{"id":39077,"date":"2026-02-05T13:09:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T11:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/when.org.gr\/?p=39077"},"modified":"2026-02-05T13:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T11:09:09","slug":"when-on-topic-do-small-businesses-really-need-policies-and-procedures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/when.org.gr\/en\/when-on-topic-do-small-businesses-really-need-policies-and-procedures\/","title":{"rendered":"WHEN on Topic: Do small businesses really need policies and procedures?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"text\">\n    <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this episode of WHEN on Topic, <strong>Stella Kasdagli<\/strong> talks with <strong>Anastasia Chalkidou, Co-Founder and CFO of Quantum Bits<\/strong> (and a valued collaborator of WHEN!), about whether <strong>small businesses<\/strong> and organizations actually need <strong>policies and procedures<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the conversation, we wonder whether a \u201c<strong>good workplace atmosphere<\/strong>\u201d is really enough (probably not), and how -if we decide to put certain things down on paper- we can better <strong>support<\/strong> our employees (especially those who also have caregiving responsibilities outside of work).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the ninth episode of the WHEN on Topic series, which is implemented within the framework of the <a href=\"https:\/\/when.org.gr\/caredizo-i-frontida-einai-ypothesi-olon-mas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>CAREdiZO<\/strong><\/a> project, we explore some critical questions:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At what point does a small business need to stop relying on a \u201cgood atmosphere\u201d and start establishing <strong>clear policies and procedures<\/strong> around work\u2013life balance (l<strong>eave, flexibility, working hours<\/strong>)?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As an organization grows and its structure and processes evolve, what is the point that employers should begin in order to manage <strong>increasing complexity<\/strong> effectively? What <strong>challenges<\/strong> are they likely to face?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What should those who hesitate to formalize a policy -out of f<strong>ear of change<\/strong> or potential consequences- take into account? And what can be done about practices that are not fully aligned with, or covered by, existing <strong>legislation<\/strong>?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which <strong>stakeholders<\/strong> need to be involved to ensure the proper development of these new policies? Can real-life <strong>cases <\/strong>that arise <strong>after a policy is implemented<\/strong>, lead to its revision?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How can this entire process <strong>transform<\/strong> a company and its employers? How can a small business owner begin to think more <strong>strategically<\/strong> about supporting their employees?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re grappling with the<strong> balance<\/strong> between <strong>flexibility<\/strong> and <strong>equality<\/strong>, if, as a business owner, you feel you don\u2019t have the time to care for your <strong>team<\/strong> the way you would like, or if you\u2019re wondering where to start when it comes to setting clear <strong>rules<\/strong> and ensuring an <strong>equitable environment<\/strong> for everyone, this episode is a great place to begin.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: WHEN on Topic: \u039c\u03b1 \u03c7\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03ac\u03b6\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b9\u03ba\u03c1\u03ad\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c0\u03b9\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03ae\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03b9\u03c4\u03b9\u03ba\u03ad\u03c2;\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/5FKflVxU862UHZS9W1ehVS?go=1&amp;sp_cid=ecc7b373a936197ae9a00f1040e7d991&amp;utm_source=oembed&amp;utm_medium=desktop&amp;nd=1&amp;dlsi=f616be416c644966\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<section id=\"nvm-faq-block_721aa7a207ce7f989e26c01331c45a85\" class=\"nvm-faq alignfull\">\r\n    <div class=\"panel panel-width-normal\">\r\n        <div class=\"row small-align-self-center\">\r\n                                        <div class=\"small-column-100 laptop-margin-10 laptop-column-80 small-align-self-center\">\r\n                    <div class=\"faq-wrapper\">\r\n                        <h2 class=\"title color-onyx\">Read the podcast<\/h2>\r\n                                                    <div class=\"faq-container\">\r\n                                                                    <div class=\"responsiville-accordion\">\r\n                                        <div class=\"responsiville-accordion-panel\">\r\n                                            <div class=\"responsiville-accordion-header color-onyx\">\r\n                                                WHEN on Topic - Episode 9 | Do small businesses really need policies and procedures?                                            <\/div>\r\n                                            <div class=\"responsiville-accordion-content\">\r\n                                                <div class=\"text\">\r\n                                                    \n<div class=\"text\">\n    <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Welcome to another episode of WHEN on Topic. I\u2019m Stella Kasdagli, and as you may <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">remember, this season of our podcast is dedicated to care responsibilities and their equal\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">distribution. And of course, it comes to you thanks to CAREdiZO.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is CAREdiZO? It is a new project we are participating in under the European <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Commission\u2019s CERV program, which aims to bridge the gender gap in care responsibilities <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by promoting equality practices at home, in very small businesses, and in small civil society\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">organizations, with up to 10\u201311 employees. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project supports family-friendly policies, encourages men to participate in care work,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and highlights the value of care in society -exactly what we ourselves have been advocating\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for all these years. Its activities include research, co-creation workshops, training programs,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and the development of digital tools such as an educational game and podcasts, aimed at\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">combating stereotypes and promoting equality. Our other partners come from Cyprus,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lithuania, and Bulgaria, and they are currently creating their own podcasts, which you may\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have the opportunity to discover in the near future.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In today\u2019s episode of our podcast, we are joined by a very dear guest, Anastasia Chalkidou,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">who is co-founder and CFO of Quantum Bits, a company you will be hearing much more\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">about very soon. I will only say that she also supports many other small businesses and\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">organizations in standing on their feet, growing, and becoming financially and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">technologically sustainable. That is why we invited Anastasia here today: to talk with her <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">about what the journey looks like for a very small business or organization when it begins\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">trying to formalize what it would like to offer its employees in order to support work\u2013life <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">balance and help them manage care responsibilities outside of work. How can this be done <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">effectively, without dedicating excessive resources, without burdening either the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">organization or employees with unnecessary bureaucracy, and without creating a rigid\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">system, something we usually associate with very large companies and that, as small\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">business owners, we sometimes prefer to avoid? How can we move away from relying only <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on climate and culture and move toward policies and procedures that ensure equal <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">treatment and an equal distribution of care responsibilities for everyone?<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s listen to Anastasia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Anastasia, tell us a few words about the company you co-founded. What is Quantum?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: First of all, thank you very much for the invitation, which I accepted with great pleasure. Quantum is an accounting and IT company, a collaboration between two very fundamental pillars of all businesses, regardless of size. It was founded about eleven years ago by myself and Giorgos Kaznetzov, after we returned from an important experience in Belgium, where we worked for two years, bringing with us all of our prior experience in our respective fields. I am an economist and certified auditor, and Giorgos is an IT specialist. So we joined forces wanting to create a services hub -an accelerator, I would say- for small and very small businesses and organizations, one that could offer a high level of service quality without incredibly high costs, and that would live through the experience of growth, because we were growing together with our partners, and that was the beautiful part.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: And how many people are you now at Quantum?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: We are now a total of 15 people. We are split between Athens and Thessaloniki. We have a fairly wide age range and different backgrounds, which essentially make up the accounting, IT, and operations teams, with operations touching both departments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Let me add the disclaimer that Quantum has been a valuable partner of ours <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for -how long now- four years?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Three.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Three years. I should also say that the reason you are here today is because you have\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gone through the journey of building a business that is no longer very small -it is small, you\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have passed the number of 11- but at the same time you support, on a daily basis, other\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">very small and small businesses. So you bring not only your own perspective, but also the\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">perspective of many clients who have passed through your hands.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: That\u2019s true. And it was an invaluable experience for us as well. As I said earlier, we felt that we were growing together with our partners\u2014not only our clients, but also the external collaborators we had for running the business. We exchanged experiences, and I I think that made all of us much better at what we do. We gained a better understanding of reality, and of economic reality in particular, partly because of our background and partly because the years we went through were difficult for many reasons and challenges. We learned a lot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Sure. Drawing on all this experience -both your own and that of the businesses you have supported- and focusing on the core issue that CAREdiZO primarily addresses, which is the reconciliation of professional and private life for the people who work for us, with a particular emphasis on those who also have care responsibilities outside of work: where would you say that the ideal point is for a very small business or organization to stop relying on what we often say, \u201cwe have a good atmosphere here, we\u2019re human, we can rely on one another,\u201d and start putting things \u201con paper,\u201d so to speak? To begin institutionalizing and clearly articulating policies and procedures related to leave, flexibility, working hours, anything that touches on work\u2013life balance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: In truth, there is no point in the sense of numbers. That would help us, because we are people of numbers, but there isn\u2019t one. What exists instead is complexity, a degree of\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">complexity, and you mainly perceive it through indications.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: For example?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: For example, the difficulty of always being available to respond. Things need to\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">move forward regardless of whether you are at a conference or a presentation, they still\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">need to move forward. In accounting, we also have tight deadlines that are not set by us, nor\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can we shift them, and they carry costs if they are not met. So that\u2019s where the realization\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">comes in that some things are no longer easy to manage on our own. At the same time, people gradually join the team and bring their own particularities and dynamics. They have personal issues they are called upon to manage alongside their work. So, you begin to realize that this is no longer a one-man or one-woman show. You need to distribute responsibility, you need to share, and you need to put things down a bit, not to create additional bureaucracy, but to facilitate things and free people up to talk to you, and for you to talk to them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: From my own experience, I see two ways an entrepreneur can respond to this. One is\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to say, \u201cOh no, these people don\u2019t work anymore, we can\u2019t coordinate,\u201d and put the blame on\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">employees. The other is to realize that the organization is growing and needs a new\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">structure and a new way of doing things. So where do you start?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: For me, the key is communication. And communication is neither one-sided nor\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">at a single level. It\u2019s not that the founders sit down, write a policy, and say, \u201cThis is\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">it, implement it,\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Take it\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: As if the rest 12 people have no opinion or don\u2019t live in this reality every day.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s disempowering and doesn\u2019t help with culture change or inclusion. So, first there\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">needs to be a discussion around the maturity of the founders, to realize they can\u2019t do\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">everything on their own anymore, and we ourselves started on our own and the <\/span>development was both rapid and with many issues to deal with. So, at some point we also came to realize that these things need to be addressed, we need to discuss them. Then there are the intermediaries, what we might call the management team, who act as buffers and are responsible for implementation and monitoring, and who receive feedback from both sides (founders and employees). Discussion at all these levels, and inclusion of the whole team is essential. When we decided to document these things, even something as simple as setting goals for the next year, we spoke with our collaborators, first the management team, and then the entire team. We set milestones for discussion, that we will talk about these two or three times, because there comes a difficulty of how long it will take us to make the policy. Maybe by involving more people&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Correct<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Bureaucracies begin or we hinder development from some personal stereotypes\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that everyone may have. So, we set a program that we will discuss in these two phases of\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the year and decide after this second discussion. So, the more structured something is and\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the more inclusive I would say, the more we put the team into it, the easier it is to\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">implement later. Without saying that challenges and things that we did not know or could\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">not predict did not arise. But when we are aligned, we are all on the same page, we can deal\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with them more easily.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: I would like you to tell me about these challenges. I recently received a comment from an HR employee from a larger organization than ours, but she made the point that, look at her, when a woman on our team is on her period and needs to go to the bathroom for a moment, she can raise her hand to signal to the shift manager and go. No further, blah blah. Why would I put this into a process that could create complaints. It could create sarcastic comments. It could embarrass people who were used to operating this way. Maybe, maybe, maybe. And not continue to rely on what has been working so far. So, what advice would you give to founders or executives who are hesitant to enter the process of formalizing a policy for fear of what kind of mess it will bring.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: That we shouldn\u2019t look at processes in isolation, and this actually touches on my work as well. So, it\u2019s part of that area too. I\u2019ll bring an example from work to see how similar the\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">approaches are. When we tell our colleagues, \u201cOkay, you need to keep documentation,\u201d you\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">need to have these supporting documents in your files in case there is a tax audit, a tax\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">inspection, so that we can refer to them. For many people it\u2019s difficult to accept all this\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">archiving, even electronically, if possible, why it needs to exist, given electronic\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bookkeeping and all these developments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Well, don\u2019t ever hire me. I\u2019d destroy the whole company.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: I get it, on the one hand. But it\u2019s also a form of prevention and, if you like,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reassurance, peace of mind. It\u2019s a form of care as well. Preventing stress when the time\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">comes to referring to something, having it ready and being able to produce it. That\u2019s how I\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">see these processes within the team too. It\u2019s not bureaucracy, it\u2019s not something we want to\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">box into rigid frameworks like the example you mentioned. On the contrary, we want to empower people who don\u2019t have the courage to ask what applies in a given case. And there are many such people in our teams. They don\u2019t feel comfortable asking, so they need to be <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">informed about what they can do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: True<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: And feel free to do so. Or to think, \u201cWhat a great idea this is,\u201d whether they\u2019re men or\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">women in this example. To think, \u201cWhat a proactive environment this is, I like the people\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here, and I like being part of this team.\u201d So, it triggers many positive things, even though it\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">adds one more step of communication or process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Yes, for me this was a very pivotal moment in my development as a manager. When we\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">received feedback from a team member who said, \u201cI would like to know when I\u2019m entitled\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to ask for this. When I don\u2019t know, I find it difficult to ask because I\u2019m afraid it might work\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">against me.\u201d That\u2019s something I wouldn\u2019t have thought of. And hearing it made me realize\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that it can work the other way too. It\u2019s not only about a positive provision that helps me.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if I see a restrictive provision, knowing about it and being able to plan accordingly, as\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an individual, as a family, is also very important.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Absolutely. And I would say it\u2019s also relieving. No one needs to be put \u201cin the spotlight, so to speak\u2014using sports terms\u2014just because they ask something. Especially in accounting, where I lead the department, the restrictions are even greater, because it\u2019s less acceptable not to know what leave you\u2019re entitled to. Someone might think, \u201cThis is part of my job, so if I say I don\u2019t know labor law issues that I\u2019m supposed to apply and advise clients on, I\u2019ll be exposed even more.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Exactly. Especially for provisions that don\u2019t align directly with legislation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They can be additional, employer-initiated, anything. And again, it touches work and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">finances, I like to say that it\u2019s a social science.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: It really is.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: It belongs to the social sciences, and I like to emphasize that, because it touches so many different aspects. For example, that person might have to deal with an incident involving a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">client and will need the, let\u2019s call it a heavy term, approach or way of communicating it.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because that too will involve an employee.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Right, right. You mentioned involving employees from the beginning of this process. What other stakeholders need to be activated for this process to move forward\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">properly\u2014whether because they have the knowledge, the experience, or whatever else?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: I strongly believe in the power of networks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Mmm.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: So we actively reach out to our broader network of partners,not just clients, with whom we already have daily exchanges on labor issues or care-related matters, because they seek our advice or ask what the law stipulates, but also within broader collaborations. By\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nature of our profession, we work with a wide range of industries and sectors, so we hear\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">many different stories and experiences. We want to hear them because they make us better.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We discuss them internally within the team: \u201cLook at that, great policy,\u201d or \u201cThat was a\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">huge distinction in X environment or Y.\u201d And we get feedback from our team, which is easier\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to express because it\u2019s a third environment, outside their own workplace. So their feedback\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">flows more smoothly into what we discuss.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Right. And how important was the advice of a legal professional\u2014a lawyer\u2014in shaping\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">these processes in your case?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Very important. Everything we draft as a policy comes from our own perspective, as accountants, IT professionals, a team, or from our experiences as employees. Having a legal advisor as the final review filter is crucial, because we can\u2019t capture certain things with the same clarity. We add our own tone. Legal experts can make it more cohesive and more communicative. Not pointing to specific cases but focusing on the essence of the policy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u2026of the policy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: That\u2019s nice. I hadn\u2019t thought of it that way. What was the biggest challenge for you\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">personally, not for the business in general, but for you\u2014in this process?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: I struggled at two points. One I realized through real-life circumstances, and the other emerged indirectly during the process. The first was when I personally had to deal with a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">caregiving issue involving someone close to me, my mother, who became seriously ill and\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">needed treatment for a period of time, and I was the one taking her to therapy. These were weekday working hours, so you can imagine the difficulty. It was also during COVID, which for us was a growth accelerator due to our involvement with businesses. The team was growing at a crazy pace, with new members joining constantly. At the same time, I was dealing with this situation and six months after giving birth to my second child. It was a lot. And at that moment, I realized we hadn\u2019t anticipated something like this. It was our fifth or sixth year as a company, just as we were starting to grow, but we hadn\u2019t thought about what would happen if the two of us leading the teams were unable to be present for any reason. That gave us a lot to think about and made us more attentive listeners to the team\u2019s particular needs. That\u2019s where the process began, leading to where we are now, having a designated person who acts as a link between the two teams, from operations, not accounting or IT, coordinating and helping us build these policies better and give the team the freedom I mentioned earlier: to share and not feel that work or the workplace is an obstacle to their personal lives, or an insurmountable wall when dealing with personal matters. We wanted to open these channels more and communicate earlier. We also had an incident in the team: someone from IT lost his father. He took the legally entitled leave, which he knew about because we\u2019re an internal accounting department. But we felt he wasn\u2019t ready to return. We spoke with him before he came back, offering condolences, but his psychological state was very poor. So, we collectively decided that he should take more time and return when he felt ready. He didn\u2019t return directly to the office; he worked remotely first and then gradually returned. We saw this as a big success for the team, because everyone supported him. It wasn\u2019t a unilateral decision from his department, it was something we all recognized and supported, even after he returned to the office.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: And let me ask you something. Do such incidents, after a policy has already been created, lead you to modify parts of it or incorporate new needs you couldn\u2019t foresee earlier?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Definitely. And flexibility is a key success factor for any policy, it must be reviewed annually. It\u2019s a living thing, like the business itself. That\u2019s what we tell all our partners about the\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">policies we propose, regardless of whether they concern care-related issues or accounting\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">matters. Nothing can be set in stone. It\u2019s impossible, because it needs change and the way\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">we work has changed dramatically in recent years. It bears no resemblance to how we started the business. So yes, at least once a year, there\u2019s a discussion and recalibration of\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">what we write and communicate to people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Right. How has this whole process changed you and the company?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: I feel a sense of entrepreneurial maturity, beyond just maturity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A coming of age.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Exactly. We often say this with my co-founder: a business is like a child. Since we\u2019re parents,the analogy fits. You start with it as a baby, fully dependent on you, just like the business depended entirely on the founders in the beginning. Then it enters childhood and has\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">different needs. People join, it grows gradually.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: You trust it to other hands.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Then comes adolescence, which is where we are now at Quantum. There\u2019s an explosion of emotions and growth, just like in a teenager. That\u2019s what we\u2019re experiencing. Over time, we move toward maturity. But it starts with the two people maturing, us, who began this\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">journey and along with us, the team. I believe that everyone who was part of this journey,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">even those who left, carry a piece of it. We recently celebrated ten years and had the joy of\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">seeing many former team members join us. It was wonderful to see their growth and feel\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that they still carry this sense of connection.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: And perhaps they\u2019ve carried part of the culture they learned at Quantum into other workplaces as well. To close, if you were to give one piece of advice to a small business owner who wants to start thinking more strategically about employee support, what would you say?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Communication. Open up, don\u2019t be afraid to share your own experiences, especially at the beginning, and listen to the community. Don\u2019t be afraid to join networks of other\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">entrepreneurs and learn. I\u2019m privileged, because through my profession, I\u2019m exposed to\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">many businesses but that\u2019s not the case for everyone. So don\u2019t be afraid to open up. It\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">incredible how common these issues are, regardless of size. That\u2019s what I realized.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Anastasia, thank you so much.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stella<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: And I wish us all a graceful coming of age.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Anastasia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Exactly. Thank you very much.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong>: We hope you found today\u2019s discussion with Anastasia interesting. We\u2019d love to hear from you, what else do you think CAREdiZO could create to bring us one step closer to equality,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">both in and out of the workplace? We\u2019re always here to read and listen to your suggestions,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">comments, and ideas. Follow us on social media, send us an email, leave us a review on\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spotify, come meet us at WHEN Hub, and let\u2019s continue the conversation so we can make\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WHEN and CAREdiZO even better for everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>                                                <\/div>\r\n                                            <\/div>\r\n                                        <\/div>\r\n                                    <\/div>\r\n                                                            <\/div>\r\n                                                                    <\/div>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                    <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n<\/section>\n\n\n<div class=\"text\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>The WHEN on Topic Podcast is available on all major platforms!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can listen to all episodes on any platform you listen to your podcasts on \u2013 we are on <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/09iNBpLA8e3zfkAMZBVqyi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Spotify<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\">, <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/1924253\/listings\/3126301\/edit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Buzzsprout<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\">, <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vMjQzNDEzL3Jzcw?hl=en-GR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Google podcasts<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\">\u00a0&amp;\u00a0<\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/podcast\/id1496502155\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Apple podcasts<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\">, <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.audible.com\/pd\/Women-On-Topic-Podcast\/B09VG1JD3R?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Amazon music<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\">, <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\" href=\"https:\/\/pca.st\/5qc63x16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Pocket Casts<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\">, <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\" href=\"https:\/\/podcastaddict.com\/podcast\/3795610\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Podcast Addict<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\">, <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and of course on<\/span> <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\" href=\"https:\/\/blacklemon.tv\/podcasts\/women-topic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Black Lemon<\/b><\/a><b>&#8216;s platform<\/b><span style=\"font-size: 1.8rem;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/caredizo.eu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CAREdiZO<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> project is implemented in the framework of the European Commission\u2019s CERV Programme, as a cooperation among the\u00a0 following organisations: Challedu (Greece), WHEN (Greece), MOTERU INFORMACIJOS CENTRAS (Lithuania), NATSIONALNA MREZHA ZA BIZNES RAZVITIE (Bulgaria), Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (Cyprus). The project is funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are, nonetheless, solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission-EU. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission is responsible for them. Project code: 101191047 \u2013 CAREdiZO \u2013 CERV-2024-GE.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this episode of WHEN on Topic, Stella Kasdagli talks with Anastasia Chalkidou, Co-Founder and CFO of Quantum Bits (and a valued collaborator of WHEN!), about whether small businesses and organizations actually need policies and procedures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":39093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[437,385,441],"tags":[442],"class_list":["post-39077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-european-programs","category-nea-en","category-whenontopic","tag-caredizo-en-2"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>WHEN on Topic: Do small businesses really need policies and procedures? 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