Howdy HR friends!👋

Hope you’re all having a great start to the week!

Before we dive into all things IKEA, remember to check out our advertising page: it’s 20% off for ads in the newsletter before the end of June!

Let’s jump in and talk IKEA (bonus points if you pronounce it like the Swedes do).

🚦Coming up

In today’s edition

🏡 The Secret Sauce Behind IKEA's Extraordinary Company Culture

🛋️ The Break Room: Which IKEA-inspired culture approach would work best at your company?

📚 Human Readsources: Supporting LGBTQ+ employees, navigating cautious hiring trends, and addressing AI job displacement concerns.

💭Opening thoughts

See figure 4.1 and connect part 4 to part 9

The less said about the assembly instructions the better?! But they have built an incredible brand and culture: there’s no denying that.

So how does IKEA maintain a 21% employee turnover rate compared to the retail industry's staggering 50%? Oh, and all while operating across 60 countries with a consistent Swedish corporate identity?

This remarkable retention stems from a strategically crafted company culture that proves as meticulously designed as their iconic furniture.

Deliberate cultural engineering = measurable business results.

As HR leaders, you too can leverage IKEA's approach by treating cultural development as a systematic process rather than leaving it to chance.

So what behind-the-scenes cultural frameworks transformed IKEA into a place where people genuinely want to work? And how can we adapt these to build (and improve) our own retention-boosting workplace culture.

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🧠Let’s unpick

🌱 The Secret Sauce Behind IKEA's Extraordinary Company Culture

In a world where retail employees typically bounce faster than a customer looking for the exit, IKEA has managed to create something remarkable—a culture so strong it cuts turnover to less than half the industry average.

This isn't accidental. Their culture is deliberately built on Småland values: resourcefulness, thriftiness, and innovation, all wrapped in a people-first approach that makes employees actually want to stick around.

As CHRO Ulrika Biesërt puts it, "Culture is our superpower... it's the foundation for everything we do". Even as they navigate digital transformation and global expansion, they've maintained their founder's vision across 60 markets and 230,000 employees.

Looking to bottle some of that IKEA magic, start with values-based recruitment rather than just experience-focused hiring.

Create your own version of their "Go Bananas Card" that explicitly gives people permission to take risks.

And consider cultural immersion programs that use storytelling to connect employees with your company's heritage.

If you really want to go the extra mile: here at HRBP we also vote for mandatory meatballs in the staff canteen.😂

You can read more at...

🔗 IKEA's Global HR Leaders on Culture and Belonging (Eletive)

🔗 People-Powered Culture: IKEA's Småland Roots Shape Global Vision (Inter IKEA)

🔗 IKEA's Culture Keeper: Preserving Founder's Values in Digital Age (Raconteur)

👀Too long didn’t read

TLDR

Hire for values not just skills, create explicit permission for risk-taking, and invest in cultural immersion—the IKEA way.

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🎬Lights, camera, action!

Takeaway and try

🔄 Start a "Values Immersion Day" where new hires experience your company's origin story through interactive activities rather than PowerPoint slides. Nothing builds cultural connection faster than feeling the "why" behind your organization.

🏆 Redesign your recognition program to celebrate employees who embody your core values, not just those hitting performance metrics. When you publicly reward the behaviors that define your culture, you get more of them.

🗣️ Create a "Cultural Vocabulary" guide with terms unique to your organization that reinforce your values. IKEA's "Democratic Design" language helps everyone understand what matters, regardless of their role or location.

🧩 Implement cross-departmental "Culture Squads" with representatives from different teams who meet monthly to discuss how company values translate to daily work. These ambassadors become your cultural immune system.

🔍 Revamp your interview process to include scenario-based questions that reveal how candidates would respond to situations that test your core values. Past experience matters less than cultural alignment for long-term retention.

☕The break room

What’s your take?

📚Additional reading

Human Readsources

📄 Companies Lack LGBTQ+ Support Despite Employee Needs (HR Dive) - Most companies lack LGBTQ+ resource groups; workers report comfort decline.

📊 US Job Growth Slows Amid Economic Uncertainty (HR Dive) - Steady employment growth amid signs of labor market cooling.

🤖 Klarna CEO Warns AI Job Cuts May Trigger Recession (HR Grapevine) - Klarna CEO warns AI job cuts could trigger recession.

That’s it for today.

Thanks for reading to the end and we hope today’s edition sparked some new ideas for your workplace! 🧠

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