Engagement is an Art at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services

There are more ways for companies to make employees feel valued than offering on-site massages, pet-day-care subsidies and an on-premises single-cup coffee maker.

Take Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, for example. The company has chosen to display fantastic modern art -- "colorful, bold and not so simple to interpret" -- at its Farmington Hills, Mich., headquarters, according to the online publication OaklandCountyProsper.com.

Produced by students of the famed Cranbrook Academy of Art in nearby Bloomfield Hills, the paintings, sculptures, metalsmithing, photography and other pieces adorn hallways, cafeterias, elevator lobbies and conference rooms under a 12-year partnership between the German luxury-car brand and the school.

But Mercedes-Benz goes way beyond static displays: The company uses art to inspire and engage its employees in a variety of other ways, ranging from staff mentorship of art students in local elementary schools to an annual employee art show in the cafeteria where temporary gallery walls are installed.

All of the employees in the building are invited to submit art, the publication said, and last year 15 of them -- none of whom function as full-time artists in their daily jobs -- did exactly that.

"It brings to light the creative interests, talents and skills of people that we work with on a day-to-day basis that oftentimes people don't know about," said Leila Matta, manager of brand identity, design and the art program for Mercedes-Benz Financial Services.

"It's about developing inner skills, listening to each other, and understanding where different people are coming from."