Harbor Lab takes pride in putting its valued people first

HarborLab recognized as Greece’s Best Place to Work

It is a significant honor for HarborLab to be recognised as one of Greece’s Best Workplaces!

As HarborLab takes great pride in putting its valued people first, it is beyond excited to see their newly appointed People & Culture Director maintain a well-balanced and prosperous professional environment.

Greek disbursements software company, HarborLab, showcased remarkable consistency as a proudly people-oriented business, not only by winning the prestigious accolade of being named among the Best Workplace in Greece for 2022 by Great Place To Work® Hellas!, but also by welcoming Cristy Panagiotopoulou as its new People & Culture Director, to lead its outstanding team of people.

People-oriented Culture

HarborLab, an innovative Athens-based startup business, was the only maritime-affiliated company to be recognized as one of the Top 5 Best Workplaces in the Small-sized Category (20 to 49 employees).

The celebration of the award coincided with the appointment of Cristy Panagiotopoulou, as HarborLab’s People & Culture Director. The latter joining the company served as yet another initiative to its approach to attract, nurture and retain talent. Cristy will cooperate with the Senior Management team, so as to foster and promote the company’s culture and values. The main purpose for HarborLab is the establishment of a high-performance culture framework, one that is based on transparency and inclusivity, in order to achieve its business goals and generate value for each and every employee.

HarborLab is committed to the development of a continuous Learning & Development Culture, for the sake of both its people’s interpersonal skills and professional growth. Recognizing people’s contribution is an integral part of HarborLab’s culture, hence the company’s innovative approach to professional flexibility, exceptional benefits and a thorough career plan for every 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 and Culture Director, though it perfectly depicts 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 thus I am elated to be part of the HarborLab team.”

Maritime Data-led solutions

HarborLab provides data-led solutions to the shipping industry, having generated a range of innovative digital tools which provide shipowners and charterers easy access to clear and transparent port tariffs, through a cloud-based platform. Its analysts obtain verified, real-time data, directly from port authorities and agents, and unravel the matrices that determine individual port fees. This data is then being processed by complex algorithms that drive the online Port Cost Estimator and Disbursement Accounting (DA) Tool.

The aforementioned tools segment the expenses associated with an individual port, including port dues, towage, pilotage and mooring services, among others. Their purpose is to analyze every cost, as much as to instantly present the chartering and operations teams with intelligible and validated data, through a user-friendly interface. By comparing costs and fees among several platforms, maritime management companies have reported approximately savings of USD 1200 per port call.

Antonis Malaxianakis says:

“In ten years’ time, all decisions within shipping will be data-driven, and, as a consequence, the shipping professional-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. Harbor Lab’s recognition as one of the Best Workplaces in Greece means a considerable 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 employees grow in it.”