How Sabena Technics grew from 140 to 500 Middle East employees without growing its HR admin
The global aviation MRO company runs document control, shift scheduling, geofenced attendance, approvals and payroll for its UAE and Qatar teams on ZenHR.
I feel like ZenHR grew with us over the years. Without it, I don't think we'd have been able to sustain the administrative demands that come with growing from 140 to 500 employees.
About Sabena Technics
Sabena Technics is a global aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company headquartered in Paris, France. It services aircraft for some of the world’s best-known carriers, including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Air France and Lufthansa.
In the Middle East, the company operates in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, with Jeddah next on the map. Its regional workforce is a mix of hangar-based technicians on rotating shifts and office-based teams, drawn from many nationalities. In one of the most heavily regulated industries there is, HR records, from technical certifications to personal documents, are as critical as the work on the hangar floor.
Before ZenHR: manual HR that couldn’t scale
Sabena Technics ran its Middle East HR almost entirely by hand. Attendance, approvals, payroll inputs and employee records were all handled manually, while the company was hiring fast and moving into new sites.
“Before ZenHR, everything was done very manually. And with manual processes come human errors, duplications, missed items, and failures of every kind.” — Keith Walter Ayuso
“If we had to rely on manual processes, it would never be sustainable. As we grow as a company, our tools have to grow alongside us.” — Keith Walter Ayuso
Why ZenHR
Keith, who brings close to a decade of HR experience in Dubai, led the search for a new HRMS. His first non-negotiable was usability. The second was coverage: ZenHR brought attendance, payroll, document management and approvals into one platform.
“People are very visual. If a system is dark and hard to look at, it already shapes how people feel about using it. So my non-negotiable was the design, for sure.” — Keith Walter Ayuso
“If it links attendance, payroll, documentation, and approvals in one place, then we’re talking.” — Keith Walter Ayuso
How Sabena Technics uses ZenHR
- Document control for a regulated workforce: technical and personal employee documents live in one place, organised the way the team needs.
- Shift schedules and geofenced attendance: every Friday, HR publishes the next week’s schedule, and it doesn’t change once it’s out. Technicians see their shifts anytime and clock in from wherever they’re assigned. Schedules can now be segmented and mapped by department directly in the system.
- Faster approvals for overtime and allowances: customisable requests handle variable pay, and approvers filter financial transactions by subtype and approve them in batches.
- Payroll from anywhere: Keith ran the March 2026 payroll while travelling in Japan, extracting, reviewing and uploading it to ZenHR from abroad.
“The schedule is ready a week before you come in, and it never changes. Wherever you are, you can clock in and out because of geolocation. There’s no room for ‘I didn’t know my schedule.’” — Keith Walter Ayuso
“Now I can just filter by subtype, approve one batch today, and come back tomorrow for the next. It makes my life easier.” — Keith Walter Ayuso
The results: 3.5x the headcount, on the same system
When Sabena Technics started with ZenHR, its Middle East team had about 140 employees. Today it has around 500, and the same platform carries the hiring, payroll, scheduling and documentation that came with that growth.
- Schedules set a week ahead and visible to every technician.
- Attendance captured on location through geofencing, across multiple sites.
- Batch approvals for overtime and allowance requests.
- Payroll that travels with HR, including a full cycle run from Japan.
- One home for regulated documents, from technical certifications to personal records.
“ZenHR was part of our growth over these three years. Hiring, payroll, documentation, and everything that comes with growing from 140 to 500 employees.” — Keith Walter Ayuso
Advice for international companies setting up in the region
Choose a system that fits how you actually work, not one loaded with add-ons you’ll never use.
“Always look for a partner that works in your favor, not the other way around. And when you find one, use it to your advantage and stop doing the admin work.” — Keith Walter Ayuso
At a glance
- Industry: Aviation maintenance, repair & overhaul (MRO)
- Headquarters: Paris, France
- Middle East locations: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar (Jeddah upcoming)
- Employees on ZenHR: ~500 (from ~140 at start)
- Customer since: 2024
The experience, summed up
“Peace. It gives me peace of mind, and it gives my processes, my company, and my employees peace in doing their work.” — Keith Walter Ayuso
