Pharmacy Chain 911 Quadruples Hiring Success Through Recruiting Automation

How Pharmacy 911 Transformed Hiring with the HURMA ATS System

According to Hurma Blog — HR: Pharmacy 911, one of Ukraine's largest pharmacy chains, adopted the HURMA applicant tracking system (ATS) to automate its recruitment process. This move dramatically boosted hiring efficiency, leading to a fourfold increase in filled positions, a 43% reduction in routine administrative tasks, and the ability to generate reports in minutes instead of days. The implementation took four months and was a critical step in modernizing the company's internal operations. For English-speaking audiences unfamiliar with the brand, Pharmacy 911 operates hundreds of locations across Ukraine and faces intense competition for skilled pharmacists.

Before HURMA, the chain relied heavily on Excel spreadsheets and manual data updates for recruiting. Olha Kukhtina, Manager of Personnel Development and HR Projects at Pharmacy 911, explained:

“We were using manual Excel sheets. Essentially, everyone had their own separate statistics. There was no reliable, unified view of our vacancies.” - Olha Kukhtina

Kukhtina noted that automation became essential because manual data entry was inefficient and error-prone, wasting significant time.

After piloting HURMA with 20 job openings, the team selected it for its user-friendliness and effectiveness. 'A company that wants to grow and develop cannot keep managing spreadsheets and reports by hand. It's inefficient and inconvenient,' Kukhtina emphasized. Implementing HURMA created a centralized candidate database, greatly improving control and convenience in managing vacancies. Now, all candidate information is stored in one system, making it easy to track their status and interactions.

Integration with Ringostat allows managers to listen to call recordings directly from a candidate's profile, streamlining the recruitment process. 'We have an integration with Ringostat. Managers will agree it's very convenient when you open a candidate's card and can listen to the conversation right there,' Kukhtina said. Additionally, multi-posting to job boards and a knowledge base for vacancy templates simplify recruiters' daily tasks.

Key Results from Automating with HURMA

The outcomes of automation with HURMA are striking:

• 4 times more vacancies filled;
• 43% reduction in routine work;
• Report generation in just minutes.

“With HURMA, I create reports every day, I see trends and dynamics. I do it in a few minutes,” Olha Kukhtina concluded. The system now serves as the foundation for objective decision-making and high-quality hiring analytics, which is especially critical given the growing talent shortage in the pharmaceutical sector.

Overall, adopting the HURMA ATS marked a major leap forward for Pharmacy 911, optimizing recruitment workflows, ensuring stable candidate management, and improving the analytics used for decision-making. This move also reflects a broader industry trend toward automation, which can help pharmacy chains strengthen their competitive position in Ukraine's labor market.

As the competition for talent intensifies within the retail sector, many companies are grappling with the effects of slow hiring processes. This issue is particularly pressing for organizations like Pharmacy 911, which has successfully navigated these challenges through innovative solutions. To understand the broader implications of hiring delays and the potential talent crisis in Ukraine's retail chains, you can explore how the industry is adapting to these pressures in our detailed analysis of the evolving landscape of recruitment.