Why Is Our Culture & Values Important For The Many?

For those who are unfamiliar with IPC Shopping Centre, our centre is anchored by IKEA hence we have also adapted IKEA’s culture and values in the way we think and work. The first version of the key values was drafted in the early 90s and has since been modernised and simplified to ensure that the guiding values are relevant to the current work trend, but also inspiring for the co-workers to implement in their daily operation.

The IKEA culture and values have always been an integral part in our way of work. Therefore, we always recruit on values first, then on competence and diversity whenever we recruit new talents to ensure that we find the right fit of people to join and grow together with the company. We also hold on to the IWAY standard which describes the minimum requirement on environment, social and working conditions that both ourselves and vendors or service providers must meet at all times, when purchasing or supplying products, materials and services. We recognise that our business has an impact on the people and planet, thus we strongly believe that we can do good businesses and in turn, be a good business partner to work with for external parties that identify with our values. We contribute to helping people and workers to live better lives.

Our co-workers are able to work towards the aligned goals and objectives together because they often refer to the IKEA values as “the way we do things around here” or simply known as “the IKEA Way”. Check out our 8 key values here: Togetherness, Caring for People and Planet, Cost Consciousness, Simplicity, Renew and Improve, Different with a Meaning, Give and Take Responsibility, and lastly, Lead by Example.

Vickie Loke, our Assistant Marketing Manager, loves this value the most – Caring for People and Planet. As quoted by Vickie, “It is important for businesses and individuals to adopt practices that help to minimize the negative impact on the environment. We should all take a step further down the sustainability path to create a sustainable future for many generations to come. In the long run, this value of Caring for People and Planet will be beneficial to mother nature, but also provide a safe work environment, living conditions, and economic growth to society and communities”. An organization’s culture defines the people’s behaviour within the organization and interaction with the world. An organization that has impactful values and cultures will be able to attract good talent that is willing to contribute to the business and society.

‘Togetherness’ is another favourite pick from our Customer Service Officer, Nur Iman, which is a key value that she holds closest to her heart while working in IPC Shopping Centre. “I’m rather new in this organization and I receive so much support from co-workers in every department to deliver a satisfactory customer experience for shoppers. I also maintain a good relationship with every tenant that makes me feel at home”. Ingvar Kamprad, our founder, once said, “IKEA is not the work of one person alone. It is the result of many minds and many souls working together through many years of joy and hard work. Iman added “With the same value and culture, we can better understand each other and align with the organisation's goals together”.

Mark Tan

Mark Tan, our Acting Deputy Centre Manager (also our Value Ambassador), is very inspired by IKEA value. “Without IKEA values which serves as guidance and tools in the way we do things – we would not be the successful brand we are today”. He continues, “the more I learnt about IKEA’s history and how much the values and culture inspired the business in the way we do things, the more inspired I got”.

“What makes us different from the rest and it has proven since Ingvar’s (IKEA founder) time that we need to be grounded by our roots (values) to be able to see growth”, said by Mindy Ng, our Tenant Management Manager (also our Value Ambassador). It is always better to give (your time, knowledge, experiences) than to receive. Though it is never easy to run a race, remembering how Ingvar worked against all odds to build the IKEA brand, he did it with the values he believed in and he ran a good race together with his people.