Sandra had already been doing excellent work at PTW when Russia launched military action in Ukraine, but the immediate humanitarian crisis kicked her into a higher level. Since then, she has been incredibly busy in her ongoing efforts to coordinate aid and relocation assistance to PTW employees and their families who work and live in that region. Let’s get to know Sandra a little better and discover what motivates her to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Joining PTW and the evolution of her role

In April 2016 Sandra joined PTW Glasgow as Facilities and Administration Manager. “In these roles I was responsible for facilities, administration, procurement, and travel,” she relates. A promotion quickly followed, with the additional responsibility of PTW London and the integration of SIDE into PTW. Before long, she received another promotion to Senior Manager, which brought further responsibility to the European region.

“As my role broadened to include business continuity planning (BCP) and health and safety for the global business, I decided to approach the executive team and ask for a review of my line of business.” The expansive and broad nature of the roles involved meant they were not simply facilities- and administration-based. The customer interactions had always been of a more personal nature, rather than a simple transaction, so Workplace Experience (WE) was born. “WE still takes care of the core business needs,” continues Sandra, “such as administration, procurement, facilities, travel, health and safety, BCP, and all elements of working from anywhere, including handling our own logistics.”

The Ukraine crisis

Since February 25, every day has been filled with hope for the crisis to stop. “I had the experience of working directly with our executive leadership team,” Sandra says. “Despite time zones, day jobs, and our regular lives, we collaborated with a wider amazing team of leaders to work with our friends in Ukraine and Russia on how we could help and support them.” Daily communication with each staff member was difficult due to their circumstances, which remained in flux, both day and night.

“Our CEO had one task: get our teams to safe places,” confirms Sandra. The CEO trusted the leaders on these calls to do what was needed. “My work became a humanitarian mission. Not knowing who may be able to flee safely from Ukraine and who they would be with. I had to arrange transport, accommodation, food supplies, available medicine, toys, schoolbooks, and have translators on standby because we didn’t know which languages would be spoken.”

This was a defining moment of our resilience and attention to business continuity. “As much as I’m saddened knowing the war continues, I know our friends have been looked after, and those who chose to stay have had additional support… such as the employee assistance program. But our business continues, and our teams globally have their jobs to do.”

For the love of the job

“I adore my job, admire my team, and am proud to be part of the PTW family every day,” Sandra relates. “Over the years each day has been different, disruptive, and delightful. My job title may have changed but there is one thing I do with passion and pride: work hard to offer a wonderful experience for everyone who comes into touch with PTW.” Facilities may be about taking care of buildings, but it’s the people in the buildings that makes the job important.