CSR Spotlight on Innovation

In recognition of World Refugee Day (June 20, 2022) Diamond Head Research had an amazing discussion with Mercedes Gutierrez Alvarez from Ingka Group about the company’s mission to provide training and improve the skills of 2,500 refugees to support them in gaining employment inside or outside of the company by the end of 2022. Every CSR, ESG, or diversity focused executive should read this important story and learn from her valuable experience and advice. She shares a great example of how an innovative approach to corporate social responsibility not only helps the community, but also brings tremendous value to the company and its employees.

DHR. We’ve been following the progress of Ingka Group’s innovative program to integrate 2,500 refugees by providing training to gain employment by 2022. It is such an interesting concept! What is the status of the program today? Is it on track to accomplish its goals by the end of the year?

MGA. We rolled out the Skills for Employment concept at the end of 2019. Then, 28 countries designed a 3-year plan, and this was just before the Covid emergency. So far, we have supported more than 1,500 refugees and asylum seekers in 24 countries. During FY21, at least 62% of participants got a job at IKEA or in other businesses. (In many cases we cannot follow up on the next steps of participants outside of IKEA.)

We can say that we are on track because, although there are additional challenges in some countries, there are also more opportunities with the big number of refugees leaving from Ukraine to Ingka Group countries. 

DHR. How did Ingka Group come up with the idea of a refugee integration program? What was the genesis for this idea? Also, how does this program integrate with Ingka Group's overall business or CSR/ESG goals? 

MGA. When I started my role as head of social impact & community engagement, we explored everything that countries and stores were doing to support the local communities. We discovered that 90 stores in 14 countries were supporting refugees to improve their skills in a certain way. This included, for example, support with CVs, interviewing and mentoring.

We listened and interviewed all these co-workers and discovered a strong foundation to define a new “skills for employment” concept that could be scalable to all countries, focusing on supporting refugees to be integrated into the labour market while at the same time, contributing towards fulfilling our recruitment needs, removing barriers and accelerating enablers to make it happen at store and unit level. This new concept and toolkit, A how-to guide for opening pathways to decent work for refugees, is now public and open for other companies and includes the 7-step process, learnings and tips for business to integrate refugees into the workforce.

DHR. Were there any internal challenges you experienced in getting the program started? Was it difficult to get buy-in from the different stakeholders or business units to participate, or was it a smooth process to launch the program?

MGA. There was a positive reaction due to our strong values-based and humanistic leadership. What we did need to do was to work to change the mindset about how and why this would also be good for business. The first cases helped massively to convince the many leaders.

We do have a value-based recruitment. However there could always be a risk of bias, and thus no recruitment, if the recruiter or hiring manager doesn’t have the competence and knowledge that comes with recruiting refugees. There are additional challenges for this group, including language limitation, and additional legal and bureaucratic administration processes.

The Skills for Employment concept is based on supporting refugees to improve their skills with the ambition to prepare them better for job vacancies in IKEA or in other companies. This approach was built with the foundation that any of our job vacancies are for ALL and we don’t have a quota for concrete targets. After the training, all refugees are invited to apply for existing vacancies and they need to pass the process just like any other candidate. This secures a fair and equal treatment for all. Being transparent with the approach has been a key success factor to have a positive experience among co-workers, customers, and managers.

Another key element is to prepare the buddies, who are the co-workers supporting refugees, as well as managers and other co-workers in the store. It is essential to explain the process and the challenges, as well as provide multicultural training in those cases where you have newcomers with very different cultural and social behaviors. For example, for some refugees it could be complex to understand the role of women as managers. 

This is not business as usual. The partners, NGOs, social enterprise or governmental organizations, play a crucial role in creating a 360 degree experience for refugees. The partners are managing the additional social challenges that participants face, but also supporting the recruitment process, providing psychological support and providing input and feedback to amplify the effectiveness and social impact of the initiative.

I must say that this huge preparation has mitigated many of the potential risks, both internally and externally. The biggest challenge was about how to talk and communicate around the initiative. Many leaders were supporting the implementation of the initiative on the shop floor. But we discovered an additional fear on how to share the story internally and externally due to the sensitivity of the topic.

This is the reason why we designed the change the narrative toolkit that describes the strategy and storytelling approach, how to work together with partners to change the narrative, and how to advocate for systemic change with decision makers in the communities and countries.

DHR. What has been the biggest benefit of the program? Has it helped to create a culture of diversity and inclusion in the organization?

MGA. The biggest benefit has been to find new, amazing talent for IKEA who are loyal, resilient and skilled.

This has shown inclusivity in a practical way – for many co-workers this was the first time they met a refugee. Buddies and leaders have mentioned that the initiative is a true exercise of inclusion - learning by integrating people from different ethnicities, religions and nationalities.

There is great pride among coworkers around this initiative and proof of our inclusivity on the shop floor. Some countries have seen a positive impact on inclusive index measures through our co-workers survey.

We’ve also been able to explore new ways of working – supporting the local communities and the business needs at the same time.

In the majority of countries, we have seen higher retention rates in participants recruited after the program.

And we’ve also received recognition among the private sector, governmental and civic society as being a leading example of social impact and inclusion.

DHR. What has been the response from Ingka and Ikea employees? How do they participate in the program?

MGA. We have had a very positive response from co-workers. Firstly, we have been supporting refugees since 2009 through campaigning with IKEA Foundation and UNHCR. Since then, co-workers have supported refugees in many ways – from donating products to furnishing shelters or refugee centres. This together with the preparation for the implementation of the Skills for Employment initiative have contributed to a positive experience and reaction from co-workers.

Co-workers are invited to join as buddies to directly support refugees and asylum seekers during the training phase. Sometimes, the buddy role goes beyond the shop floor; some co-workers are also supporting the social integration of refugees by engaging them in external activities. Also, every year, we celebrate the World Refugees Day campaign when we invite co-workers to be engaged to stand up for all refugees. Last year, we invited them to test their knowledge about refugees through a quiz with gap minder or sharing stories and their own experience meeting refugees as colleagues in the store.

DHR. What sort of partners did you work with to make the program a success? Did you work with any government groups or non-profit organizations?

MGA. At global level we have teamed up with UNHCR and Tent Partnership for Refugees. At a country level, each IKEA organization has their own ecosystem of partners with NGOs, social enterprise, academy and/or governmental organizations. In some countries, we are also part of business coalitions to support refugees.

DHR. Outside of job training and employment, I imagine there were significant social or cultural challenges that the refugees would experience as they integrate into a new society. Did the program also address those aspects, as well?

MGA. As part of the initiative, we are supporting with multicultural training – for refugees to understand the host community’s culture but also for co-workers to understand the newcomers culture. Beyond that, the role of the partners are critical to support refugees in the non-work related issues and processes.

DHR. How do you prioritize where to focus your efforts given the breadth and scale of migration and refugee needs? 

MGA. We have defined the role we want to play in the local communities and how we will contribute to create a positive social impact. It is focused on three interventions to enable people experiencing poverty and social exclusion to have a better home and better life. We will use the core business capabilities, knowledge, and capabilities to:

1. Increase access to better life at home

2. Open pathways to decent work

3. Enable the many people to participate for better, more inclusive neighborhoods.

Depending on the target group and the business opportunities, we design initiatives to support people to thrive. The Skills for Employment is part of the social impact approach. We focused on upskilling based on the previous experience, the potential of the participants, and also the opportunity to support our recruitment needs.

DHR. After 2022, what will the next phase of the program look like? Will you continue or expand the program, or shift your focus to another area?

MGA. We are now planning to support more participants than planned because of the current humanitarian crisis due to the war in Ukraine. Our priority for next year is also to approach 500 businesses, including strategic suppliers, tenants and other companies to accelerate the labour integration of refugees. Also, we want to change the narrative around refugees among customers and citizens by proving that refugee integration is good for businesses, host communities, and society.

Today, we have initiatives supporting other vulnerable groups like people with disabilities, people unemployed +50 years old, etc. During 2023, we will explore how to expand the Skills for Employment initiative concept to other target groups.

DHR. Do you have any advice for other companies that may be interested in launching a similar program in their organization?

MGA. We have open-sourced our skills for employment toolkit with our 7-step approach, learnings and success criteria to develop a similar initiative in other companies.

I would share four pieces of advice. Have the management on board. Understand the context where refugees are and where your business can make a difference. Team up with partners who are experts on refugees integration and start small, learn, adjust and roll out. And finally, define how you will measure the social-business case.

DHR. In your role as Head of Social Impact and Community Engagement, what will you be focusing on for the rest of 2022?

MGA. We are now developing the new social impact framework to be implemented in all local neighborhoods where we operate. We are testing the new model in San Francisco and Milan. We will complete the process and develop the new framework to co-create with and for the local community, to measure the social-business impact and to organize ourselves to deliver social impact through the business.

DHR. This has been a very informative discussion, Mercedes. Thank you very much for sharing your experience and advice with the CSR and ESG community!

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