IKEA Singapore
Feature | Organisation

A Progressive Career Path

IKEA Singapore

As an employee at IKEA Singapore for more than three years, Shawn Ling Chun Ing, 27, has worked up the ranks from a sales assistant to his present position as the team leader of the kitchen showroom in the sales department. Be it finding new solutions to improve the layout of the showroom to improving communications with his colleagues, there is never a dull moment for him at the IKEA Alexandra store, where he is presently based.

Shawn attributes his fulfilling career to a positive mind-set. He espouses the company’s values and translates them to his work and customers. ‘To create a better everyday life for the many people’ is IKEA’s vision that Shawn passionately aligns himself with. “In retail line, you always need to embody a right mind-set. As long as you are focused on what you are doing, your work will speak for itself,” he says.

This quality would serve him well as the Malaysian overcame his first major challenge working in Singapore. Communication was an occasional struggle as English was not his strongest language. However, openness was another value at IKEA and this was fully embraced in the team when the department would gather to discuss any issues at hand and work together to accomplish a task.

Just like its products, innovation and initiative are cultivated among the staff as Shawn and his colleagues seek to enhance the experience for all involved. “I relish the challenges,” he adds. “When change happens, the results would be different too.” He understands to achieve his ambition of being a highly efficient home-furnishing specialist, constant self-improvement and development is part of the mix.

Shawn Ling Chun Ing

Shawn Ling Chun Ing
Team Lead
Sales Department

“ As long as you are focused on what you are doing, your work will speak for itself.”

His drive to improve did not go unnoticed from his colleagues, with one of his former teammates recommending him to participate in the company’s NEXT Step programme. It is a career progression path designed for employees who desire to take on greater responsibilities at IKEA.

“The main goal of this programme is to assess your level of initiative, because you need to start thinking about what you need to do to improve the store and present the analysis to the manager,” he explains.

His steadfastness has seen him being recently promoted to his present position after passing the programme. He feels having a sense of pride in his work has seen him win the confidence of contractors, clients and customers alike. “Working in retail to me is all about being aware of the details – whether it is the product you are selling or the function you serve in that role,” he says.

Relishing in his present job scope, Shawn believes anyone can realise his potential at IKEA so as long as his attitude and mind-set are correct. He feels so through his personal experience where specific areas of excellence and interest were taken into account and job opportunities and career progression developed from there.