1.
With the emergence of the new economy, globalization has promoted the
convergence of industries through deterioration of industry boundaries
enabling firms to go international. This is relevant in the case of IKEA, a
market leader in the furniture industry, as it controlled 265 stores in 36
countries. Herein, the importance of human resources have become widely
recognized forcing organizations to reengineer their HR practices.
Accordingly, diversity management have been introduced as organizations
began to operate within an international context employing people from
different backgrounds. This model has been modified from providing equal
opportunities to minorities to include the business opportunities generated
from diverse competencies. Accordingly, IKEA emphasizes both branding
and organizational culture within its recruitment efforts as they contribute
to brand awareness which leads to higher profitability. Hence, within an
attempt to fortify its competitive advantage IKEA has resorted to employing
diverse workforce in terms of age, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender identity
and even disabilities. Such diversity brings along different knowledge bases
for IKEA thus fostering creativity and employee engagement at all
organizational levels. Furthermore, this enables IKEA to foresee the future
trend within the markets and adapt their strategies accordingly.
2. The recruitment process lies at the core of human resource management as
it is concerned with the identification of staffing needs and filling them in
adherence to the organization’s goals. It refers to all organizational
practices that generate interest in the company and affects the type and
number of employees. Further, recruitment concerns the attraction of
potential candidates via sources such as recruitment agencies, social media,
career sites, and employee referrals. The process includes the development
of attraction strategies, realistic job previews and self-assessment tools.
This applies at IKEA as its HR team fosters a culture of continuous employee
development so that it is able to achieve its business targets. Here, its
recruitment is a 3 step process starting with job postings so that potential
candidates could apply to specific open positions. However, it extends
further to include the ability of potential candidates to send their CVs via
email even in cases of absence of job postings. This enables IKEA to expand
and strengthen its talent pool so that it is able to save time upon the
emergence of any new job offering. Accordingly, IKEA’s management
undergoes screening to select qualified, fit candidates that are suitable for
the job in place.
3. Following recruitment, the sole responsibility of the HR function within
organizations is employing the right people, at the right time and in the
right place referred to as selection. Selection at IKEA centers on three
stages starting with the assessment center which includes 10 participants.
Here, participants engage in group and individual tasks so that assessors
are able to identify their strengths and weaknesses and highlight future
developmental areas. During this process participants are familiarized with
their future colleagues, thus facilitating their induction process. Secondly, 2
or 3 participants who pass the assessment sit for an interview with their
future manager where they fill a personality test and request information
about the nature of their work. Here, IKEA stresses its culture of trust as it
resorts to straightforward questions. Thirdly, the most suitable candidate is
subject to an interview with their manager’s boss referred to as
grandparent principle. Here, IKEA aims at identifying the motivational
triggers of each candidate through soliciting their expectations regarding
the organization and the role they play within it.
4. Strategic staffing centers on the idea of staffing an organization in a future-
oriented way that support the business strategy. Hence, assessing the
candidates’ fit in terms of job and organization is the mainstream of a
successful selection process. Hereby, IKEA adopts the job simulation
evaluative tool where candidates engage in group and individual activities
similar to those on the job enabling the assessment of their skills. Further,
one of the most common assessment tools are interviews which enhance
the selection process when applied effectively generating top-performers.
This method was integrated within IKEA’s selection process, however, the
questions were straightforward which hinders the effectiveness of the
interview. Moreover, applicants could be asked to sit for a personality tests
which identifies the fit of their personal traits signifying the level of their
performance on the job. However, such tests are often criticized on the
basis of accuracy and reliability. Here, such tests aren’t proven to be
successful determinants of on-job performance and candidates often
answer what they believe the employer wants to hear. Lastly, a great
initiative in IKEA’s selection process is the last interview aiming at
identifying the motivational triggers of candidates so that they are able to
reduce future turnover rates. However, despite of IKEA’s initiatives, its
selection process is considered as ineffective as some assessment tools
don’t adhere to strategic staffing and are considered unreliable.
