BOSTIN NEWS / IKEA Birmingham / 05-06 2018

I K E A B I R M I N G H A M M AY-J U N E 2 0 1 8

BOSTIN NEWS

PICK ME UP!

SUMMER DOUBLE ISSUE IDAHOT 2018

S AT’ H W DE? I S IN ENTRANCE & EXIT PROJECT UPDATE CYCLE2WORK + LOT’S MORE!

FY19 BUSINESS PLAN LAUNCH

NEW PAX/PLATSA OPENING

H E A LT H & W E L L B E I N G

Hej!

2

NTS E T CON

4

STORE MESSAGE with Emma Brannigan-Lawson

8

CO-WORKER OF THE MONTH April-May

10

BRAND NEW WARDROBES DEPARTMENT

15

WALK FOR DREAMS Get involved in our charity walk to raise money for local charity, Promise Dreams!

16

FY19 BUSINESS PLAN KICK OFF

20

IKEA VALUE OF THE MONTH

21

BENEFIT OF THE MONTH Cycle2Work

22

LIVE LAGOM What is LAGOM?

26

IDAHOT 2018 Internation Day Against Homphobia, Biphobia and Transphobia

28

ENTRANCE & EXIT PROJECT UPDATE with Dawn Lloyd

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IKEA 75

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IKEA BIRMINGHAM’S CARPARK EXTENSION

36

LOGISTICS & FULL SERVE UPDATE

40

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

3

STORE MESSAGE WITH EMMA IFS UPDATE

Emma IFS Manager

Team Birmingham!

Coventry Business Plan Launch

4

HEJ, WELCOME TO THIS MONTHS ISSUE OF BOSTIN NEWS! Wow, what beautiful weather we have had this month!

Unfortunately the weather has had a big impact on our sales performance. During these challenging times we need to take every opportunity to offer our customers the best possible shopping experience, to upsell to the customers we do have in store and to adapt quickly by using our fantastic range to our advantage.

A great example of this is what Noelene from IKEA Food did over the very hot Royal Wedding weekend in the entrance to Cookshop.

a Noelene & Emm

In week 16 a number of lucky steering members and fellow coworkers were invited to the FY19 Business Plan Kick Off event at Heart of England, Conference & Event Centre in Coventry.

At the beginning of May the store steering group and the chosen co-workers hosted all of the store management team to deliver the FY19 Business Plan.

There is a huge amount of information that the management team needed to condense down into a memorable message for our store to take forward into FY19.

We will share this exciting information at the Business Plan kick off event on Sunday 15th July. More information of the event will follow and please keep this date free in your diary.

Week 18 B Plan Lau usiness nch

5

STORE MESSAGE CONTINUED To give you a taster of what this looks like, the FY19 priorities for food are: • Making healthy food accessible and affordable for the many – to become number 1 destination for families with children • Competence development & leadership • New restaurant experience in London – watch this space for the new Greenwich store • IKEA Food available on-line On the 10th of May we saw the opening of the new Exeter store. In the words of Gillian Drakeford “The opening of our 21st store in the UK is another significant step in our ambitious expansion plans. We are hugely excited to be bringing our retail offering to the South West as we aim to bring the IKEA brand and concept even closer to the many people.” We wish the best of luck and lots of success to the store manager Nick Earle and his team in Exeter!

On the 11th May we hosted our UK board members, this was yet another successful visit and our board chair Katya asked us to pass on the message of how good the store is looking! Katya is now on parental leave for some time so she also wanted us to share that she has “been very proud to have been part of our journey and that she is also very proud of us all.” Massive well done everyone!

To celebrate the opening of our brand new wardrobes department and showcase our new PLATSA range we invited all co-workers and customers to take part in a pyjama day.

All co-workers and customers in their pyjamas received a free meal provided by IKEA food in the restaurant.

I would like to close with a huge congratulations and well done to our Food team here and at Birmingham OCP for passing the Food Safety Audit with a whopping 97% result in store and 95% in the OCP. And to you all, keep up the great work everyone!

Thanks, Emma

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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY JUNE TERTIAL 2

SUN 27

MON MAY

28

TUE 29

WED 30

THUR

FRI

31

SAT

1

2

AUGUST NEWS STARTS TO ARRIVE 3

WEEK 23

4

5

6

7

8

9

SALE STARTS

MAY HALF TERM ENDS

1st June - 7th July

3.50

10

WEEK 24

11

12

13

14

Write down numbers and locations and pick up at

AISLE

15

16

BIN

WORLD CUP STARTS 17

WEEK 25

18

19

20

ENTRANCE & EXIT BUILD BEGINS 24

WEEK 26

21

22

23

29

30

MID SUMMER

25

26

27

28

PAY DAY

MAY HALF TERM

7

CO-WORKER OF THE MONTH

APRIL Congratulations to the following who were also nominated for April: Bod, Josh Humpage, Kassim, Michelle Jones, Mick Jordan, Mitten, Nicola Bagdi and Paul Hawthorn.

SHANE CARTER LOGISTICS

Want to nominate someone for coworker of the month?

Simply fill out a form in HR and drop it in the box provided!

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“Gone through a tough time but gets his head down and nails his role and responsibilities.

Shane is a quiet guy but a credit to the store. I wish people had more appreciation for what he does. Highly thought of from a Sec-Check and iMonitor point of view.�

H E A LT H & W E L L B E I N G

MAY

BHARTI MIST RY-BHO BEDROOMS

“The past few w eeks have been diffi cult for Bharti but sh e remained strong has for bedrooms and IKEA. She is a strong woman and a role mod el for people in IKEA .”

GAL f recent “In light o l that Bharti e events I fe trated s n o m e d s ha a strong is e that sh l for all role mode . She has rs co-worke togetherness e th d ie rr rted ca has suppo d n e value a h e store! S us all in th roud of p should be herself.”

A huge well done to Cassie Smith & Stacey Cooper who were also nominated for May’s Co-Worker of the Month!

9 7

OUR BRAND NEW WARDROBES DEPARTMENT! CHANGING THE WAY WE MEET THE CUSTOMER

Say hello to our brand new wardrobes department! An exciting, efficient and improved shopping experience for our customers and a brilliant working environment for our co-workers.

The rebuild includes less but smarter wardrobe combinations, a brand new PAX/planning studio and space for our new PLATSA range.

NEW

PAX PLANNING STUDIO

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NEW AND IMPROVED PLANNING BOOTHS We now have new and improved planning areas for customers wanting to design their own wardrobe combination with or without the help of a co-worker.

More space, comfier seating and privacy helps give customers using this area a far better shopping experience.

OPEN PLAN, SPACIOUS AND EASY TO SHOP The new open plan studio allows for customers to easily shop the full PAX/ KOMPLEMENT range, plan, order and speak to coworkers. It’s a far more lighter, relaxed and easily navigated department to what it was which was crucial as Bedrooms contributes as one of our biggest turnovers!

COMMUNICATING PROUDLY, OUR WAYS TO SHOP AND SERVICES

Offering something for everyone - our incredible range of services emphasises our affordability as well as showing and acting upon our commitment to providing for the many people.

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MAKING ROOM FOR PLATSA

NEW

BRAND NEW PLATSA STUDIO

We now also have the full PLATSA range out on the shop floor in it’s very own studio space. The area includes frames, fittings and doors as well as an accessory wall complete with STUK interior storage boxes.

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PLATSA is a combination range that works very similarly to PAX and STUVA - the customer has full freedom to customize their own personal wardrobe combination. There’s also a touch screen that enables customers to browse the IKEA website and view other PLATSA combinations.

GROWTH, GROWTH, GROWTH! After the rebuild of both PAX and PLATSA we saw immediate growth on system wardrobes, interior organisers and solitaire wardrobes.

We also saw an increase in GM (Growth Margin). This is fantastic news for our store and showsw the rebuild is performing!

Before the build

SALES FIGURES WEEK 10

GM0 WEEK 10

SYSTEM WARDROBES

£95K

43.28%

INTERIOR ORGANISERS

£53K

56.06%

SOLITAIRE WARDROBES

£45K

27.16%

After the build

SALES FIGURES WEEK 15

GM0 WEEK 15

SYSTEM WARDROBES

£102K

42.22%

INTERIOR ORGANISERS

£58K

56.20%

SOLITAIRE WARDROBES

£48K

27.65%

PLATSA has also been consistently performing week on week after it’s arrival in store, showing increases on turnover since the rebuild.

WEEK

TURNOVER

14

£2,500

15

£2,800

16

£4,100

17

£6,189

A HUGE THANK YOU FROM BHARTI GOES OUT TO...

“Everyone involved in the rebuild - the whole Bedrooms Team, Comm&In and Logistics! We couldn’t have done it without you!”

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GRAND OPENING CELEBRATIONS! To celebrate the opening of PAX/PLATSA we held a pyjama day - thank you to everyone that took part!

PYJAMA DAY

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WALK FOR DREAMS

Join us for a 10 miles sponsored walk and help make dreams come true for terminally and seriously ill children Himley Cricket Club to Wolverhampton Racecourse

SUNDAY 1ST JULY 11AM START ?

WANT TO JOIN It’s not too late to sign up!

Please speak to or email kaylesh.vadukul@ikea.com (Marketing) for more info & please liase with your line managers first!

Let’s make dreams come true! #TeamIKEABirmingham

FY19 BUSINESS PLAN KICK OFF It’s that time of the year again and this year we’re going to launch it better than ever!

During Week 16 - a group of our steering team and co-workers went to take part in the FY19 Business Plan Kick Off (BP) in Coventry, for 2 days. Here we learnt about all what’s to come for our next financial year which we’ll soon be bringing back to you all in store!

WEEK 16 LAUNCH IN COVENTRY

16

Bringing the Business Plan back to store 2 weeks later in Week 18 we launched the Business Plan to all leaders and the co-worker committee. It was a great 2 days which we all came together to agree and discuss how we will be moving forward into FY19!

Jack, Amy & Olivia

Kirsty, Olivia, Liam, Chris and Jack

WEEK 18 Nick

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What’s covered in the Business Plan?

Over the two days spent both in Coventry and in-store, the BP was split into two sections. The first day was focused on the business as a whole (Cost Performance, Double Digit Growth, Innovation and Transformation) and the second being more values and people based (Leading in the Unknown, Vulnerability, Leadership Values.)

Keep these ideas in the front of your mind and get ready to learn about what they all mean when we bring the Business Plan to coworkers in July!

Launching our Leadership Values and re-launching our Key Values

TOGETHERNESS OPENNESS

One of the huge focus areas for FY19 is around our Key Values and our new Leadership Values: Togetherness, Openness and Responsiblity. This is a new approach in which we want to make sure our values are at the heart of everything we do to strenghten our business goals and the IKEA culture for future.

RESPONSIBILITY

THE THRE E C’s

The 3 C’s We also summarised the Business Plan Kick Off with these 3 C’s which we plan to put forward to everyone in the store to help us achieve growth in FY19 - together!

GROWTH

Co-worker 18

Customer

Cost

We’re bringing the FY19 Business Plan to you!

Keep your eyes peeled, your minds open and get ready to learn as we bring the Business Plan Kick Off to all co-workers next month.

We’re still finalising plans on what’s going be happening but more information will follow shortly - it’s going to be a great evening where we all come together and learn how we’re going going to tackle FY19.

Co-Worker Business Plan Kick Off Sunday 15th July

SAVE THE DATE 19

IKEA VALUE OF THE MONTH

Give and take responsiblity It is a privilege to take responsibility and be accountable.

This means taking ownership, making decisions and following through.

It takes courage and leadership to give responsiblity and delegate tasks to those who want to grow and take one more Give someone else responsiblity and you’ll both grow!

For all 8 IKEA key values, visit IKEA toolbox: toolbox.inter-ikea.com/ikeavalues

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DO YOU KNOW YOUR BENEFITS?

A government-approved salary sacrifice initiative What is it?

The cycle to work scheme is a Government-approved salary sacrifice initiative allowing you to hire a bike and accessories from your employer for the purpose of cycling to work. The hire is free of tax and national insurance which means you can make savings whilst keeping fit, reducing your carbon footprint and spending less time in your car.

Eligibility The scheme is available to UK taxpayers who pay their tax under the PAYE system.

If you do not pay tax or if by entering into a salary sacrifice scheme, this would take you under the national minimum wage, then you cannot take advantage of a tax saving. Check your pay

BENEFIT OF THE MONTH...

CYCLE2WORK LAUNCHING 1ST JUNE

slip to confirm if you are a UK taxpayer or not. If you need support calculating what your new salary would be, please contact SSC. What is a salary sacrifice?

Salary Sacrifice is a contractual agreement whereby your salary is reduced by a given amount in return for the employer providing a benefit, usually of the same value. The reduction in salary means your National Insurance contributions, and in some cases tax contributions, will actually be reduced.

How do I apply?

Find out more and signup at www.cycle2work. info using employer code: IKEAC2W To view the communication pack and FAQ see P:Drive/ Available To All/Cycle 2 Work

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Live LAGOM WHAT IS LAGOM?

Just the right amount

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The Swedish word LAGOM means just the right amount - not too much, and not too little, not too hot but not too cold. This concept of balance has been part of the Swedish psyche and way of life for years. We believe, that’s what living a rewarding but responsible life is all about: not sacrificing what you love, while not taking more than you need from the planet. It’s a powerful idea, with the potential to change how people feel about sustainability.

WHAT IS THE LIVE LAGOM PROJECT?

WHO IS TAKING PART IN FY18 LIVE LAGOM?

Live LAGOM is a 3-year Customer & Co-worker engagement project.

As part of our Live LAGOM project, we supported IKEA customers and co-workers with products, workshops, bespoke advice and an active community to help save energy and water, reduce waste and promote a healthy lifestyle.

Through their experience, we wanted to learn how to make sustainability affordable and easy to achieve.

21 stores (including Exeter, Sheffield & Greenwich), 2 Customer Support Centres, 1 Distribution Centre and all 5 Order & Collection Points! This means for FY18 we have 38 Project Leaders, 92 co-worker ambassadors and 146 customers.

That’s a total over the last 3 years of 88 Project Leaders, 286 co-worker ambassadors who are consistently inspiring the business with their leadership skills and product knowledge gained on the project along with 376 customers!

WHAT ARE THE LIVE LAGOM WORKSHOPS? For FY18 we have 6 in store workshops that are run by the Project Leaders and Ambassadors to inspire and engage participants and co-workers with fun, lively, timely, relevant sustainable living advice. So far over 430 households have attended the first 3 workshops with a 97% attendance rate. The workshops are consistently scoring high with 46% scoring 10/10 , 30% scoring 9/10 and no score lower than 7!

This is testament to the Project Leaders & ambassadors hard work, passion and enthusiasm!

They are also working closely with sales to track any increases on focused products!

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE? Join our Live LAGOM community and by making small changes in your life you can live a happier, healthier lifestyle by joining our Facebook page! We currently have over 910 members. Want to join?

Please email livelagom@ikea. com with the email address you used to sign up to Facebook. You can also search using the hashtag #LiveLAGOM for inspirational stories and tips!

To find out more about LAGOM visit www.ikea.com/gb/en/ ikea/ikea-live-lagom & to get involved in store, please speak to Kaylesh or Liam (Marketing & Internal Comms)

sustainable living

Small changes that make a world of difference

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SALE 7th June - 1st July

IKEA Family members get an extra 10% off sale prices

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FIRST AID TRAINING 2nd July 4 day course What are the benefits?

First aid training gives you the confidence and ability to react immediately to an incident, injury or illness.

Take CPR for example - it has been reported time and again that many lives have been saved due to fast reaction and CPR aid given during critical and life threatening accidents, injuries or health complications in the workplace.

It’s not just in the workplace where good first aid training can be used – you will have those skills for life, especially if you maintain ongoing refresher courses. This means you can treat yourself, your family and friends and the general public effectively in an emergency.

Once you have completed the course you will also get an additional payment each month for being a first aider!

The course can take up to 12 co-workers.

It is essential as a business that we have enough first aid trained co-workers to be able to trade each day.

To sign up, please speak to or email Julie Finch (Risk) julieann.finch@ ikea.com 25

IDAHOT 2018 On the 17th May, IKEA Birmingham and the rest of the UK&IE celebrated IDAHOT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.)

At IKEA we support our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender coworkers’ and customers’ right to be themselves – b oth in and out of work.

This year we created a visible signal of our support for IDAHOT by flying the rainbow ( LGBT+) flag from all stores and units, to enable us to celebrate with our coworkers, c ustomers and others in the community.

It was a fantastic event which highlighted to everyone what an amazing, inclusive company we’re all part of - it was a very proud day!

“I would just like to say a massive thank you to everyone that helped with setting up the day - Laura and Dawn (Comm&In) thank you for helping with all the decorations and setting up! Thanks to Maintenance for getting the flags sorted and also thank you to all the co-workers that came to the huddle and/or donated money!” Liam (Internal Comms) 26

This year we raised money for Birmingham LGBT, a local charity who are the city’s leading charity advocating for and supporting the LGBT+ community in Birmingham and beyond. They offer a range of services focused on improving the health & wellbeing of individuals. www.blgbt.org

Our rainbow sweet shop helped raise a FANTASTIC

111.08

£

New pictures & frames area

which will be donated to local charity, Birmingham LGBT!

LowerBIRMINGHAM walls allow for full, TEAM eye-catching merchandising walls STANDING PROUD TOGETHER WITH THE RAINBOW FLAG

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Entrance & Exit Project FY18 Update After what feels like a momentous few months of planning and cost adaptation, I’m extremely pleased to inform you that we now have a start date for the remodel and delivery of the new Entrance & Exit project for IKEA Birmingham FY18!

From 14th June, you will start to see contractors arriving on site, setting up and preparing for the big build to go live from Sunday 17th June.

Time Plan for E&E Project

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There will be a number of people working on this 6 week project, many of whom are local firms which is absolutely fantastic; enabling IKEA to act as a good neighbour and bring business to our local community, as well knowing that they will deliver a brilliant, cost effective end result for our customers of the future As you can see from the time plan, there’s a lot to do in the 6 weeks, starting with some changes to the front entrance and the addition of a small chill out seating area, known as Fristad (which means “the sanctuary” in Swedish).

It all be gins...

17th JUNE

TASK

32 DAYS

START

FINISH

Entrance, Fristad and Exit Hall

6 days

Sunday 17/06/18

Friday 22/06/18

Bistro, Seating & Servery, Exit Hall &

6 days

Sunday 24/06/18

Friday 29/06/18

SFM, Family Kiosks & Exit Vestibule

11 days

Sunday 01/07/18

Friday 13/07/18

Customer Services, Returns & Småland

11 days

Sunday 15/07/18

Friday 27/07/18

Fristad A new, chill-out zone that will sit just outside of SmĂĽland

Bistro A brand new dining area next to the main entrance

TAKEK A LOO

We then move onto creating a wonderful new Bistro area, with brand new counter, more till points, queue system (to maintain some order between the tills and the exit) and a wonderfully calm eating area, with double the capacity for customers that we have today!

29

Bistro continued...

Double the capacity seating area with all new decor

Next it’s the Swedish Food Market – this one area has bought about a number of problems for Gail Onions, in planning due to historic problems with the floor (lack of damp course under the whole shop) and the cost for moving the freezers, which is phenomenal! However I’m very happy to share that this will be, at last addressed through this build and we will have a brand new shop with a real warm Swedish commercial identity ready to take us into the summer holidays and beyond. And with this shop already trading at over 19% up this year, we anticipate greater results again for next year!

D BRAN !

NEW 30

Then we move onto Customer Collections & Returns Area.

I’m really hoping that our team in Customer Relations (and our customers) will love this new area; we listened to what you said and at last you will have new white desks (after 20 years), a prayer room for customers, double the seating capacity, two collection desks, an extra returns desk and wait for it - this is exciting - NEW ceiling tiles which will make the area fresh, bright and feel part of the rest of the store.

Then last but not least, to finish the whole area off properly we will re-floor the entire entrance and exit. This has been a major concern to us; today the floor is patched and weary looking (a bit like me!). However, due to Emma Aston’s tenacity and networking we managed to secure almost all of the flooring for free from colleagues in Exeter and Nottingham and with a buffer amount added to the budget by UK, we have the money to finish the project off.

Very soon, Liam and I will be adding a project board to one of the walls on the way to co-worker restaurant for you to see what’s going on and keep you updated with the changes.

Customer Services & Exit Hall

Dawn Lloyd E&E Project Manager

However in the meantime I’d just like to say a huge thank you to the following people for their continued support so far with this project as without them we would not have got to this point: Emma Aston, Gail Onions, Dave Butler, Kevin Butler, Liam Hill, James Rutter, Julie Finch, Craig Zecevic, Chris Mills, Noelene Challenor and the Logistics Team in Full Serve - thank you!

Exit Hall Customer Services

31

Thank you for the (first) 75 wonderful years!

IKEA is turning 75!

What better time to remember the past, while celebrating the future. It’s also a great opportunity to kick off FY19 with a strong commercial activity and long-term branding.

To support the celebration, the GRATULERA (Swedish for ‘congratulations’) collection of iconic IKEA products from the 1950s and 1960s has been created. This will be launching this coming August.

STRANDMON armchair

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We’re bringing back your favourites!

Some bold, some neutral, but all of them distinctly IKEA – we’ve created furniture in many different styles along the years.To celebrate, we’ll be bringing back some of our most popular products.

This is just a little taste of what’s to come for IKEA 75...

Keep your eyes peeled for what’s to come for customers & co-workers soon!

EKENÄSET armchair

SKOVEN rugh high pile

GAGNET armchair rattan/black

LÖVBACKEN light brown side table

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IKEA Birmingham are getting a carpark extension!

It’s been a long time coming, but after lots of discussion, we are finally getting our carpark extended by a fantastic 172 spaces!

This huge addition to the existing carpark (17% increase in size) will not only allow for a better experience for our customers visiting the store but will also allow us to accommodate more visitors during our peak times and in the future!

The plan is to extend our carpark to the right of the Hub/Full Serve with the construction of a new road that allows customers to access the new carpark from the rear of the building in Park Lane - this will ease the congestion at the front of the store especially during weekend/peak traffic!

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This project demonstrates that IKEA is keen to act as a good neighbour; there has been an increase in commercial outlets on the Gallagher retail park and yet a reduction in parking spaces! With an anticipated increase in visitation, and therefore the potential for yet further congestion and frustration for our visitors, local residents and those of us trying to get to work – this new carpark and access route is essential.

This is fantastic news for IKEA Birmingham which will only benefit our store from here on out.

The initial tests and analysis of the land and its foundations has already been completed and with review of the plans and no issues so far (fingers crossed) we hope to complete the project

by September ready to take us into FY19 in a great way.

Sliding gate to be installed in this location.

WAREHOUSE

The Hub & Full Serve

6.00

5.00

IKEA STORE

Proposed gated access for home delivery trolleys.

Proposed gate for vehicular access.

2.50

Store

Trolley bays

7.00

Service Yard

Dropped kerbs to be provided.

7.00

Home delivery compound for van parking to be fenced off, with double gate provided.

RKING NO PA

The plan so far...

7.00

Home Delivery Yard surrounded with solid screen panel fencing.

Hatched area to be kept clear to allow home delivery vehicles to turn.

Pedestrian link from overflow car park.

Dropped kerb to allow trolley access to pedestrian link.

ING NO PARK

EXIT

Raised table zebra crossing.

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142 LOGISTICS & FULL SERVE UPDATE Full Serve Tertial

36

“Full Serve’s Tertial was set for 6th May - which we planned to go to Star City. The turn out was great as we had 14 co-workers attend and we had a wonderful time in the amusement area playing pool, arcade machines and also spent time in the bar.

This brings the team together and stronger because these are the people that the store don’t really see as they are not directly for the customer but behind the scenes - they are the hero’s that pick for our customers.

Then we ended up in Tinsel Town in Star City where we had a meal, this was fantastic to see the F/S team really gel together with plenty of banter. I believe this was great for the team as they can see everyone one is different in work and outside work.

I am proud of each one of them in my team and cant wait for the next tertial!”

Zaeed Akhtar Goods Flow Team Leader

Our new, energy efficient and safer forklift trucks!

This is the latest edition to join our forklift fleet here at store 142. Our current trucks have more than excelled in delivering excellent performance for our operation and this truck is no exception. This truck is designed to make our operation more efficient, more accurate and most of all a safer environment for both the driver and coworkers.

Key features...

Lithium Batteries • Less charging time - longer battery duration - minimal maintenance! Suits our 24hr operation and reduces our service costs!

SAS (System of Active Stability) Did you know that 30% of serious forklift accidents are caused by sideways tip-over?

• Fitted with a new feature that is designed to reduce the risk of the truck from becoming unstable.

• Responds quicker than the most experienced driver.

• More gadgets to ensure accuracy for the driver and also helps prevent unnecessary damage to goods which is one of our main focusses.

TOYOTA TRAIGO COUNTER BALANCE 37

Nights Team Tertial to Doncaster Distribution Centre On the 18th and 25th of April, our Goods Flow Receiving Nights team visited the UK Distribution Centre in Doncaster as part of their Tertial Meeting. Our Receiving Nights Team contribute an incredibly huge amount to our business here at IKEA Birmingham - we wouldn’t be able to function as a store if it wasn’t for them so it’s important we recognise them for their hard work!

IKEA Doncaster is one of the largest distribution centres in the world, holding around 260,000 pallets!

“We were fortunate enough to recently visit the Doncaster distribution center where we were overwhelmed by the vast size of their operation compared to our own. There are many similarities between ourselves and them for instance the type of trucks which are being used are the same as we use in store.

But they also have some machinery which most of us had never seen before including automated indoor cranes to aid with their storage process.

38

RECEIVING NIGHTS TEAM

This was a real eye opener for us seeing where 250,000 pallets are stored compared to our 3,500!

But to top it off the warehouse was spotless - not a single bit of rubbish insight despite the fact they have over 100 operational loading bays. It was also great to see they are going through the same transition as us with Standard Operating Procedures and what they are doing to work with this.”

Robert Hobcroft Goods Flow Co-Worker

“I would just like to say a big thank you to the goodsflow guys for including me in their tertial and for the trip to Doncaster. It is somewhere I have always wanted to visit but never had the opportunity.

It was a real eye opener - such a huge place. I really enjoyed it and got a lot of out of it. Thank you to Andy for doing all the driving!”

Karen Goods Flow Co-Worker

Goods Receiving saving the store lots of money!

Our Gatekeepers play a huge role in ensuring our customers only take away the highest quality products that IKEA has to offer.

During FY18 the Goods Receiving Team have really pushed the agenda of quality stock being accepted into our store. The teams lead by Martyn Wright, Andrew Roper and Parm Singh recruited two new gatekeepers, the gatekeepers are responsible for checking every pallet that is unloaded by our team of forklift drivers to ensure it is the highest possible quality.

Liam Smith & Alicja Lemanczyk joined from Sales in October 2017. They joined Mark Westbury in our Gatekeeping team that work night shift patterns.

Each time we find a pallet that does not meet our quality standards we can claim for the cost of the stock and for the time it takes for our co-workers to process the damaged stock.

In FY17 we successfully claimed £28,000, so far the new team of Gatekeepers have claimed a huge £133,000 that really supports the stores bonus!

A big well done to all the Goods Receiving team, and a big thank you to Liam, Mark and Alicja for all their hard work so far this year!

James Roberts Goods Flow Team Manager

Reduce costs + invest in transformation = enabling our growth!

39

Movers and shakers Who’s going where?

Here at IKEA we’re always looking for ways we can help our co-workers to develop in roles that suit them. Here are all the people on the move this month...

Katie Cairns-O’Reilly Business Navigator Juno Houghton Children’s Shopkeeper > HR Generalist Jess Haydock Children’s Shopkeeper Scott Wilkes Customer Relations Manager > Textiles Shopkeeper Amy Logan Checkouts Manager > Local Marketing Leader 40

Jade Jones Marketing Specialist > CMA Web and Communications Specialist Darryl Gayle Textiles > Checkouts Team Leader Nicholas Ridley Customer Relations Manager (temporary role until 31st August 2018)

Are you looking for a chance to grow?

- Let’s do it together!

If you’re feeling time for a change, or want to find our how you can develop yourself further within IKEA, help is always available!

Please speak to your line manager or a memeber of HR to find out more.

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H E A LT H & W E L L B E I N G

Tack för att du läser!

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(That’s “Thank you for reading!” in Swedish)

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GOT SOMETHING TO SHARE? Have something you want featured in this magazine or want to communicate a message/event/idea to the entire store?

It’s as easy as 1-2-3!

© INTER IKEA SYSTEMS B.V. 2018

Simply drop me an email at liam.hill1@ikea.com explaining what you’d like included or pop into the General Office for a chat!

I’d love to hear from you.