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Marija Marelja
Episode · #558

RE-KREIRAJ ŽIVOT i POSAO: MAMFORCE Marija Marelja, Implant Centar Martinko

Guest Marija MareljaHosted by Darko BukovićMay 3, 2026
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation

Dental services are inherently hands-on, requiring physical presence. It’s an industry where the kind of flexibility offered in remote-first companies simply isn’t possible. Yet, even here, businesses must compete for talent and create an environment where employees feel supported and valued. Marija Marelja, HR Manager at Implant Centar Martinko, reveals how her organization approaches this challenge. Working with the MAMFORCE project, Implant Centar Martinko has formalized and expanded its HR practices, moving beyond traditional benefits to create a truly family-friendly workplace. Marelja shares the tangible policies they’ve implemented, from adjusted working hours to specific support for new parents, and how these initiatives have fostered remarkable employee loyalty. This conversation offers a practical guide for any service-based business on how to build a supportive, high-retention culture, even when the nature of the work demands a consistent physical presence.

Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
Implant Centar Martinko has for years offered a seven-hour workday with full pay, a practice now extended to all staff, not just medical personnel. True flexibility in service-based industries often means questioning the eight-hour standard itself, rather than just adjusting schedules around it.
02
After a "mini baby boom" at Implant Centar Martinko, new mothers returning from leave receive two weeks at half-time with full pay, a financial welcome package, and up to three days of 100% paid sick leave for short absences without a doctor's note. Supporting new parents means moving beyond legal minimums to address their actual return-to-work stresses with concrete, unique benefits.
03
Before Marija Marelja joined, Implant Centar Martinko had good HR intentions but lacked structure. The MAMFORCE project helped them formalize their selection, onboarding, and mentoring processes. External frameworks validate and codify existing good practices, turning informal customs into predictable, repeatable procedures.
04
Implant Centar Martinko's structured mentoring process, where new hires know exactly what to expect week-by-week during their first three months, has led to "much lower staff turnover." Removing the uncertainty and "shocks" of a new role is a direct retention strategy, not just a training exercise.
05
An internal survey at Implant Centar Martinko revealed 80% of employees see themselves working there until retirement, with a smaller segment committing for at least five more years. When your HR practices lead employees to envision their entire career with you, you've built more than a workplace; you've built a professional home.
06
In the last two years, Implant Centar Martinko has seen an increase in internal referrals, leading to "three or four very high-quality employees" in just the last six months. The strongest signal of a healthy workplace isn't an HR metric, but when your current team enthusiastically recruits their own networks.
07
Implant Centar Martinko introduced regular "feedback conversations" for all managers, noting that over the past year, employees have become more open because they "see that they are heard and that some things are changing." Transparent feedback loops, where input visibly leads to action, are how you move from employee surveys to genuine employee engagement.
08
Implant Centar Martinko currently offers performance bonuses in sales, tied to specific goals set at the start of the year, with plans to expand this to other departments. When incentives are clear and directly linked to measurable outcomes, they become a tangible reward for individual contribution, not just a discretionary payout.
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