Bibiana Zemanikova, HR Business Partner at Casino Guru, is in charge of developing and improving not only the HR department, but also the entire company's processes. She creates meaningful strategies for fostering internal and external relationships and oversees their execution.

In this interview, Bibiana talks about her career at Casino Guru, the scope of her multifaceted work, and the HR department's current goals. She goes into detail about Casino Guru's three values, company culture, and ways to motivate its employees.

What do the three values—No Bullshit Policy, Raise Standards Together, and Create Space for Choices—really mean? How would Bibiana describe the Casino Guru team? Read on to learn more.

Q: First and foremost, tell us a little something about yourself, and what made you choose Casino Guru as an employer.

Something about me? Well, if we’re talking work experience, I studied psychology and HR management at university, and after that, I worked in HR across various industries—logistics, custom IT, and more.

On a personal level, a big part of my life is being a mom. That’s actually what led me to Casino Guru—I was looking for a full-time job while on parental leave, and this one job offer caught my eye. It was my dream job at first sight.

From the start, it was clear that management wanted someone capable of running the HR department independently, bringing in fresh ideas and strategies, all while offering flexibility in return. The role aligned perfectly with what I was looking for. Plus, gambling was an entirely new field for me, and I thought it was an incredible opportunity to add it to my portfolio.

Q: What is your job like within our HR department now? And how has your agenda evolved since you joined?

When I first joined, my main focus was understanding how the company operates, its processes and its people, because my goal was to shape and improve the way it runs. But to do that, I first needed to understand it in depth.

Early on, management and I outlined three key areas for me to focus on: remuneration, development, and hiring. Those were my priorities. Over time, as our needs evolved, my focus shifted more towards working closely with employees, especially team leaders, to create a solid and supportive work environment.

Q: Quite soon after you joined, the HR team expanded, right? Was that due to the growing workload?

Yes, the workload kept increasing as the company grew. But at the same time, I found out I was going to be a mom again. So, it was time to expand not just my family, but my work team as well. [laughter]

We brought in two new colleagues, Simona and Silvia. Simona works primarily on recruitment and administration with our colleague Maria, who has been with Casino Guru for quite some time. Meanwhile, Silvia and I handle development and remuneration, managing various conceptual projects together.

Q: I know that recently, HR was part of defining the core values for Casino Guru. Tell us more about that process and why it was necessary.

From the beginning, Casino Guru had a strong set of principles guiding how we treat players. But as an employer and a partner, we hadn’t formally defined our values.

As HR has been putting more effort into employer branding, defining our values was the next logical step—not because it’s trendy, but because it’s essential. We didn’t just want to throw around impressive-sounding words. Instead, our goal was to articulate what the company already lives by.

That’s why we developed our values in collaboration with all employees. We wanted to capture who we are, not who we aspire to be. Our values don’t set goals; they reflect the principles we already operate on.

Q: And now Casino Guru has defined its three core values. Can you tell us more about them?

Absolutely—this is my favorite topic! Our first value is the No Bullshit Policy. HR-approved or not, the term sums up our approach perfectly. [laughter]

It’s about fairness. We rate casinos objectively, based on clear criteria. We don’t compromise on our principles, and we make sure casinos know exactly how to improve their Safety Index rating. For players, we offer unbiased, commission-free information and help resolve disputes fairly.

Internally, we create a culture of openness where everyone can voice their thoughts, even the uncomfortable ones. I believe this builds trust and transparency within the team.

Q: The second value is Raising Standards Together. Does it also apply to both the gambling industry and Casino Guru employees?

Yes, absolutely. All our values reflect every relationship we build.

This second value ties into something our CEO often says: Let’s be better tomorrow than we are today. Or, you know, Rome wasn’t built in a day. We believe in continuous improvement—one step at a time, always moving forward.

And the third value, Create Space for Choices, connects closely to this. It’s about giving employees and partners the freedom to find their own best ways of doing things. We believe that when people are given autonomy and responsibility, they naturally seek out the best possible solutions. Their thinking isn’t restricted by rigid KPIs—they realize that, truly, the sky’s the limit.

Q: I also feel that people learn and improve more when they have to actively think about things, rather than just follow set procedures.

Exactly. Interestingly, our values align with key psychological motivators—autonomy, mastery, and purpose—even though we didn’t plan it that way. When we noticed the connection, it confirmed that we were on the right track.

We combine workplace freedom with personal responsibility, which creates a sense of satisfaction and motivation. This balance keeps our company running like a well-oiled machine.

Q: Talking about well-oiled machine, how do company values help team leaders with their work and even influence management decisions?

I think we all can agree that values are ineffective if they’re just empty words. That’s why we lead by example.

Since our values reflect who we are, we rely on our team leaders to embody them, providing guidance and upholding our standards. We also invest heavily in their development.

And when it comes to influencing management decisions, I think our values keep us in check. When we face more complicated issues, we always turn to the basics. We ask: Is it fair? Does it help us improve? Does it create autonomy for our employees and partners? The answers then guide our choices.

Q: I am interested, how do Casino Guru’s values show up in the hiring process? I am asking because I believe the hiring process tells you everything you need to know about the company.

Well, I don’t know if I agree with that, but I do agree that the hiring process is the first step in the company-employee relationship. It’s our chance to show candidates who we are and what we expect, but it’s also a two-way street. And, most importantly, it needs to be a good match.

Since we’re in a process of refining our hiring and onboarding, we’re actively gathering feedback from candidates. And now I truly might be repeating myself, but in context of our values, we are looking for openness, improvement, and proactivity.

And you know what? Now that Ithink about it, the hiring process not only reflects company values but also holds up amirror to the company culture. However, company culture is tricky to define in words, it’s something you experience, so I’m having problems describing it.

Q: Well, you can try. [laugher]

[laughter] Isuppose I can. I’d say people can observe our culture through the way we conduct interviews. We don’t mechanically go through checklists; we focus on a person, having casual conversations with them and assessing their soft skills.

Because we work in such a niche industry, people do not always have the exact experience we require, so it is more important for us to learn about that person's character and potential, even if it means overlooking some professional shortcomings.

However, to be completely honest, we've discovered that compromising on recruiting does not pay off. It tends toundermine the culture that we have and strive to maintain. So, if we are unsure about the candidate, we do not hire them.

Q: However, in any hiring process, it is important to consider both what the candidate can offer the company and what the company can offer the candidate. What benefits does Casino Guru provide its employees?

Our benefits are not set in stone, and we are always willing to update them. We look at what our employees find the most beneficialand what they need.

Recently, we sent outan anonymous questionnaire for employeesto suggest what perks they wouldfind useful, and we are currently working on a number of them.

And, in terms of employee development, we focused on feedback last year. This year's theme would be goal setting. In addition, we are hosting a board webinar on various topics chosen by our employees, such as improving financial literacy, personal growth, or mental health.

Q: Do you think a healthy company culture can also count as a work benefit?

Absolutely. Unfortunately, culture is hard to quantify, and it’s difficult to sell to potential employees without sounding cliché. But if I had to sum it up, I’d say we’re people-first—we are friendly and we value kindness and respect above all else.

Q: And my last question, what are HR’s plans for the future? What are you looking forward to the most?

If everything goes well, I'd like to improve our onboarding process and create an organized system with a clear knowledge base for newcomers. It's a stressful time for both new and existing employees, and I want to make it go as smoothly as possible.

Beyond that, we intend to implement individual development plans, a talent program, and a solid succession plan. And, in the future, we hope to expand the HR team even more, as there is still much work to be done!

Image credit: Casino Guru News