What it’s like to work at Mercuryo

Mercuryo operates in the decentralised finance ecosystem, enabling capital flows for cryptocurrencies through unified solutions. It is therefore fitting that a company in a quintessentially modern industry allows for the relatively recent concept of having a significant proportion of its employees working remotely and outside Cyprus.

“We have employees located in more than 30 countries and it seems to me that both employees and the company have learned how to extract the maximum benefit from this,” says Chief Human Resource Officer Yulia Bogomolova.

Mercuryo was founded in 2018 by five cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Its employees now number 200, which, says Bogomolova, “is consistent with our business development strategy” and represents “the number of people required for each business role and task”. Naturally, managing a largely remote workforce of this size has it challenges. “I can’t say that our employees are not overworked,” admits Bogomolova. “However, this is not something that we encourage. If we see evidence of systematic overworking, we discuss it with the employee and their line manager and look for a solution. Remedies could include making an additional hire, for example. That said, our team are passionate about what they do and working extra hours can sometimes be a natural consequence of their enthusiasm for their work, rather than something that is forced upon them.” Mercuryo also tries to mitigate this in other ways - in cases when employees are found to have been working over the weekend, they are given an additional rest day, while the number of vacation days they get is always a little above the minimum permitted in the countries where each employee resides.

With regard to the professional development of employees within the company, vertical and horizontal growth opportunities are based on “a built-in grading system with clear criteria on how to move up the career ladder.” Product leads, department heads and managers are all included in the managerial competence development programme – a permanent programme with periodic concentrated training cycles supported by individual coaching sessions, which are part of the social benefits on offer. “Our benefits programme encompasses various components of an employee’s self-development, including training, health and even psychological support,” explains Bogomolova.

Given the nature of remote work, it is vital that companies following that structure find suitable ways to communicate well with their employees and foster a culture of trust. Being acutely aware of this, Mercuryo began conducting various types of regular employee surveys three years ago. “We use the NPS (Net Promoter Score) methodology, as well as targeted surveys at each stage of an employee’s career development,” the Chief HR Officer tells GOLD. “For example, new employees will share their impressions a month after their starting date, or at the end of their probationary period. Employees’ career development also receives substantial support from our HR department.”

While much of its workforce and, consequently, the focus of its employee relations, is spread around the globe, Mercuryo’s Cyprus base and, of course, the company’s Cyprus-based employees, remain pivotal to its operations. “We are a forward-looking employer that values the diversity and global footprint of our workforce,” says Yulia Bogomolova. “We want all our employees, in Cyprus and abroad, to feel at home with Mercuryo.”

(Photos by Giorgos Charal)

(This interview first appeared in the April edition of GOLD magazine. Click here to view it.)