SCALING WITH AI: TINQIN'S HR SUCCESS

TINQIN is a dynamic and rapidly expanding IT company specializing in innovative digital solutions for the insurance sector. In 2023, TINQIN became part of Be Ys Group, a leading insuretech company, specializing in trust services and digital identity solutions, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Today, TINQIN employs over 530 IT professionals across its offices in Sofia and Varna, with many working in hybrid or fully remote roles.

With over 15 years of experience in HR and expertise across multiple industries, including hospitality, retail, professional services, and technology, Ekaterina Dimova has been the driving force behind TINQIN's people strategy for the past six years.

As TINQIN collects accolades for its growth, she leads the HR function in shaping a culture rooted in innovation, trust, and high performance. From reorganizing the HR function to better support growth, to leading key initiatives in onboarding, employee engagement, and digital transformation, she has made significant contributions to TINQIN's success, including its recent recognition as Best Employer 2024.

What structural changes did you implement when TINQIN's headcount doubled?

When growing at such a pace, you cannot rely on stretching HR resources to the breaking point. We have doubled our headcount since 2022, so a strategic redesign of HR was implemented prior to that. We strengthened three key domains: Talent Acquisition, People Operations, and Leadership Development. This model enabled us to grow effectively without overloading our people managers.

How did the changes impact onboarding?

Our onboarding experiences are designed to feel intentional and human, not transactional. Frequent team lead checkpoints, facilitated by HR, help new joiners integrate with purpose and support.

What about team performance?

We still collect quantitative rankings for our HR metrics dashboards, but our primary focus is on gathering qualitative feedback, ensuring role clarity, and aligning personal and organizational growth. In addition to tracking performance, we rigorously measure employee satisfaction. According to independent survey data using the Kincentric methodology, we were named Best Employer 2024 after surpassing industry benchmarks and achieving top-tier employee satisfaction.

Was there a particular factor that made a real difference during this growth phase?

By far, it has been employee referrals. Over 30% of our team members joined through internal referrals, including me! Referrals generate a level of trust that accelerates onboarding and strengthens team cohesion. The process cannot be rushed, but it can be structured by HR with clearly defined incentives and an effective communication strategy.

TINQIN recently received an award for its team-building event. What set it apart?

Our aim was never the award itself. Looking back, our annual team-building event had all the right ingredients: scale, authenticity, and impact. Our goal was simple yet powerful: encourage connections, inspire collaboration, and promote teamwork.

Over 400 colleagues participated in a dozen activities, including dragon boat racing, glass art workshops, and fun team-building puzzles. We are grateful for the recognition by the judging panel, but we are even prouder of the team spirit we have built together.

Did you measure outcomes as a result of the team-building initiatives?

For one, participation and engagement were unprecedented. Over 90% of our remote employees attended the event. However, the real success came afterward: internal surveys showed that 87% of participants reported feeling excited about collaborating with other teams. With the right plan, shared experiences always pay off.

What are you most excited about this year?

We are particularly excited to be at the intersection of HR and AI. All our HR team members have access to the latest AI tools, including HR-specific models.

Moreover, around 150 of our colleagues are currently developing an AI-powered trust platform. We work closely with them to test and iterate key features, such as validating documents, signing contracts, and optimizing administrative workflows.

How can AI solutions you develop for insurance also assist with HR processes?

Indeed, our trust platform is designed for regulated sectors, such as health insurance, where security, compliance, and speed of document processing are key factors. However, the same underlying technologies can streamline HR processes. For example, automating contract and document handling has reduced our administrative load by one-third, freeing up time to focus on high-impact, people-focused activities.

What guiding principle will drive success for you in 2025 and beyond?

Scale up with people. Scale out with technology.

This belief is at the heart of our people strategy. Before introducing more technology, we build strong teams with a shared purpose. Once this foundation is in place, we can bring in technology to scale it out.

We prioritize technologies that increase efficiency or create new growth opportunities. If a new functionality builds trust or removes friction, we go for it. If it does not, we are not afraid to push back on the 20+ product managers working on our trust apps.

In this way, HR becomes an even better partner in innovation and a true driving force for growth. By always centering on our people, we guarantee that scaling out doesn't mean growing apart.

www.tinqin.com