Vision & Values - The Lesson Of Ikea

I've recently been reading The Ikea Edge, Anders Dahlvig's excellent account of his time at Ikea, rise to CEO, and what he learnt about management. I was inspired to read the book after listening to him on the BBC's Today programme with Simon Jack, as Dahlvig's outlook on corporate responsibility (CR) was in stark contrast to the stories of the day centred on Bob Diamond's resignation and the recent debates on CR vs shareholder value.

This has coincided with my PR clients looking to attract staff in what has become a very highly competitive market and ways to set themselves apart from the competition.

Dahlvig has some important points to make regarding attracting  the best talent, and they are fully interwoven with his vision of corporate responsibility, so I don't want to remove what he says from that context. However, his most insightful passages appear under 'The Structure of Company Culture'.

Dahlvig says that companies that create their own company culture have a competitive edge in the labour market by:

1. Creating belonging and fellowship - which in turn creates security, strength, efficiency and success

2. Brining employees together - this guides behaviour and responsibility

3. Inspires allegiance - work contributes to life, rather than simply pays for it.

In essence, "Most people want more from their lives than to just earn their keep.

...a larger meaning in work and life...is something many people look for". Organisations that achieve this will be more competitive in the labour market, so they can recruit, motivate and retain the best people. He points out that despite frequent offers of salary rises, staff tend to stay loyal to Ikea. This resonates with an example that was brought up recently at a symposium I attended on talent acquisition - that of Zappos Shoes.  Zappo's CEO (Tony Hsieh) focuses on 'delivering happiness'. Again, despite the potential to earn more money elsewhere, staff stay put and consistently score highly on satisfaction metrics. "You'd much rather support a company that inspires you than one that doesn't" says Hsieh.

Recruitment agencies are forever churning out salary surveys. Ostensibly to provide a benchmark, they clearly serve the recruiters' interests to try and increase salaries. But have these contributed to your PR agency’s hiring strategy? Let’s take a step back for a moment and consider this. How many of your staff could articulate the vision of your agency? Moreover, do you have a vision for the culture and values of your team, above and beyond generating profits? Maybe, rather than a salary survey, a culture audit would be more beneficial.