These Hard Times Bringing Us Closer To Each Other: Rajiv Bhalla, MD, Barco

The coronavirus crisis hit the business industry so hard. What changes are you anticipating in your industry?

Globally economies are facing a downturn, and these are tough and exceptional times, for people, business, and markets. However, we at Barco continue to remain really positive about the future. On the bright side, these are times that are bringing us closer to each other, despite the social distancing. As we navigate this crisis, our work habits are gradually adapting to a new paradigm in the current lockdown.

The Pandemic has also acted as a catalyst, accelerating innovation and the pace of digital transformation. Work-related travel is seen reducing as most of us now find it acceptable to communicate virtually. The differences between the real and virtual are blurring. The initial resistance to video meetings and collaborations is giving way to greater levels of comfort, now that we have no choice. As work from home adapts to higher levels of efficiency, companies might consider altering office layouts, from permanent desks to more temporary seating, reducing space requirements.

Continued adoption of remote working will also ensure better mobility, improved flexibility, enhanced work-life balance, lower pollution, and environmental sustainability.

How has your journey with Barco India been so far?

Each day has been new learning at Barco and this journey has been both stimulating and satisfying. We have been in a growth phase and I believe that is the most challenging yet enjoyable stage in any organization’s journey.

We are a technology-driven company and are completely focused on enabling bright outcomes for our consumers. We have made several alterations, like designing country-specific offerings and adopting an India-focused go-to-market strategy, which has led to significant growth across the verticals we cater to. By adopting the One Barco approach, we have been able to achieve double-digit growth in the last four years. I am proud and fortunate to be working with a highly motivated and passionate team.

Going ahead, we are consistently strengthening our organization and fostering effective teamwork - starting from the top. With a growth-oriented mindset, we are also strongly focused on creating a culture of learning, allowing us to learn from each other as also from our customers. This challenges the "know-it-all" outlook and helps enable an open, more collaborative culture of, what I like to call, “learn-it-all".

How are you supporting your employees in these tough times?

Our foremost priority is the safety and well-being of our employees. Even though we are impacted by the pandemic, our focus is on building confidence and exploring new possibilities as we believe that this disruption is transitory in nature. We, at Barco, are focused on resilience, business continuity, and preparedness. We have undertaken various measures to support our employees and are rebalancing the activity rate of the workforce, in line with the market demand and compliance with applicable regulations.

We are constantly monitoring the situation and have mandated work from home for all our colleagues. We have defined the deliverables and are tracking the same to ensure productivity and continuity across the organization. Our IT team is geared up to support all employees in completing their work requirements and the sales and services teams are managing their deliverables remotely, as far as possible.

To ensure seamless collaboration, we conduct daily e-meetings to review the situation across teams. Engagement is also being driven through funnel reviews, sprints, periodic training, People “Check-In”, etc. We are also encouraging our employees to leverage “any time available” to re-train and re-skill through platforms like edX.

As the focus is now shifting to digital space and companies are investing more in digitalization, how are you looking at Barco’s progress?

Barco is focused on digitalization and we are leveraging these technological advances for the benefit of the organization, our employees as well as the changing needs of our customers. For instance, we are encouraging our employees to upskill as well as re-skill through educational platforms like edX, to ensure that they are trained for the upcoming challenges and rapid technology changes.

As virtual becomes the new normal, we believe that there will be significant levels of transformation in the education, healthcare and collaboration space. Especially in the educational sphere, there will be an increase in technology adoption. Barco has collaborated with some of the world’s leading Business Schools, Universities and Corporate Learning & Development departments, to develop a powerful learning solution - weConnect. The possibilities unveiled by the technology easily surpass those of video conferencing tools commonly in use. weConnect presents an interactive and collaborative learning solution, an ideal choice for all types of learning environments, including remote training. It creates a virtual learning experience that makes students feel like they are sitting in class, surrounded by other students, guaranteeing a virtual learning experience that focuses on real-time engagement.

After a growing base of installations in Europe, the US, Australia, Singapore, and the Middle East, we expect to see an uptake in India as well.

Both monetary and psychological support is crucial for employee’s development or efficiency, how important is this aspect for you?

Care for people is a core pillar of Barco’s cultural ethos and we are constantly involved in enabling bright outcomes for our employees, through support in all possible forms. Understanding that our employees are not mere building blocks to the success of the enterprise but humans, with specific needs and requirements, is the first step towards being a caring corporate. Employee development and efficiency are key parameters we focus on and Barco works towards proactively gaining insights into its employees' daily struggles and victories and takes efforts to enable better outcomes.

Given Barco’s keen interest in the area, the Great Place to Work® Institute has certified Barco India as one of the ‘Great Places to Work’ in the high-tech category, for both 2019 and 2020. Amidst the outbreak of the pandemic that is affecting businesses globally, this recognition is a validation that Barco is leading the way in demonstrating care for its employees, customers, and communities during this difficult time.

How satisfied and happy do you feel about your job?

My role at Barco enables me to perform various functions and allows me to connect with people across all levels – including strategy, software, and sales and marketing. I believe my journey has been great so far, as I have been able to drive growth and development for all parties involved. I have also been fortunate to be surrounded by great talent and motivated people who continue to support and guide me through my journey. I am happy and looking forward to a long and eventful inning with Barco.