Merkle Cuts Through Competition for Skilled Talent With AI-Graded Assessment

The challenge

Merkle Australia adds roughly 40 to 90 people a year across roles that need a broad mix of specialist skills. The team needed an efficient way to test those skills deeply without losing strong candidates to competitors running simpler, faster hiring processes.

The approach

Vervoe’s AI-graded assessments replaced initial screening interviews, combining multiple-choice, long-form, scenario-based, and video questions to assess critical thinking and the reasoning behind a candidate’s answers, not just whether they picked the right option. That let the team focus on what candidates can actually do rather than only what their resume says.

The results

Merkle reports hiring that is more consistent, less biased, and more focused on the skills a role actually needs. Head of Technology Christian Brenner, who had previously used Vervoe to grow a team from 20 to 80 people in four months, credits the platform’s flexibility for helping reduce unconscious bias in hiring decisions.