HR innovation in retail: Jo Mercer’s success with Employment Hero

Jo Mercer, a leading footwear retailer in Australia, transformed their Human Resources operations after making the switch to Employment Hero. 

With 27 locations across the country and a 240+ strong team, managing their previously manual HR and payroll processes was a challenge. However, since implementing Employment Hero, they’ve streamlined their HR and payroll processes, leading to increased efficiency and a better employee experience.

The Challenge 

Before implementing Employment Hero, their HR processes were largely manual and admin-heavy. According to Elise Guiliano, HR Manager at Jo Mercer, “It was admin-heavy and all was done manually in a small HR team.” 

This approach often led to double-handling of data, making it challenging to provide a seamless experience for both candidates and Managers. The absence of a centralized platform meant that Elise had to manage all HR tasks alone, resulting in significant time constraints and inefficiencies.

The Solution

Discovering Employment Hero’s recruitment platform, SmartMatch

With so many employees to manage, plus periods of seasonality in hiring, recruitment is always front of mind for Elise and the team at Jo Mercer. 

Employment Hero’s recruitment platform, SmartMatch, has provided another recruitment tool as a way of saving time and money when looking for new candidates. 

Elise mentioned that she came across SmartMatch while using the platform daily, “I saw it in Employment Hero and just investigated it a bit more.” In a challenging labour market, the potential to match candidates more effectively was a promising solution for Elise and the business’s recruitment needs.

Elise highlighted the benefits of using Employment Hero for recruitment, particularly its impact on collaboration between hiring managers across Jo Mercer’s 27 stores and Support Office. 

“With so many locations, it’s much easier for store managers to refer candidates between stores. If one candidate is a better fit for a different store, the hiring manager can quickly pass them on to another location.” 

This streamlined referral process also expanded Jo Mercer’s talent pool, enabling the company to allocate resources more efficiently and connect candidates with the most suitable opportunities across locations.

Easy onboarding in 10 minutes

Onboarding has also seen a significant improvement for the team at Jo Mercer. Elise noted that the previous onboarding process involved sending physical packs through the mail, which was manual and time-consuming. 

With Employment Hero, onboarding a new employee has been changing for them and can now be completed in just a few clicks. “I’d say onboarding takes me about 10 minutes per person,” Elise said. 

Not only has it given their new hires a better employee experience, but it’s also freed up Elise’s time, enabling her to focus on more strategic HR initiatives.

The Impact

Centralized HR management

Having all important HR information in one platform has made a big difference for Elise and the team at Jo Mercer. 

Elise explained, “The benefit of one system has been huge for us – it’s great having everything in the one area. We’ve saved so much time on admin, as well as time during onboarding.” 

By centralizing employee data and making it accessible to the relevant managers, they’ve been able to reduce administrative tasks and improve transparency with relevant stakeholders. 

Jo Mercer and Employment Hero – a perfect pair

Whether it’s recruitment, onboarding, or the day-to-day HR tasks, Employment Hero has made managing the Jo Mercer team easier for Elise. 

Want an end-to-end employment solution that gives you back time for what you do best? Book a demo with one of our business specialists today and see how we can help.