Co-worker stories - Michelle Noveda

My formal training is in mass communication. Originally I wanted to be a broadcaster, but after a year working at a TV station I decided to try out a career in retail instead. I worked in retail fashion for seven years before joining IKEA, where I’ve been working since 2009. I started as a shopkeeper in Home Decoration, and after two years later I got the opportunity to become a Store Commercial Activity Leader.

My job is to get every customer in the store to feel like there is something new and exciting happening every time they visit us. This involves working with other departments to plan fun activities around festive seasons and store themes. Part of my job is also to understand how people in Singapore live. People walking through our store should feel that we understand their everyday needs and that we offer them inspiring solutions at a low price.

A year ago I lead a country-wide customer engagement project, which encouraged our loyalty customer base, or FAMILY members as we call them at IKEA, to bring and sign up a friend in our store. We got great customer feedback and a lot of new FAMILY members. Being a part of this event planning from the very beginning was a fantastic experience, and I learnt so much!

Having been part of a few different organisations, I have realized that people at IKEA treat everyone equal regardless of what you’ve done previously or where you’re from. This culture brings us together and makes it easier and more fun when we work across departments to reach the tough goals we set for ourselves.

I like challenging myself and other departments to always improve on the existing. Having clear goals, learning from our past, and including everyone involved in the process delivers the best possible customer experience.