How Ikea kept their staff happy amid a quitting spike - taking simple steps to make their lives more pleasant

Ikea has successfully stemmed the tide of staff turnover by taking simple steps to make its workers' lives more pleasant. 

Workers were fleeing the company in their droves in 2022, but a series of popular changes including flexible schedules and more generous compensation packages have since helped reverse the trend. 

By 2023, voluntary turnover for the Swedish firm's American outfit had dropped from a third of all employees to around a quarter of all. 

Globally the quit rate fell to 17.5 percent in April from 22.4 percent in August 2022 - a statistic that represents its parent company's more than 600 stores and warehouses across 63 markets, Bloomberg reported.

It comes as voluntary attrition elsewhere in the retail sector continues to tick up, compared to white-collar sectors where hiring has slowed, keeping it lower.

Ikea has successfully stemmed the tide of staff turnover by taking simple steps to make its workers' lives more pleasant, numbers from last year show. Pictured, staffers protesting outside the Ikea headquarters in Germany this time last year

Recalling the previously high quit-rate, Jon Abrahamsson Ring, chief executive officer of the umbrella entity that oversees Ikea's store franchising, product design and supply chain , told Bloomberg how workers 'suddenly became very scarce' in 2022

Recalling the previously high quit-rate, Jon Abrahamsson Ring, chief executive officer of the umbrella entity that oversees Ikea's store franchising, product design and supply chain, told Bloomberg how workers 'suddenly became very scarce'.  

That year, more than 62,000 employees departed for various reasons - half of them leaving before their first anniversary, he said.

The company quickly realized that each departure was costing the company about $5,000.

So the business began paying more, Abrahamsson Ring said, raising starting wages, bonuses, and closing gender pay gaps across the board.

 In London, base pay rose from £11 ($14)- an hour to £13.15 ($16.75). 

The UK also added a new starting pay for stores outside London, where the cost of living was much higher than other regions, Abrahamsson Ring explained.

Another big problem was that many new hires were quitting within just a few months of starting, with just 60 percent of hires staying for at least three months - compared to its 85 percent target for the UK/Ireland, Bloomberg reported.    

At the time, the retailer's onboarding process was in desperate need of a revamp, Abrahamsson Ring said - citing infrequent feedback from managers and new hires being left unclear as to who they were to reach out to for advice. 

That year, more than 62,000 employees departed for various reasons - half of them leaving before their first anniversary, he said. Pictured, a check out line at a US Ikea

The company quickly realized that each departure was costing the company about $5,000. By 2023, voluntary turnover for the Swedish firm's American outfit had dropped from a third of all employees to around a quarter of all

Moreover, many professionals felt empowered by the pandemic and had no qualms jumping ship to a firm better prepared for them, explained Country People and Culture Manager of IKEA UK, Darren Taylor.

'Coming out of Covid, people re-evaluated what was important to them, and work-life balance became more important,' he explained.

'So it required a big change in terms of how we positioned ourselves to attract people into retail,' he added. 

Meanwhile, In the US, UK and Canada, employee turnover had risen above 30 percent by the time Abrahamsson Ring took the reins in September 2020.

Several left because they deemed the process of swapping shifts too difficult, while other cited slower-than-desired wages.

In India, parents quit due to meager child-related benefits, as well as low pay.

The US hiked its hourly wages to between $16 and $18 depending on the location in 2022. 

The firm responsible for staffing Ikea's 53 stores across the country also pivoted to putting its scheduling tool online to help accommodate last minute tweaks. 

The US went on to hike its hourly wages to between $16 and $18 depending on the location in 2022

The firm responsible for staffing Ikea's 53 stores across the country also pivoted to putting its scheduling tool online to help accommodate last minute tweaks

'Small things,' on senior staffer said of the sprawling system of changes, many of them slight. '[They] make a big difference.' Pictured, the biggest Ikea in the US, found in Burbank, California

But for one US worker who also spoke to Bloomberg, these changes were not enough, recently quitting after a conflict with a colleague escalated into disciplinary action, she told the paper.

The sales associate, who asked to remain anonymous, quit when managers aligned against her, she said - with rigid scheduling rules forcing her to miss several critical medical appointments. 

In other employee surveys, other workers griped that was still more work to do in the US, citing poor communication and micromanaging. 

Still, store workers there and across the globe are sticking around longer.

In India, where subsidized daycare is immensely important to citizens, 26 weeks of parental leave for mothers and fathers and a five-day workweek were provided. Six days is typically the norm for Indian retailers.

In the UK, part-time staff who complained they did not get enough hours are now being offered additional remote roles and call answering work. 

To retain students, the firm has introduced shifts on weekends only, or just during school breaks.

'Small things,' said Taylor of the sprawling system of changes, many of them slight. '[They] make a big difference.'