Dubai, August 26, 2026–When Yasmine joined DiXiO on August 16, 2021, she wasn't joining an established company with mature processes, a large HR function, or a ready-made employee experience.
She was the HR team.
Five years later, much has changed.
DiXiO has grown, expanded into new markets, welcomed experts from different parts of the world, and evolved its strategies and priorities along the way. And as the business evolved, so did HR.
We sat down with Yasmine, DiXiO's first expert, to look back at five years of growth, the changing priorities of HR, and what it means to build the people function of a company that is constantly evolving.
You were DiXiO's very first expert. What was your first day like?
Yasmine: Very different from what it looks like today.
When I joined, there was no established onboarding program, no comprehensive handbook, and no mature HR structure to step into. I had to improvise my first orientation session because many of the things we now consider standard simply didn't exist yet.
At that stage, my priority was to understand what the company needed and start building the foundations.
And that really became the theme of the first part of my journey at DiXiO: building the basics from the ground up.
How has your role changed over five years?
Yasmine: It has become much more strategic.
In the beginning, I was focused on building things that didn't exist yet. Today, I'm thinking much more about how we evolve and scale what we've built.
Recruitment is still an important part of my role, but I'm also focused on helping managers develop their teams, improving our processes through AI, building our People App, strengthening learning and development, creating better employee experiences, and thinking about how our culture can evolve as we become more global.
The questions have changed.
Five years ago, it was often:
“How do we create this?”
Today, it's more often:
“How do we make this better, smarter, and scalable?”
How did your priorities change as DiXiO grew and evolved?
Yasmine: They evolved alongside the business.
As a startup, we're constantly learning and taking a test-and-learn approach. We explore an idea, see how it works in practice, evaluate the results, and then decide whether to scale it, adapt it, or stop it.
That means HR can't operate in isolation or follow a fixed five-year roadmap. When the business changes direction, HR needs to understand what that means for our people and adapt accordingly.
At different stages, the focus has been recruitment, onboarding, learning and development, performance, engagement, technology, or helping managers develop their teams.
The priorities change, but one thing remains constant: keeping the expert experience at the center of everything we do.
Our role is to support the company's changing priorities while making sure that, whatever direction DiXiO takes, our experts have the structure, tools, information, and environment they need to succeed.
As DiXiO has grown into a truly global team, what has that changed for HR?
Yasmine: It adds another layer of complexity, and also a lot of value.
When we were a smaller team, it was easier to have everyone working in roughly the same context. As we've expanded beyond the Middle East and welcomed experts from Africa, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and other regions, we've gained much more diversity in the way people think, communicate, and approach work.
That's a huge strength. Different cultures and experiences bring different perspectives to the table. They add more flavors to the pot, and I think that's one of the things that makes DiXiO interesting.
But it also means we have to be much more intentional about communication and consistency.
When people work across different countries, time zones, languages, and communication styles, we can't rely on information simply being passed from one person to another. We need clear processes, accessible documentation, and a reliable flow of information.
As we continue to grow globally, one of the challenges for HR is making sure that the expert experience remains consistent while still respecting the diversity that makes our organization stronger.
With all the changes and challenges along the way, what kept you motivated?
Yasmine: The people, and seeing the impact of what we're building.
There have been many changes over the years, and not everything has been easy. But seeing people join DiXiO, grow within the company, build relationships, and have a positive experience has always been a strong motivation for me.
I also think the fact that there is always something new to build keeps things interesting. DiXiO doesn't stand still, so neither does HR.
Every time we solve one challenge, a new one comes along. And after five years, I still find that exciting.
Is there a project you're particularly proud of today?
Yasmine: I'm particularly excited about how we're using technology and AI within HR.
We're not just looking at AI as a tool that can make individual tasks faster. We're thinking about how technology can fundamentally improve the way our HR function works.
One of the projects I'm particularly proud of is building an HRIS tailored to DiXiO's specific needs, with AI at the core of how we can manage, access, and use information.
The goal isn't to build technology for the sake of technology. It's to create something that actually reflects how DiXiO works and makes the expert experience better.
For me, that's a good example of how HR has evolved.
Five years ago, we were building the basic processes.
Today, we're asking how we can use technology and AI to make those processes smarter, more efficient, and more relevant to the way our company operates.
Looking back, what does being DiXiO's first expert mean to you?
Yasmine: It means I've had the privilege of seeing the company evolve from the inside.
I joined at a time when many of the processes we have today didn't exist. I've watched the company grow, change direction, test new ideas, enter new markets, and continuously redefine what it needs to become.
And HR has evolved with it.
The role has never been to simply create a fixed set of processes and maintain them. It's been about understanding where DiXiO is going and making sure our people practices evolve with it—while keeping the expert experience at the center.
Five years later, we're at around 50 experts and looking towards 100.
And I don't think the next five years will look anything like the last five.
That's what makes it exciting.
After five years, what's your next challenge?
Yasmine: I think the next challenge is scaling everything we've built without losing what makes the experience special.
Going from 50 to 100 experts means continuing to improve our processes, using technology and AI intelligently, strengthening our managers, and making sure our communication remains clear as the organization becomes more complex.
But beyond the processes and tools, I want to make sure that the expert experience remains at the center of everything we do.
The company will continue to change. Our strategies will continue to evolve. New ideas will be tested, some will succeed, and others won't.
HR needs to be able to move with that pace while providing the stability, structure, and experience that people need.