MERKUR’s HR Revolution: Automating Recruitment, Onboarding & Supporting Employee Growth

MERKUR trgovina d.o.o. is a leading technical retailer in Slovenia, employing over 1,200 people across 24 locations. For more than 129 years, MERKUR has been delivering a top-tier shopping experience for professionals and home improvement enthusiasts. Their success is built on a strong company culture that values focus, responsibility, and authenticity, ensuring employees have the right tools and support to grow.

The Challenge: A Complete Digital Transformation

Before adopting Gecko HRM, MERKUR’s HR processes were burdened with excessive manual tasks and fragmented data spread across Excel sheets, emails, and post-it notes. What they needed was a comprehensive platform, one that would connect employees, managers, and HR in a single, modern and intuitive environment. Gecko HRM brought exactly that: a unified system for all HR processes, with the flexibility to evolve alongside their organisation and the changing world of work.

HR Director at MERKUR trgovina, Jasmina Kuzmič Rifelj recognised the urgent need for change. HR was stuck in the past, hampered by inefficiencies and struggling to deliver the experience their employees deserved.

Why MERKUR Chose Gecko HRM

MERKUR sought a comprehensive HRM platform that could centralise their processes, automate routine tasks, and enhance the employee experience. Gecko HRM stood out due to:

• A unified platform: One system covering recruitment, onboarding, HR administration, training, development, surveys, internal requests, team management, document generation, reporting, and offboarding.
• Ease of use: A simple, modern, and logical interface that works for employees, managers, and HR teams alike.
• Scalability and adaptability: A flexible solution that grows with the company and evolves with changing HR needs.

Implementation & Impact

As part of its transformation, MERKUR trgovina is implementing a comprehensive suite of HR solutions within Gecko HRM, designed to streamline processes, enhance employee experience, and support strategic decision-making. The new system will cover the entire employee lifecycle, ensuring a smooth and efficient HR operation.

Gecko HRM will help them:

• Simplify hiring and onboarding – Ensure a smooth recruitment process and help new employees integrate seamlessly from day one.
• Reduce manual HR tasks – Automate HR administration, keeping all employee data centralised and easily accessible.
• Support continuous learning – Enable structured training programs that foster skill development and career growth.
• Empower performance and development – Provide employees with clear growth paths and managers with tools to track progress effectively.
• Improve engagement through surveys & feedback – Capture real-time insights from employees to drive improvements in workplace culture.
• Enable self-service for employees and managers – Allow HR teams to focus on strategic tasks while employees and managers manage HR requests independently.
• Automate document generation & reporting – Reduce paperwork and provide HR with powerful insights for data-driven decision-making.
• Ensure smooth offboarding – Standardise exit procedures and gather valuable insights to improve retention strategies.

With these solutions, MERKUR is bridging the gap between administration and strategy, allowing HR to focus on what truly matters – supporting employees and driving business success.

Tina Troha, who is a Project Manager on behalf of Gecko HRM for the Merkur project, says that MERKUR can expect several key benefits from this digital transformation:

• A connected workforce – Employees, managers, and HR will have seamless access to relevant data in one digital environment.
• Reduced administrative burden – Automated workflows that will save time, allowing HR to focus on strategic initiatives.
• Improved communication and transparency – Employees will receive timely feedback and support throughout their employment journey.

Looking Ahead

MERKUR is already exploring additional capabilities within Gecko HRM, including advanced analytics, internal mobility, and competency management. Their long-term vision is to further automate and personalise HR processes, ensuring their workforce remains engaged, productive, and well supported.

What convinced them that Gecko was the right fit?

• Everything in one place – a solution that grows with them and adapts to their needs.
  
• User-friendly experience – simple and intuitive for employees, managers, and HR alike.
  
• End-to-end support – covering the entire employee journey, from hiring to offboarding.

With Gecko HRM, MERKUR trgovina has taken a bold step forward, turning HR into a strategic driver of business success.