In conversation with Jeff Bakes, Head of Total Rewards at IKEA

Can we move forward without looking back? In an insightful interview from the Reward and Payroll summit 2023, Jeff Bakes provides a glimpse into IKEA’s strategies for talent attraction, retention, and company culture.

Bakes discusses how IKEA uses its unique employer brand to stand out among job seekers, emphasising the importance of flexibility as seen through hybrid work options, work-life balance, and accommodating the family and personal responsibilities of employees. We also learn IKEA has an extremely multi-generational workforce, ranging from age 16 to 86, allowing them to meet the diverse needs and preferences of both older staff and digital native employees.

Driving IKEA’s talent initiatives is a focus on fair compensation, with Bakes actively advocating for living wages that provide families a reasonable standard of living. IKEA invests heavily in onboarding, especially in the first 5 days of an employee life cycle. According to Bakes, rigorous onboarding boosts retention dramatically, giving an 80% chance new hires passing their 18-month mark will stay for over 12 years on average.

To monitor engagement, IKEA frequently surveys staff and reviews feedback to tailor their policies, processes and employee supports to evolving needs. Managers have continuous one-on-one conversations as relationship-building is seen as the key driver of retention and workforce productivity. While low turnover is often perceived positively, Bakes feels moderate turnover allows new perspectives to cycle into IKEA’s organisational culture.

Bakes also explains how IKEA adapted to enable remote work for appropriate functions by upskilling leaders on digital tools and communications best practices. IKEA’s culture remains firmly rooted in Scandinavian social values focused on empowering the collective employee voice rather than status symbols or hierarchies.

Watch the full interview with Jeff Bakes Head of Total Rewards at IKEA: