1. IMUST to 7 – MUST
One of my unique learning’s of working in IKEA was IWAY i.e., the IKEA way of doing business, a code of compliance to be always abided by, has key elements such as IMUST and IBasic which apply to suppliers and the IKEA offices themselves in letter and spirit. Inviolable at all times, these principles correspond to themes such as human rights, environmental preservation, safety of workers etc. and reflect the company’s values forming a foundation for its sustainability.
This concept of having non-negotiable ‘musts’ for the operations of the organization have inspired the 7 MUSTS of Lotus Petal Foundation. These rules range from guidelines about education standards, nutrition, environment sustainability to quality of work which has secured the everyday basics of school operations.
2. Culture supporting Work Life Synergy
At IKEA, I found considerable value placed upon supporting the work-life balance of employees which encompassed various aspects like flexible working hours, meetings scheduled to allow employees to avoid weekend travels and career decisions factoring personal life situations and priorities.
Encouraging synergy between the professional and personal spheres of an employee’s life is an important part of Lotus Petal as well. The work week is limited to 36 to 40 hours, akin to European standards of employment. Ideas such as Detox-Talk, borrowed from the Swedish concept of Development talk, encourage the employees to candidly share problems, find a safe space for self-expression and develop further as an individual. All this encourages employees to lead a holistic life at work and home. All employees are equipped with fundamental social security through schemes such as Employee State Insurance (ESI) and Provident Fund (PF), 6 months Maternity Benefits and Medical cover of Rs.5 lacs per family member and supported with other initiatives like compassionate leave to take care of personal life situations.
3. VOICE to VOICE IT
At IKEA, I found an open listening culture rather than unidirectional instruction. The voice of the employees is highly valued. The results of the annual VOICE survey conducted by a third party is viewed as an important part of building strong employee engagement and providing those in leadership roles clarity and direction.
At Lotus Petal, we have VOICE IT, an anonymous survey has been conducted for the last 4 years. An integral part of gauging the thoughts and sentiments of the employees, it provides a means for people to share their concerns, opinions, and ideas. Actions taken based on these surveys has helped improve performance at all levels and employees feel like valued stakeholders. It has helped build Lotus Petal into a certified Great Place to Work. The attrition rate of employees with more than 3 years working more than 2 years is < 1,5%.
4. Simple and effectives working methods
IKEA employs a multitude of innovative systems to facilitate the way problems and possible solutions are handled. Many of these are utilized at Lotus Petal.
They include the Start-Stop-Continue feedback approach to gauge a relevant estimate of projects and feedback; the 4-room apartment approach, employed at every level (personal, departmental, organizational) to evaluate issues; Checking-in and checking-out system, a way to express understanding and mindset at the beginning and end of meetings and certain processes such as the Contract Review, which we use to execute all CSR projects creating an internal agreement between the various parties involved, in case of any errors we deploy the Root Cause Analysis and work with Corrective Action Preventive Action (CAPA).
All these concepts have assisted in streamlining the tasks and have improved efficiency at Lotus Petal.
5. Leadership
IKEA deploys a distinctive leadership development process and some of those learnings have been deeply engrained in my leadership style. The focus on continuous improvement – making something better by a small measure every single day has helped fine tune the entire academic process into a scientific method of education children from less privileged backgrounds. Daring to be different has helped us take decisions which have lifted the organization scope and reach. The decision to provide all students with digital devices in May 2020 was one of them. You are allowed to make mistakes was something I heard for the first time in my career at IKEA. At Lotus Petal we have built a culture around this of “Smart Mistakes” i.e., mistakes we learn from and develop better ways to do it the next time. The recruitment process of IKEA helped me understand the importance in the primary analysis of a candidate to see the fitment into the culture and atmosphere of the organization plus the additional grandparent interview by someone besides the hiring manager and HR staff ensures an impartial decision. At Lotus Petal too the same process has been followed by default and now is being structured as part of the hiring process with the prime focus has been on the harmonious integration of a person into the organization. This approach has proved exceedingly successful in attracting the talented people who are able to perform well and sustain the desired work culture.
The focus on quality in the everyday life, cost consciousness and an overall sense of wellbeing and fulfilment are difficult to be mapped by a metrics or a process but are critical elements of building an organization that values the individual and the environment. They formed the sublime of my tenure with IKEA.
Many things remain to be done and we look ahead to a glorious future in which every child gets equal opportunity.
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From a modest one room school with 7 students Lotus Petal is today providing direct education to over 1000 students in our own schools, helping over 500 students in government schools and community services to over 500,000 people annually. Alumni from our programs are employed in the formal sector or pursing higher professional education.
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