Panel Discussion
‘Future of Work: A sustainable post covid-19 strategy’
During the Online Delphi Economic Forum 2020, Endeavor invited two of its Board Members, Spyros Theodoropoulos (CEO, Chipita) and Marco Veremis (Co-founder & Executive Chairman, Upstream) to discuss, along with Vassilios Katsos (Chairman & Co-Founder, VNK CAPITAL SA), the future of work and ways to build a sustainable post covid-19 strategy. The panel discussion was moderated by Journalist Paschos Mandravelis.
Vassilios Katsos spoke about the positive outcomes that came out of this pandemic and focused on some of the major challenges of remote working. According to the Chairman and Co-founder of VNK Capital, “This crisis was a lesson for entrepreneurship and for our global business models; after a long time, we worked as a whole”. He also pointed out that the current crisis has brought a very positive change, as companies now measure deliverables, instead of the time spent at the office. Regarding remote work, Mr. Katsos stated that in Greece, most sectors require physical presence, something that makes this policy hard to adopt. Finally, he pointed out time management at home and cybersecurity issues as some of the major challenges of working remotely.
Spyros Theodoropoulos was more skeptical about the catalytic role of the pandemic for the future of work, as social relationships and interactions will remain important, even in the digitized era. The CEO of Chipita also talked about the company’s future investment plans that will focus on the primary sector. “I am very interested in the primary sector, as there are endless opportunities in Greece”. Mr. Theodoropouos also stated that the period of the lockdown was very stressful, as “We were hearing about deaths all over the world, while our factories kept producing goods”. “We were anxious for our people, but also over the possibility of having to lock down production due to a possible case.” He added.
Finally, Marco Veremis focused on the benefits that can come out of the pandemic for Greece. He explained that we are now shifting from a model where managers monitor what time employees come to work and what they do exactly in the office, to a two-way relationship of trust between a company and its employees. “Covid-19 served as a catalyst, forcing team members to trust each other” he explained. Also, according to the co-founder & Executive Chairman of Upstream, his sector adapted to the new situation very quickly and there were many cases of people who shone during the lockdown, while working from home.