As Head of People at Tines, Maria Dillon champions our inclusive company culture. Maria supports every team as we rapidly scale, ensuring every voice is heard and implementing thoughtful initiatives that help set Tines apart as a world-class employer and a fantastic place to work.
Can you tell us a little more about yourself?
Sure, I am the Head of People here at Tines and look after the Recruitment, HR & Administration functions. From time to time, I end up with a few extra things on my plate, like setting up travel systems or ordering IT equipment. It’s all hands on deck at a startup.
What does a typical workday or week look like for you at Tines?
Thankfully there is no typical workday at Tines or in the People business in general. That is one of the main things I love about my role and about the company. For example, today, I am working on employee handbooks, our hiring process in the US, comparing benefits, performance management, interviewing some candidates, and closing out the day by co-hosting our second Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging committee.
I do have one constant - I start each day by chatting to one of my team. I am fortunate to work with the best and get so much energy from my team members, they rock!
What’s the coolest thing you’ve worked on to date?
This is a very tricky question as I work on a lot of cool projects. There are a couple of standout moments; I loved finding us an office, moving into it, and seeing people meet each other for the first time. I loved working on adding benefits to our offerings and finding the wording to best describe our working philosophy. The coolest, though, was arranging our first-ever Offsite, held in Dublin in November. 60+ people gathered from all over the world. We strategized, shared learnings but most importantly, got to know each other personally. I stood at the back of the room for the opening session, watching our co-founders passionately and genuinely talk about Tines with goosebumps that I was getting to play a part of something so powerful.
Who or what has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?
I was brought up by an amazing single mother. She is my inspiration every single day. She was very focused on putting dinner on the table, so her work ethic was next level. She applied that work ethic to whatever she did in her career, from running her own playschool to being a nurse’s assistant in Dublin’s largest pediatric hospital. She taught me to believe in myself, go after what I want, and continually better myself. Most importantly, she taught me not to take myself too seriously.
What is your favorite Slack channel at Tines?
We have a Slack channel dedicated to people’s pets, and I stalk it regularly. There is nothing like a cute dog, cat, or turtle (we are very pet inclusive) to brighten your day.
Want to know more about Tines? Check out our About page. Interested in joining the Tines team? View our current openings and apply here: https://www.tines.com/careers