Co-worker stories - Victoria Farnworth

I started in the UK Wembley store in 1998 as a shopkeeper in a showroom. I then worked in both Glasgow and Manchester stores in a variety of shopkeeper roles and moved on to become store sales manager. After 12 years in the stores, I moved to the UK service office as a specialist trainer, sales leader and sales developer. Outside of IKEA, I did two years at night classes studying Training and HR to further my development in my IKEA career. My last year in the UK was fantastic, and I was very comfortable working with an amazing team around me and leaders who believed in me. However, I wanted to experience working overseas. That’s why I decided to leave my job, family & friends and move to Asia. The last year in my new role has been a mixture of exciting, challenging and frustrating emotions and also a few amusing lost in translation moments!

Findings way to transfer knowledge to the team of co-workers around me. My aim is to contribute to building competence to create a sustainable future in Southeast Asia.

I love the fact that IKEA southeast Asia has given me this opportunity to work here. It is an absolute privilege to meet co-workers in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. I am learning so much every day from those around me.
I wish I had been brave and worked overseas sooner rather than later in my IKEA career. A coach one day asked me in a challenging session what is stopping me moving and it was only me. IKEA will not put you in a box, they will give you the opportunity to work in other functions and move countries. But we need to take responsibility for our own development and find our own way. In IKEA we are good at seeing potential in others. I believe everyone has something great to offer and we need to spot the good and support the development of others.

Through working with the IKEA culture and values, we can constantly be creating something good for our customers and co-workers. I am very curious about how people live in their homes, we have the chance to inspire our customers through our fantastic products and home furnishing solutions. We need to serve our customers in the best possible way, doing it right and never taking our customers for granted. We only get one chance, maybe two if we are lucky. Our customers can choose, and if they choose IKEA as a brand, then we are very lucky and need to take our responsibility seriously. For me it simple, if we always keep in mind the question of “what does it take to make our customers happy” and then we will not go far wrong.