HRD bill_line about how hiring in Ukraine turns into a quest, how mobilization affects KPIs, and why maintaining team sustainability is the foundation
24 September 2025 13:35
OPINION
It’s 2025, and Ukraine has been living in the reality of a full-scale war for survival for four years. This means not only nighttime air raids and air strikes on residential buildings, but also active mobilization into the ranks of the Armed Forces. And while there is a lot of talk about the impact of anxiety on stress levels and team productivity, there is little about the balance between protecting the state and the need to keep the team together, support mobilized colleagues, and hire new employees (which has become a real challenge for businesses). This is not surprising, as the topic is complex and even “triggering.” Oksana Kireeva, HRD at bill_line, a fintech company, decided to share her own experience in this regard. In her own column on the Mezha portal, she talks about the company’s adjustments to its hiring strategy in the context of mobilization, describes the difficulties of hiring, and explores why values and onboarding come first during the war, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Hiring is changing: how exactly?
Instead of chasing a “closed vacancy,” the focus is shifting to dialog. Recruiters are communicating more with candidates, listening more carefully, and trying to understand what is important to each person right now.
Reality sometimes changes plans on the final stretch. There are candidates who have received an offer, but have to refuse because of a summons. Someone is not ready to quit their current job at a difficult time or has a reservation. Some fundamentally do not consider the hybrid format and insist on full remote, which is simply not an option for some roles. As a result, the search becomes not a sprint, but rather an obstacle course, where you have to balance the requirements of the business with what the new reality dictates.
- Gender balance: almost 70% of new employees are women, and the flow of resumes with female names prevails.
- Duration of the selection process: interviews with male candidates take 25% longer on average.
- Candidates’ requests: after basic benefits, the first priority is booking.
- Market signal: fintech and IT need a transparent and prioritized reservation system.
“All this turns the hiring process into a quest. It’s easy to say that hiring has become difficult, but it’s not untrue. It has always been difficult: in 2019 because of salaries, in 2020 because of COVID, in 2021 again because of salary peaks, and in 2022 because of the war. What makes modern hiring in IT and fintech a quest is the number of variables that need to be taken into account when talking to a candidate. The breadth of the range of questions that need to be answered here and now,” HRD tells bill_line.
Support and values
But bill_line continues to grow even during the war – in the first half of 2025, 18 vacancies were opened and 25 were closed. The expansion is due to new products, entry into other markets, and the launch of additional areas. The success is attributed to the well-coordinated work of the team, which has withstood the pressure and taken on additional responsibilities, including for colleagues serving in the Armed Forces.
The company supports those at the front by helping with ammunition and family needs. This is considered an integral part of the corporate culture.
“This is our basic position, which we have formed since 2022 and can only change in the direction of increasing support for those who make it possible for us to work every day,” continues HR Director of bill_line.
Through mobilization, special attention is paid to interchangeability: managers are trained, cross-functional teams are formed, and opportunities are given to those who are ready to take on more. When it is impossible to hire people from outside, the team is rebuilt from existing resources.
The approach is described as a combination of responsibility and flexibility that helps businesses remain resilient in times of war and volatile markets.
“A person should not just start doing tasks, but feel like a part of the whole – even if they see a team in Teams for the first time. In this sense, HR should not become a process administrator, but the voice of the company – lively, attentive, understanding. HR simply has no choice,” summarizes HR bill_line.
