In order to present how company Mercator d.d. from Slovenia organizes trainings for its employees, as well as company’s relationship towards employees, we had the opportunity to talk with Saša Širca from human resources department in Mercator d.d.

1. As the largest employer in Slovenia, Mercator d.d., pays much attention to their employees. Could you tell us what are company’s activities focused on to the satisfaction of your employees?

Most of the activities of the HR Department are directed on the greater satisfaction of our employees.

In 2007 Mercator acquired the basic certificate for Family Friendly Company, and in 2010 was upgraded with a full certificate.

The company, even before receiving the certificate, has introduced several measures, which we have paid special attention to employees and their families.

One of the successful projects is the Health Promotion in which we strive for better working conditions, organize preventive health campaigns and encourage healthy living.

We also have Mercator’s Sports and Culture Association, which offers our members the opportunity for recreation, participation in cultural events, and discounts for purchasing in our branch offices.

It is important to mention a few activities that contribute significantly to greater satisfaction of our employees. These are definitely the team-building activities held in Vogel, Key employees conference, where all key employees meet our board members once a year, annual interviews, internal newspaper and intranet, which are important examples of internal communication.

2. In organizing an education, what are your main criteria for choosing the particularly hotel and meeting room for education?

Most of the training in Mercator is performed on our premises. If the training takes place out of our premises, we pay great attention in choosing a venue. Most of the trainings are interactive workshops, so it is very important that meeting room is big enough and has enough daylight. Meeting room must be equipped with technical equipment needed for training (LCD projector, computer, flip chart, internet access). Sometimes the training is held in two groups, so venues which have at their disposal two rooms have the advantage.
When choosing a location it is also important that location is easily accessible and is quite close to highway, so our employees would not lose too much time.

3. What has most influences on you to be satisfied with held education?

Beside the content of lectures and the lecturers, which are crucial to the satisfaction of participants, a significant effect has also location where training is held.

Since schedules are often crowded, it is very important that meeting room is big enough, bright and that has plenty of fresh air.

The organization of the entire training can have a significant influence on the satisfaction of participants, both in positive and in negative direction.

4. If there are some mistakes in the organization by the hotel, how you handle with these problems? Could you give us some examples of your dissatisfaction?

In our practice, there weren’t a lot of mistakes by hotels as we do prior checking, select the hotel that meet our needs and return to the venues that we are most satisfied with. In case of any mistakes or problems, we solve most of them immediately, because it is important to eliminate them as soon as possible.
It happened to us that technique fails, but we always carry backup laptop, so the problem can quickly be eliminated. Most of the hotels provide technical assistance during our event, so problems are resolved very quickly.
As we spent a lot of time in choosing the hotel, pre-visit every location and coordinate our activities in advance mistakes are rare.

5. Could you tell us more about one of the organized educations that you believe was very well organized and that you were particularly satisfied with?

Four years in a row, we organized the Mercator’s Management Course for Promising Employees, which takes place in seven modules at different locations. Usually we choose four different venues and each venue needs to host one or two modules. Participants have two days of lectures, workshops and evening activities. Because the program has such a complex form, it is important that meeting room is big enough, bright and airy.

The selected hotels fully understood our needs and requirements, so our participants feel comfortable in them. As organizers, it is important for us that hotel comply with the agreement and that it is able to react promptly, to be flexible in case of any unexpected changes.

Every year, we check the satisfaction of participants regarding chosen location. Their feedback gives us help in choosing the hotel for the next training.

S.G.