“Buk allowed us to save 80% of operational time and get out into the field”: Caffarena and the transformation of their people management

Caffarena, a Chilean company with over 50 years of history, 565 employees and a presence across 8 sales channels nationally and internationally, operated under a purely administrative and operational Human Resources model. They used ADP Payroll but faced significant difficulties in professionalising their processes and providing visibility of strategy to their teams. The People Management team was immersed in administrative tasks, limiting their capacity to engage with over 560 employees distributed across 62 stores throughout the country. They needed a platform that not only processed payroll, but allowed them to reflect their culture and brand. The "non-negotiable" requirement was to find a comprehensive, user-friendly tool capable of centralising processes that were previously dispersed or non-existent, such as formal training and continuous feedback.

Buk was implemented as a comprehensive people management ecosystem. The solution enabled: implementation of Performance Management moving from manual processes to a professional cycle of Feedback, Action Plans and the Nine Box methodology, implementation of Training (E-learning) essential for professionalising store teams in regions and ensuring everyone receives necessary training, centralisation of Remuneration and Digital Signature achieving complete agility in regulatory compliance (such as the 40-hour week) and salary payments, and implementation of Surveys and Communication to measure store indicators and keep everyone informed simultaneously through a dynamic communications wall for their 62 stores. The implementation process took 6 months with direct support from the platform and the assigned account manager, with regular weekly meetings that provided invaluable assistance.

An 80% saving in time was achieved, allowing the HR team to leave the office and be "in the field" to provide real support to their teams, even offering support to operations in other countries such as Peru. Digital transformation enabled the business model to scale to levels previously unimagined. The visibility they previously lacked was obtained. Feedback and performance management were professionalised. Training centralisation was achieved for all teams. Internal communication improved across all 62 stores. The team understood that change was necessary for growth, and that cultural alignment is what sustains the results.