Community
Published: July 07, 2020
Community
Published: July 07, 2020

Greek Team Goes Above and Beyond for Safe and Remote Working

When Greece first entered lockdown, Georgia Kollara and Antonis Delottis of PPG Hellas took it upon themselves to go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure their colleagues were safe and fully prepared to work from home. Though the local lockdown was very restrictive, domestic distributors and some export customers still managed to remain open, and so did our office on the outskirts of Athens.

During the limitations imposed by the pandemic, the entire 50-strong team in Greece was instrumental in displaying an incredible level of dedication. The main challenge for the team was to keep the company operating and continue supporting customers in unprecedented circumstances. Despite the highly unusual situation, never once did they lose focus on our customers or maintaining their standards.
Most of our colleagues started working remotely, some needed to be able to keep working from the office safely. Georgia, Nikos, Marialena, George, John, Apostolos, Nikos, Petros, Antonis, Vasso – from accounting to IT, for all, it was a great lesson in how to adapt to a new challenge. Simply put a mask on, move to an office with fresh air, observe social distancing, and carry on working!
Paolo Tornaghi, PPG director of Greece and the Balkans

Smart Solutions Mean a Strong Team

Representing the true spirit and attitude of the whole team, meet two of our dedicated colleagues who were among those keeping the wheels turning during the crisis.

Antonis Delottis joined the team 15 years ago and works in IT services, monitoring and maintaining the local network and solving any problems.

I consider issues to be opportunities, to improve not just procedures, but also myself.

When the virus hit, the team, just like the rest of the world, had no chance to prepare in advance. Some employees had only worked from desktop computers in the office and remote access was not possible. Antonis worked unceasingly to create a solution from a “whole universe of equations”.

My main concern was to enable our colleagues to work remotely and safely from home. It was a huge challenge and I felt quite responsible to PPG, my colleagues and the market.

But in just a few days, he had found a way forward to ensure everyone was able to work safely!

Georgia Kollara has been with the team for over 20 years and manages the Accounting and HR departments. She is considered hardworking, professional, and positive.

I see my colleagues as a big family. I care for all of them and when I see them happy, safe, and healthy, I feel motivated and satisfied that my efforts contributed to that result.

While Antonis was busy setting up the team’s IT structure, many additional precautions had to be applied as the majority of the team had to work from home. But Georgia navigated the situation perfectly, keeping spirits up, and working tirelessly to cope with all the new legislation and restrictions. Despite all this, she didn’t miss a single administrative deadline and never lost her positive attitude in finding solutions for truly unexpected problems.

It was important to maintain our usual level of the service to our customers.

Turning Crisis Into Opportunity to Get Closer to Customers

They say your attitude creates your reality and this is certainly true for our team in Greece. Thanks to their positivity and can-do approach, they feel much stronger and encouraged now.

Georgia gained an appreciation for the daily routine and considers herself lucky.

I continued to do what I was doing every day while many people could not even go to the supermarket.

Antonis feels the experience has confirmed that his decision to be part of the PPG family was a good one.

I also learned not to lose hope. To always look for the better solution and not worry about small errors. Sometimes small errors lead us to the smartest solution.

The bottom line is, their customers appreciate all the team did and feel closer to them than ever before.

Hard Work And Dedication? It’s a PPG Thing!

While Georgia and Antonis are by no means the only people who went over and above to support their colleagues in a time of global emergency, their efforts represent how #PPGProud we should all be of one another’s hard work and dedication during this time.

As Georgia puts it: “I am proud of my work family. Though it is called an office, for me it is also a home.”

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