health interfere with the
job.
Source: businessweek.com and mercatornet.com

12. Read People’s Lab insights & foresights
The People’s Lab team shares the insights and foresights from the
MSLGROUP Insights Network on the People’s Insights weekly blog , quarterly
magazine and annual report.
MSLGROUP
INSIGHTS NETWORK
100+ MSLGROUP planners
share and discuss inspiring
projects on reputation,
employee engagement and
citizenship.
PEOPLE’S INSIGHTS
WEEKLY BLOG
PEOPLE’S INSIGHTS
QUARTERLY MAGAZINE
We deep dive into
conversations around one
project to distill insights and
foresights.
Every quarter, we compile the
best insights from the network
and the blog into a magazine,
as a showcase of our
capabilities.
For more, visit http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com/peoplesinsights

13. People’s Lab: Crowdsourcing Insights &
Innovation
People’s Lab is MSLGROUP’s proprietary crowdsourcing platform and
approach that helps organizations tap into people’s insight for innovation,
storytelling and change.
For more, visit http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com/peoplesinsights

14. For People’s Lab solutions,
please contact:
pascal.beucler@mslgroup.com