Greek disbursements software company Harbor Lab, augmented its position as an employee-centred business last month, when it received the Best Workplaces™ Hellas 2022 certification. The Athens-based startup is the only maritime-affiliated company in Greece to be recognised as one of the top five Best Workplaces in the small-sized category.

The award presentation coincided with the appointment of Cristy Panagiotopoulou as Harbor Lab’s People & Culture Director. Cristy Panagiotopoulou will cooperate with the senior management team to foster and promote the company’s culture and values. Its application to become a Great Place to Work began a year ago, during which time the company has doubled its number of employees. Now a small- to medium- sized company, it is ready to maintain a high-performance culture, based on transparency and inclusivity, to achieve its business goals and generate value for every member of its steadily growing team.

Harbor Lab is committed to developing a continuous learning and development culture to support its people’s interpersonal skills and professional growth. Recognising employees’ contribution to the company is an integral part of Harbor Lab’s ethos, and embedded in its approach to professional development, exceptional benefits and a thorough career plan for each employee.

This people-oriented culture was first conceived by the company’s founder and CEO, Antonis Malaxianakis, who has been employed in the Greek shipping industry for almost ten years.

He says:

“When I started Harbor Lab over two years ago, I wanted it to stand out, not only for the products and services it offers, but also as a modern and qualitative company that considers its people to be the cornerstone of its operations. The products that we create are designed to bring transparency to the shipping sector. Therefore, I wanted that same ethos to thrive within our team as well.

“I am delighted that Cristy Panagiotopoulou has joined us to undertake the crucial role of the People & Culture Director. We may be a company consisting of 50 people right now, but this is the moment to set a high bar for ourselves so that we will deliver excellence through our products, teams and customer base, both now and in the future.”

Cristy Panagiotopoulou has a well-established career in the field of Human Resources, with more than 12 years of professional experience in Greece-based multinational companies.  Driven by her passion to inspire and develop others she takes pride in providing the best employee experience.

She says of her appointment at Harbor Lab:

“It is remarkably rare for a start-up company to prioritise the appointment of a People & Culture Director, and it demonstrates Harbor Lab’s commitment to the professional and personal well-being of its team. The company’s motto to ‘lead by example, lead with empathy’ is valued and embraced by the employees in their entirety, and I am therefore proud to be part of the Harbor Lab team.”

Harbor Lab provides data-led solutions to the shipping industry with a range of innovative digital tools which provide shipowners, shipmanagers and charterers with easy access to clear and transparent port tariffs through a cloud-based e-disbursements platform. Its analysts obtain verified, real-time data, directly from port authorities and agents, and unravel the matrices that determine individual port expenses. This data is then processed by complex algorithms that drive the online Port Cost Estimator and Disbursement Accounting (DA) Tool. Shipmanagement companies have reported savings of approximately 5% compared to the original submitted amount by the Agent.

Antonis Malaxianakis says:

“In ten years’ time, all decisions within shipping will be data driven, and, as a consequence, the maritime professional’s profile will be completely altered. Demand for data scientists and analysts will be higher than ever, and we will witness an employee market in which talent will not only seek a good salary, but also a fair and transparent workplace where each employee’s voice is heard.”

He adds:

“Harbor Lab’s recognition as one of the Best Workplaces in Greece means a great deal to us. Our current goal now is to achieve 100% employee satisfaction by the end of 2022, represented in the reputable Great Place to Work survey. As we seamlessly invest in the development of our business, including overseas expansion, our high-performance culture will continue to evolve as our company grows.”