Introduction

Interwood is Pakistan’s leading furniture manufacturing and retailing company. It started out
with humble beginnings. It was founded in 1974 as a small furniture shop in Karachi. Its mission
of manufacturing high quality and affordable products quickly gained huge popularity with the
masses and this propelled the company’s popularity and growth. In less than half a century,
Interwood has become Pakistan’s most trusted name in quality furniture and now covers a
wide range of products like home and office furniture, kitchens, cabinets, wardrobes and
lifewares. The business has expanded considerably with 11 showrooms across the country and
has its own factory in Lahore to meet the growing market demand.

History:
Interwood started out in 1974 as a furniture manufacturing company in Karachi. A year later, it
shifted its workshop to Lahore where a larger variety of products started being manufactured.
In 1978, it finished working on the International Hotel Lahore which is more commonly known
today as Pearl Continental Hotel. The company heads at Interwood recognized the potential
and importance of technology and in 1987 imported a seasoning plant from Italy and made a
huge leap in technology and the furnishing business by importing the first ever CNC machine to
Pakistan in 1995. This gave them a huge competitive edge over other businesses in Pakistan. In
the year 1999, Interwood jumped into the global arena when it was contracted by the
Parliament of Maldives. By this time, Interwood had cemented itself as one of the biggest and
most trusted store in Pakistan. During the years 2001-2019 it made constant expansions by
opening stores, showrooms and production units across the country. In 2020 it opened its
biggest showroom in Islamabad and is now working on further expansions nationally and
internationally.

Mission Statement and Vision:

As the company says, its vision is to “Become the global lifestyle trendsetter, loved by all at
home and at the workplace” and to “Inspire everyone for a better lifestyle.”
The company aims to become the most recognized and a household name in the furniture
market. It caters to all sorts of customers, be it home furniture or office furniture. It also aims to
become a trendsetter in this market by bringing out new products which will set an industry
standard. They are committed to constant improvement and innovation in design, systems and
quality of products. Interwood has a big emphasis on the importance of its customers. They
strive to become loved by the masses and maintain a loyal customer base. This is why the make
sure they give the customers the highest quality products for their money and ensure customer
satisfaction even years after purchase.

Values:

Interwood is built around 4 main values. These are:

Love for Customers:
Customers are held in high regard in this company. Many of the decisions made in the company
are influenced by the customers in some way. So the company and its employees offer
maximum respect and services to the customers.
Re-Imagine:
The company has a big focus on innovation. It is constantly searching for newer and more
efficient ways of manufacturing and production. The company has imported the latest
machines and robots to help facilitate the production process. Not only that, there is a separate
design department which constantly comes up with new products ideas and designs.
Transparency:
The organization promotes a culture of accountability, openness and transparency. All the
employees do the jobs assigned to them. There is no misuse of power and everyone is held
accountable for their own tasks. There is no hindrance of information.
Collaboration:
The organization also promotes close collaborations with each of its different departments to
ensure a culture of inclusiveness and teamwork.

Organizational Structure:

The structure of this organization is divided into many different sections and departments. The
structure is a highly work-specialized one. The main departments are Operations, Sales &
Marketing, IT and Design. These 4 departments are then further into specific work specialized
units like production which is further divided into packing, assembly, polishing etc. The sales &
marketing department is categorized into sub units of sales, showrooms etc. This work-specific
division of units makes reaching the organization’s objectives easier and faster.
Interwood follows a de-centralized structure. All the managerial decisions and other decisions
related to the organization are made by the top management. Whenever such a decision needs
to be made, the think tanks, the Board of Directors from all the departments hold a meeting
and a decision is reached by factoring in various things like market situation, political factors
etc. Feedback and opinions from the workers are taken into account to make improvements in
the work environment and processes.

Hierarchy and Chain of Command:

Organizational Culture:

The culture of Interwood is people oriented. They care about their employees and their well-
being. In case of an emergency they can ask for a leave. God forbid, if in case an employee dies,
his/her family receives half of the salary continuously for 3 years. They promote greenery at
their work place. The environment is very humanly there.
There is no hindrance of information in their organization. Everything is displayed openly and
published properly. Even an employee of one department can easily get information about
anything in some different department. In the interview their HR said "If my company has to
make a profit of 10 Million next year, it can't be achieved unless all the employees including the
peons are aware of the goal."
New employees learn the culture by trainings moreover the organization has properly
documented their code of conduct, ethics and values and these manuals can be found on their
online portal for every employee to see. New employees also have an orientation and a
presentation designed for them to learn the company’s culture, mission and values. This
presentation is necessary for every employee to go through.
They care about the religious beliefs. Employees are allowed to offer their prayers during
working hours and there's a break for Jummah prayer.
The culture is very adoptive and constantly updating according to the current situations of
environment. For example in the time of Covid they openly advertised ways to prevent from
the virus at their work place and make it compulsory for every employee to wear a mask.
Another example of their innovating culture is way correct and efficient use of their resources
e.g., the lights drops to minimum level during break hour.

Recruitment Process and Criteria:

Interwood looks for the highest quality people to deliver high quality products and services.
They want to recruit people that can closely follow their culture and set of values. People who
are attracted by their company values, and are friendly and willing to go the extra mile for
customers. Other than these basic standards, each position requires different skills, education,
and proficiencies. The recruitment process at Interwood is a thorough one which can take
about two weeks.
The first step is to find an opening you are suitable for or interested in. You can then apply for
that position by sending your CV to the HR from Interwood’s website. This is where the entire
selection process begins.
There is pre-selection which is made by the HR Department based on the CV and application
form. The pre-selected candidates have a phone screening or phone meeting with the HR
department. This phone meeting is where the behavioral attitude and speaking skills of the
candidates are judged. The candidates are then informed via mail whether they move on to the
next step or not. In the next step, there is a written test. This is a cognitive test which tests the
candidate’s reasoning. Candidates that pass this test move on to the next phase, which is the
most practical phase. This step is a group assessment. About 3 to 4 groups consisting of 4 to 5
persons each are assigned a group task. This assesses the candidates’ problem solving skills as
well as their ability to work in teams. According to Interwood, this is a very important and
crucial step in the recruitment process. This step also enables the candidates to identify their
strength and weaknesses. The final step is an on-site interview of the selected candidates by
their respective managers. There will be some brief technical questions related to the job in this
interview. But there will also be some behavioral questions. Questions change per position but
always focus on how you handled various work situations in the past. There are questions
related to situations that you’ve been in where you had to use certain skills such as decision
making, teamwork, problem solving, communication, etc. You will be asked about your
previous work experience, your motivations to join Interwood etc. Candidates who pass this
interview are then called to the office with the job offer and are formally hired .