Every co-worker at IKEA Components have the possibility to write in this blog. Here you can read and learn about the daily "Components" life.
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New Backpacker in Älmhult
11/2/2011 12:05 PM
Before this assignment I was working in the IKEA Coventry store for four years on the Self-Serve department as an advanced co-worker and have enjoyed taking responsibility and being involved in new challenges on the department and within the store.
I arrived in Älmhult, Sweden at the start of October. The town looks exactly like it does on the training videos we watch, IKEA is everywhere and it is amazing to see a product’s whole life cycle from design, parts of the supply chain to its place in the store, all in one town.
I am working in IKEA Components (ICOMP) based in the Communication Team. My assignment is to create HUB pages on the Intranet for ICOMP co-workers so that essential information is readily and easily accessible. I will collate links to documents and pages that co-workers use regularly, meaning all key information can be accessed via one page. To gather this information and pinpoint target groups I will have to do research involving surveys and interviews. This part of my assignment will take me to China and Slovakia, visiting ICOMPs other offices and factories, which is very exciting. Alongside this I am in the process of creating a chart to show the organisation of ICOMP globally and locally.
To date I have completed an action plan for the following months, researched possible structures for the organisational chart and researched what HUB pages have been created in other IKEA organisations. I have nearly completed ICOMP Älmhult’s local structure by using the layout in the VOICE survey and the help of my colleagues. I was able to organise a meeting with Suzanne Rolf in the Helsingborg Sockerbruket building to discuss important factors when considering HUBs. The Sockerbruket building was very inspirational with room sets built in the main foyer and a huge IKEA library. I am really enjoying my assignment; it is so interesting to learn about this side of the business. I have also recently used a meeting with the communication manager to discuss my next steps, it was brilliant to get some feedback on my assignment and it was great to discuss how I had settled in.
The team I am part of here have been so welcoming and I have settled in quickly, they are inviting me to a lot of training all of which have been very helpful and interesting. I feel like I have learnt so much during this first month and already I can say I have made some great friends.
Outside of work I have been enjoying travelling and getting to know more about my new friends. Älmhult is a very small town but beautiful with a very large lake, brilliant running parks and gyms so I can either hit the weights or take a gentle stroll in the evening. During the first couple of weekends I met up with Kyle (another UK Backpacker) and we went to Gothenburg, Helsingborg and Copenhagen. The cities are very beautiful, we explored some of the famous tourist sites such as Tivoli Gardens, the parks, the shopping centres and in Copenhagen we braved the steep climb up the cathedral and the spiral stairs built on the outside of its highest point just to get an amazing view of Copenhagen. I have been meeting friends for ‘after work’ and gym sessions at the ‘aktivitetshuset’ built for IKEA co-workers, which is a brilliant place. Recently another backpacker arrived in Älmhult from America; its wonderful having someone here to explore Älmhult with, we took a trip up to the beautiful Möcklen Lake and found a little beach and picnic area. 
So far I am enjoying Sweden and my assignment, I am looking forward to meeting new friends from the all over the world and am very excited to dig deeper into my assignment and see what the next five months will bring.
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Published by Nicole Starck