Presentation by Group 4, Section C

Aditya | Devanand | Jashanjot | Jharana |Krishna | Pratheek | Piyush

INNOVATIVE

HR PRACTICES AT

A Sweden based retail chain which deals in furniture and house decor

itemsFORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies

to Work For” list (three consecutive years)

Has branches in around 41 countries

Working Mother magazine’s annual list of the “100 Best

Companies for Working Mothers” (four consecutive

years)

Training magazine’s annual “Top 100” ranking of companies that

excel at human capital development (four consecutive

years)

Ranked 20th in 'The World’s Most Attractive Employers 2011' in the Universum Awards, an employer

branding event

IKEA - An Introduction

Attracting Talent• Few important insights that can be

drawn from the job description are:

– By emphasizing co-worker, it is emphasizing equality in terms of how one should treat fellow employees

– About the job, “at the lowest cost” emphasizes the core DNA of the organization i.e. creating value by incrementally reducing cost points

– “Quick decision making” and “Solving problem while on the go” creates a vivid picture of dynamic work environment at IKEA

– By highlighting “improving the productivity”, Task portion reemphasizes that cost-consciousness is highly valued at IKEA

Come be Yourself with Us. ABOUT THE JOB As goods flow team leader you support your manager in leading your team in the co-ordination and optimisation of the goods flow operations under your control. This important role contributes to achieving the agreed availability of products to IKEA customers at the lowest possible costs. The position is ideally suited to a person who enjoys quick decision-making and solving daily work issues while on the go. YOUR ASSIGNMENT Your tasks will include:

planning, organising and monitoring the flow of goods within your area of responsibility in the store, i.e. from goods receiving to sales locations for replenishment so that sufficient stock is available to meet the needs of customers.

working actively to improve productivity through efficient resource planning, including managing sickness leave, staff allocation, flexible working and efficient goods flow operations.

providing input to your manager on logistics capacity requirements in your area of responsibility and the creation of a business plan and goods flow action plans.

empowering your team of co-workers by delegating responsibility to help each person grow and develop, according to their individual ability and experience.

working closely with your merchandising partners in the store commercial team to implement an efficient and successful goods flow process that leads to more sales.

YOUR PROFILE Your knowledge, skills and experience include:

You are self-reliant and motivated with a proven ability to work as part of a larger team. You are able to set expectations for others and provide clear direction and follow up. You can prioritise and organise your work and the work of others to make the most efficient use of time

available. You have a keen interest in retailing and logistics as well as experience of working in a fast-paced environment. You can adjust your style of communication to get a message across to the receiver.

GROWING TOGETHER IKEA offers an exciting and empowering work environment in a global marketplace. And as the world’s leader at life at home, you have exceptional opportunities to grow and develop together with us.

Snippet from the Job description for a team leader

Recruitment and Selection• Value Driven

– IKEA is a value driven company which espouses simplicity, teamwork, communicative forthrightness and urgency

– Core values of IKEA are cost consciousness, dynamism, flexibility and employee empowerment

– IKEA designs advertising campaigns which emphasizes these values

– IKEA is also transparent in communicating these essential values via its “Jobs at IKEA” webpage

• “Assemble your future”– Recruitment of around 300 people for one of IKEA’s

Australia units– They put in Ad “Assemble your future” leaflets in the

furniture boxes that they sold– A very cost effective campaign, which directly

harnessed its customer base– This campaign generated around ~5000 responses

and worked out successfully for IKEA

Increasing Employee’s KSA• Training

– Co-workers who have mastered their current job are encouraged to seek new challenges– Job enlargement/enrichment, changing the Job scope/location– Annual development talk to discuss and outline career paths – On-the-job training complemented by traditional classroom courses– A wide range of web-based training activities for all aspects of IKEA operations

• Selection – Emphasis on value-fit as its selection criteria– IKEA provides a co-worker as a mentor for new co-worker for some time

• Compensation– IKEA has developed global, mandatory guidelines for compensation and benefits– Each country must offer the same benefit structure for all co-workers in the country – Benefits are to be based on core IKEA values as well as local laws and market conditions

Motivation enhancing HRM practices• Internal Promotion

– One year development adventure programme that any co-worker with potential can apply for in the beginning of their career

– The participants travel to two different countries for six months each to work in different fields to what they are used to

– These Co-workers are absorbed to take leadership responsibility, forming the pool of highly skilled IKEA managers of the future

• Incentive System – Line management takes a direct role in the design and determination of reward policy in

IKEA– Emphasis on designing reward systems that best fits the local context

• Encouraging Diversity in the workplace– About 40% of the Co-Workers are women with

a great mix of nationalities– IKEA’s purchasing and retail operations in 41

different countries are led by country managers of 14 different nationalities

Empowerment enhancing HRM practices• Grievance Procedure

– “VOICE” : IKEA uses a company-wide survey called “VOICE” to monitor how co-workers view various aspects of their employment at IKEA

– The “IKEA leadership Index” quantifies how co-workers view their managers• Flexi Time

– One of the best work practices espoused at IKEA is flexible timing as per co-workers need

• Keeping Co-workers Informed– IKEA Intranet is complemented by a variety of different channels such as regular

meetings, easily accessible notice boards, newsletters and closed-circuit radio– The global co-worker Magazine Readme which is distributed to all co-workers is

translated into 19 languages– IKEA has web-enabled services on the Internet to better reach co-workers with limited

computer access at work and better access outside work

• Supporting Work-Life Balance– Co-workers of different ages are at different

stages of their lives and are delegated different activities as per their convenience

IWAY Standard• It is a code of conduct that defines the guiding principles that governs the organisation• Prevention of corruption

– The company has established the IKEA Corruption Prevention Policy and The IKEA Rules on Prevention of Corruption for its co-workers and external business partners

• Dialogue with Unions– IKEA supports each co-worker’s right to freedom of association and does not express

any preference within the institutional and recognized co-worker associations– IKEA respect the rights of its co-workers to join, form or not to join a co-worker

association

• Workers’ accident insurances– An accident insurance covering medical treatment for

work related accidents is available to all workers• Safe and Healthy Work Environment

– All co-workers within retail and distribution undergo safety training before starting to work at IKEA

Conclusion• IKEA’s innovative human resource management practices has helped build a strong

and nurturing culture that promotes diversity and creativity• In an industry characterized by high turnover, their employee friendly policy has

made IKEA a preferred employer in the retail sector

• Working in line with strategy, its HRM practices has helped in sustaining IKEA’s growth

• In many countries, IKEA is the “Employer of Choice” and globally IKEA is listed as one of the top 50 most attractive employers in 2010

• IKEA has the distinction of being in FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for three consecutive years

Thank You