I remember the first months after February 24, 2022, in detail. Panic, adrenaline, working in chats until 2 a.m. Back then, we were just trying to keep the team together: support them, relocate them, stabilize things. It wasn’t about growth, it was about survival.
Now it’s summer 2025, and it feels like a different decade. The rhythm is different, the focus is different, and the conversations with candidates are different. But the war is still nearby. Mobilization is no longer just a news headline, it is part of the team-building and one of the most difficult parts. My name is Oksana Kireieva, HRD at the fintech company bill_line, and today I want to talk about a topic that concerns every HR professional but is rarely discussed: how to build a team that people can leave at any moment, how to cooperate with the Armed Forces rather than compete for people, and ultimately, how to maintain connections with those who joined the military and plan for their return to civilian life.
Right away, I’ll say this: part of our team is already in the Armed Forces. Some volunteered, and we supported that brave decision. Others were mobilized by summons, and we understand that the law is the law. We stay in touch with all of them and provide support. This has been our core position since 2022, and we only change it in the direction of increasing support for the people who make it possible for us to work every day.
Hiring becomes a quest, but not because it’s hard
The war changes not only the market, but it also changes people. At bill_line, we accept this as a reality. We don’t idealize it or try to "fix everything at once." But we do know one thing: continuing to hire, grow, and support those who serve is not mutually exclusive. This is our role as a business during a major crisis.
Speed has always been critical in fintech. Now, we are learning to combine speed with flexibility. When we open a vacancy, we don’t just chase a "filled position." We talk more, listen more, and try to understand each person’s context. Today, context is just as important as technical skills.
Some candidates we discussed offers with didn’t reach the final stage. They received a military summons. Others changed their minds because they didn’t want to leave their current role in a difficult period, or were granted a deferment. Some candidates simply refuse to work in a hybrid mode and, understandably, insist on full remote. For certain positions, this isn’t possible, which adds more "no’s."
All of this affects hiring structure:
- The gender balance of new employees has shifted toward women, now approaching 70%. No, we are not excluding men, it’s just that applications from women currently dominate.
- Interviews with male candidates usually take longer: the average interview duration is about 25% longer.
- In addition to basic benefits, candidates' top requests involve military deferments. This shows a significant need for clear rules and prioritization in fintech and IT, which remain among the top contributors to the state budget.
This turns hiring into a quest. It’s easy to say "hiring has become difficult", and it’s true. Hiring was always challenging: in 2019 due to salaries, in 2020 due to COVID, in 2021 due to salary peaks, and since 2022 due to the war. What makes modern hiring in IT and fintech a quest is the number of variables to consider in a conversation with each candidate. The range of questions you need to answer here and now is vast.
Hiring and supporting
And yet, we are growing. In the first half of 2025, we opened 18 vacancies and successfully filled 25. Most of this growth comes from new directions, new products within the flagship project, and new countries we are entering. Honestly, this growth wouldn’t be possible without a strong team that stayed and persevered. Not just "getting the work done," but taking responsibility, managing entire directions, and sometimes even covering for colleagues currently in uniform.
We also don’t forget those who left. We stay in touch, check in on them, and help if they need equipment or personal support. If a family reaches out, we get involved. Not because it’s "required," but because these are our people, and they are still part of the team.
At the same time, we focus on onboarding and integrating new people, especially as we grow our international team, which isn’t immediately connected to the values of our Ukrainian team. Some work from abroad, while HQ in Kyiv faces frequent attacks.
A recent example: a survey about relocating the Kyiv office to western Ukraine. Despite "hot summer nights," most employees preferred to stay in Kyiv. The takeaway? Distance does not destroy culture if you nurture it from day one.
In the first two weeks with a new employee, we focus not only on "what you need to do" but also on "who we are and why it matters." People should feel part of the whole, even if they see the team in Teams for the first time. In this sense, HR is not just an administrator; it is the voice of the company, alive, attentive, and understanding. HR has no choice.
Onboarding in a distributed team is not about automation. It’s about care, from the first message or first team meeting. It’s about a shared language, even if someone is in Warsaw, Milan, or Chernivtsi. We never split the team into "central" and "the rest." In times of war and mobilization, when the market is unpredictable, a sense of unity is what keeps a business afloat as much as performance bonuses.
Of course, new talent is important, but in conditions of high turnover due to mobilization, team interchangeability must be built from within. We train management, develop cross-functional teams, and create opportunities for those who want more responsibility. During wartime, this is critical. Sometimes a team cannot be replenished externally and must be rebuilt from those who remain.
This is not a story about a perfect HR process. It’s a story about responsibility, flexibility, the choice not to stop, and the belief that even in difficult times, you can create a work environment people want to stay in. Not because someone promised a deferment, but because people are at the center.
Of course, there are hard moments. But we learn to stay strong and keep the team strong. Because if not us, then who?