A competent assumption is that everyone knows IKEA, and with valid reason. IKEA is the biggest furniture retailer in the world and holds 415 stores in 49 countries. IKEA has around 160,000 staff, many of whom play a significant part in the growth of the brand, reinventing and stabilizing the market. In order to stay on top of the market competition, IKEA must be on their ‘A game’ with employee onboarding and proper training of their staff. IKEA has always been known for being a technologically forward company especially with the use of Employee VR Onboarding program.
IKEA’s Employee VR onboarding program
The IKEA VR-experience was offered in 18 different languages. It addressed cultural gaps and diverse working styles and, at the same time, tried to integrate co-workers to realize like they are part of a broad multinational family that is willing to see each co-worker achieve the next step. Through a company standpoint, VR technology allowed IKEA to improve the skills of its co-workers in a productive and cost-effective way.
Main objective of the VR experience
One of IKEA’s main strategies was to teach their colleagues by raising consciousness about the various job roles and how employees are inspired by IKEA’s core principles in their jobs. The aim of the VR-explore was to allow employees to experience one of the several IKEA experiences in the value chain of IKEA and to experience leadership positions.
What the experience included
Within the VR-experience, the co-workers will travel through two “Sales” worlds, where you meet Sidsel and Rafael via 360-degree photos. Throughout the videos, Sidsel and Rafael describe how and why they have become leaders and how they uphold IKEA’s core principles.
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Another immersive feature that was developed for the VR-experience was the introduction of an instructional “iPad-teacher” in the sales area. It explained how workers should use the IKEA I-sell program, which is an essential resource for sales associates.
How it benefited IKEA?
In order to promote the awareness of what IKEA values are, the VR-experience has been designed in an atmosphere where a co-worker can communicate with core IKEA values. The relationship was developed as a task, and at the same time, it had a built-in context that helped the coworker focus on their own experience and job process in terms of IKEA’s core values. Thereby making the onboarding fun and exciting at the same time very educational.
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In reality, onboarding is a part of the training. With that in mind, VR let IKEA experiment with different environments and ideas that otherwise would not be possible in a physical environment. Lastly, the Employee VR Onboarding experience helped the employees to realize the goals and rules of the entire organization.