- Favorite artist: Adrian Garneata :)
- Best book ever read: Ca si cum ne-am sti dintotdeauna, by Ines Dumitriu
- Dream destination: Australia
- Quote you live by: Life is a miracle. Smile. Be happy. Be kind. Give the best of you in everything!
- At the office or remote? Remote
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hello everyone! I'm Diana, aged 33, passionate HR & Admin Manager at XWiki, happy wife of Florian, XWiki Alumni, and proud mother of 2 small children: Jon-Oswald & Léonie!
I've started the XWiki adventure in September 2011 when I excitedly joined the Romanian team, working from the Iasi office. My first role was as an HR & Admin Assistant person, focusing my activity on the Romanian office and team members, working closely but at distance with my manager (who quickly became a close friend), learning, growing, and evolving progressively along with the XWiki team members.
The XWiki Seminar 2013 introduced me to the person that became my husband 6 months later. 2014 was a year that brought a lot of changes, both on the personal and professional side, as it was the year when I've started taking management responsibilities and tackling the HR & Admin aspects on the French side, office & team. A lot of support was given on the way from the XWiki management, the HR & Admin team members, and from the XWiki team in general, for which I am extremely grateful.
In September 2015, I moved to France, joined the French team, and started working remotely from Angers. Now, 9 years later, you can find me at Les Ponts-de-Cé (just at a few km from Angers), still working remotely but, as always, with my instant messaging and video conferences "doors" open!
The journey to XWiki
What were you doing before XWiki? Did you change careers when joining our team?
My first contribution to the labor market was in the banking field, offering financial consultancy to individuals regarding savings accounts. Afterward, I've started working part-time as a financial administrator/librarian for almost 1 year and a half, obtained a study scholarship, and went with the SEE/ Erasmus program in Norway for a semester. When I came back, I did an internship in a recruitment agency as an HR trainee until I finished my Master's in Human Resources Management.
I've joined XWiki immediately after. I was eager to start my HR career in an IT company and was very happy to discover XWiki.
What is it like to be working as an HR & Admin Manager at XWiki?
I let the picture speak for itself 
Just kidding
It's full of diversity and a lot of things to do, so that you can never get bored! You need to be able to adapt quickly to different situations and work autonomously, but also in a team.
The HR & Admin mission at XWiki is really diverse and can even go beyond if there is interest. We are a 4-member team, which I currently lead, with 2 people in France and 2 in Romania. Together we handle the human resources processes, the office & administration tasks, while also being involved in the financial & accounting, as well as the legal areas. We focus on bringing talented people in, then on their wellbeing and growth. We try to contribute as best as possible to the XWiki business, indirectly, through smooth actions and to offer support to management, teams, and individuals.
Challenges in the mission appear all the time and at different levels:
- at the top management level, while trying to contribute to the global decisions of the company
- at the team management level, while doing my best to build the team & help the team members grow and stay motivated
- at the operational level, while handling the responsibilities associated with the mission, working with people remote and/or on-site
During the 9 years, I had the opportunity to deal with so many situations that it made me realize how lucky I am to be in a company where I can push my limits, where I have the right level of autonomy, and where I can easily get help or advice if I ask for, where I am allowed to make mistakes, being aware of the responsibility and where I can get to know the people that I'm working with and make real friends.
Open Source impressions
Was Open Source something you had an interest in prior to XWiki?
I discovered the Open Source world when I joined XWiki and started learning about it here. I was pleasantly surprised by the culture and the values.
What's the Open Source value you identify with most?
I have a hard time choosing just one value as there are so many that I identify myself with. But as I have to pick just one, I'm choosing "collaboration". One thing that I particularly like is that you can always count on someone at XWiki.
Being an XWikier for 9 years and counting
What has kept you at XWiki so far?
The team, the leaders, the opportunities that were offered to me, the liberty and trust to make my own decisions, the advice that I received, the evolution, the flexibility, and the list can continue.
If you ever wished for a job change, what made you decide to stay?
The autonomy enforced by support when needed, the trust and the appreciation that I got from the others, seeing that my role within the team and the company is valued and that my contribution is real, are just a few aspects that I could mention. For me, XWiki went and continues to go beyond work. I gave a lot of myself and received a lot in exchange. On the personal side, XWiki brought me friends & family, role models, work-life balance. On the professional side, it brought me support, growth & challenges that shaped what I am now. So, as you can imagine, it's not easy to say goodbye to things like this.
What were the biggest/most important/drastic ways in which XWiki changed during the years you've been around?
Surprisingly, I cannot say that XWiki changed drastically since 2011 and for me, this is actually quite reassuring . The XWiki top management style is a safe one, always putting first the needs and wellbeing of the existing team members, while not taking unneeded risks and playing safe financially. There were times when XWiki had difficulties and I was extremely impressed and proud to see how everyone from the company lent a hand to help and going the extra mile by taking up responsibilities that were not necessarily in their area of expertise. I have in mind the taskforce, commando mode to which the company switched to for 6 months or so in 2016. It's really amazing to see this kind of involvement and it makes you proud to be part of such a team.
Lessons learned
What would you say is the most valuable lesson you learned during your time at XWiki?
I learned to not be afraid, to speak, to act, to take responsibilities. That it is all right to do mistakes as long as you learn from them and you do better next time. I also learned how important it is to put yourself in the shoes of others and how powerful mutual respect and collaboration can be.
The XWiki experience
If you could describe your XWiki experience in one word, what would it be?
Life-changing
Favorite memory of the years as XWiki?
Too many things happened since I joined the team to have just one favorite memory I will never forget my first interview at the initial XWiki Iasi Office, an apartment near the Faculty of Computer Science, Iasi, Romania, and my firsts days, when I was so warmly welcomed by the team, the move of the offices, the outings & game evenings with the team, the office exchanges, my first seminar when we "struggled" the team with the "XWiki Olympics" & disguised "Rock&Horror Party", the unexpected turning life upside down meet with my life partner, the XWiki team at our wedding, all our secret special moments with the HR & Admin team members, etc.
Diana's journey through the years at the XWiki seminars
