Oksana Kovenya, HR Team Lead, Xpand

If we take a look at Xpand from the inside, it becomes clear that our strength lies in our people.

Speaking from a people-oriented perspective, I am proud to state that Xpand is much more than just a business — we’re a community-driven organization dedicated to empowering talent. Because at Xpand we believe that innovation is driven by people — talented individuals who bring bold ideas and the determination to turn them into reality.

We believe every person is a professional and can reach the bravest goals with the right motivation, skills, and an environment that fosters growth.

As an HR Team Lead, I always track various Global Human Capital Trends Reports to explore trends in talent management, organizational performance and employee experience. According to the most recent data, Career Growth Opportunities is always one of TOP factors for motivation. And we fully address this employee need at Xpand.

From a Human Capital point of view, our mission is to identify, nurture, and empower talent, creating career and growth opportunities both for new talents joining us, and for those who are already within Xpand.

That is why, despite working through a full-scale war for the third year in a row, we keep growing, both in the number of our employees and by their professional growth.

Developing talent within Xpand

At Xpand, success, among other factors, is measured by the achievements of our people and their professional development.

I often hear from candidates who are just considering joining us, the question “Where and how shall I grow professionally in your company?”

To make the development plan clear for a specialist, we have a clear definition of roles and ladders for each technical role, describing the meaning of each level of seniority, and what is the next career level an employee can move to. This Roles Matrix is available at our employee intranet portal for every Xpander to access at any time.

We also conduct a profound performance review twice a year – an annual one and an interim review. The performance review includes an evaluation of goals achieved and the skill set for every position, the evaluation of which brings an employee to a certain seniority level.

I am happy to share that this year we conducted two performance reviews and, as a result, we had 20 promotions during 2024!

This is a massive achievement, both for the people being promoted and for Xpand as a company. The more employees develop professionally, the most valuable solutions we provide to our clients and partners.

And of course, we support our employees in their growth and education by conducting various training sessions and designing support programs, including emotional wellbeing and intelligence.

Growing in a number of Xpanders

The last years of full-scale war are very difficult for every Ukrainian, and 2024 is not an exception. But, reflecting on this year, I am proud to state that we not only managed to retain employees, have zero redundancies, and not allocate people to bench roles, we managed to keep growing in the number of Xpanders!

In 2024 we were happy to welcome aboard 13new Xpanders.

We keep attracting new talents through active recruiting and various educational and internship programs.

Unleashing new talent through internship opportunities

Xpand’s commitment to empowering talent is reflected in the programs we create, which include:

• Academies for Developers and QA
• Hands-on Internships
• Guided Mentorship
• SCHO Initiative

Each educational and internship program is not copied from previous years, each one is tailored to market and business needs, as well as its participants’ knowledge and skill level.

We develop every program with an individual approach to students, we involve our senior people to be teachers and mentors and give real practical knowledge and experience. We support all students from the HR side on a daily basis to create a trusted environment where they can share all ups and downs during their studies and practices and receive support at every stage.

We are happy to receive more and more applications each year coming by, which shows us that new talents know Xpand and want to become a part of our community.

In 2024 we conducted:

• Academy for Junior Developers for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
  415 applications received, 10 students studying for 2 months, 4 graduates with highest Academy results received an offer and are now Xpanders;

• Mentorship Program for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
  Created to help the newcomers who joined us after the Academy to shape and expand the knowledge received already and start working on real projects.
• Xpand Developers Internship program, focused on .NET Full Stack Development.
  444 applications, 200 tests written, 30 interviews conducted, 4 interns joining us and receiving their experience as interns now.

Learn more about how our Academies work: Xpand Academy: A Pathway to a Career in IT with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

And we shall continue creating transformative and immersive internship programs in 2025, crafted to provide impactful, hands-on experiences that empower participants to excel in their future careers. So, stay tuned, as they say, a new Academy is planned already for the start of 2025