It’s healthy to have different opinions and perspectives. Diversity will only make our company stronger in the long run.
Feb 11, 2025
Barco really thrives on people and collaboration
2024 stories · Corporate · Strategy · People · 9 min read
A Commercial Operations Lead and a Lead Trainer walk into an interview. The interviewer asks: “What’s it like working at Barco?” What follows is a pleasant conversation about what drives Barco forward: diversity, collaboration, innovation – and, most importantly, the people who make it all happen. Here’s how our US colleagues, Paula Li and John Hogg, experience life at Barco.
John: “I joined Barco in 2022. Before that, I worked at both small and large companies. But I have to admit: when it comes to atmosphere and diversity, Barco is by far the best. There are about 150 of us at our HQ in Duluth, but we also have other team members in different locations across the US. We all know each other and get along well. There’s a real sense of camaraderie among colleagues.”
Paula: “I’ve been with Barco for five years now, and it’s been an incredible journey. Our team in the Americas works seamlessly with colleagues worldwide. We work hard, have fun and take pride in our accomplishments.”
Always moving towards the next big thing
What role does HQ play in fostering a sense of belonging?
Paula: “They actively encourage us to interact with other people and become familiar with their way of working and culture. HQ is the driving force behind many initiatives to increase engagement and increasingly also diversity and inclusion. Over the past few years, inclusion has become more important. It’s easy to stay in your own bubble and believe you’re doing everything right.
But the reality is that we work in a global organization with teams worldwide, doing things their own way. Each team adds its own touch to it, but the goal is always the same: to bring people together.
Don’t forget the 90 years’ anniversary celebrations. To me, that was the highlight of 2024. I really feel like headquarters encourages these get-togethers to foster collaboration and inclusion."
John: “Every touchpoint with colleagues, formal or informal, is an opportunity to connect. At this year’s Christmas party, for example, we had a blast. I can’t speak for the rest of the world, but here in the US, I feel like our team does a great job of making sure everyone feels included.”
Does Barco organize training or coaching sessions around inclusion?
Paula: “As managers, we take lots of classes. In 2024, I completed an extensive career course on diversity and inclusion. We had several external speakers share their experiences and insights, which really helped broaden our perspective. Yet, there’s many other trainings as well."
John: “Organizing trainings is part of my job. To get everyone in the company up to speed with the ClickShare technology we’re selling, I put together a short presentation and gathered the team. Paula was there too. I actually see that as a form of inclusion too: helping people from different departments understand what their colleagues do.”
Paula: “I can vouch for that. It was a really engaging session. It’s always great to learn from other departments. Plus, having it face-to-face instead of watching a video made it even better. It would be a good idea, by the way, to organize more live training sessions instead of the many video courses we have.”
Teamwork makes the dream work
One of Barco’s company values is ‘winning collaboration’. How do you experience this?
Paula: “Collaboration is vital. We have to come together as one team and figure out how to overcome these challenges in a way that works for everyone.”
John: “I collaborate with my counterparts in Belgium and several other countries all the time, whether it’s developing training courses, creating new products, or other projects. The level of teamwork across different time zones and offices never fails to amaze me.”
Have you worked on a project recently where strong collaboration was essential?
John: “I’d say the release of the ClickShare Video Bar. After we shared the initial drafts internally, a lot of feedback went back and forth between our teams in the US, Belgium, and Taiwan. With open communication, short feedback lines, and lots of testing, we were able to finalize our product and ensure a successful launch.”
Paula: “For me, one of the biggest challenges in 2024 was the integration of Cinionic. They had to get familiar with our way of working, while we took a deep dive into their product portfolio. It was a prime example of close collaboration between different teams.”
Bringing people together
In challenging times like these, how does Barco manage to stay relevant?
Paula: “We’re constantly innovating and evolving for the better. It’s not always easy, as people naturally gravitate toward what’s familiar and comfortable. But not us. The term ‘visioneers’ that we’ve been using the past two years, is much more than a marketing word. Everyone at Barco embraces the discomfort of innovation and pushes boundaries. Moreover, innovation isn’t limited to product design or software engineering. We are all innovators in how we work and solve challenges. Organizing a learning session or creating a guide for new employee, that’s innovation too. Anything that helps us improve at what we do counts.”
What’s management’s take on innovation?
Paula: “They are very receptive to feedback. If we have a better way to do something, we’re free to pitch it. They will always take time to thoroughly evaluate ideas and implement them if they provide significant value or potential benefits to the team.”
John: “I was going to say the same thing but Paula beat me to it. From time to time, our managers ask: ‘What do you think we could do better?’ Then, they give us the freedom to go ahead and make things work. I love that about Barco, my boss is awesome!”
As visioneers, we never settle into comfort. Our managers are always open to new ideas and suggestions for improvement.
More than ever a people-driven company
Apart from innovation, what is Barco’s greatest asset for 2025 and beyond?
John: “I think collaboration is one of our biggest strengths. I’m part of many different teams, even outside my usual responsibilities. When you bring in people from different backgrounds, they offer perspectives and ideas you might never have considered. Collaboration opens up a whole new realm of possibilities: new skill sets, mindsets, synergies and what have you.”
Paula: “For me, Barco’s real strength is its people. We need to keep investing in onboarding, training, and consistent feedback for our teams. As our employees grow, Barco grows with them.”
John: “Well said. It’s a good thing to have strong company values, but at the end of the day, it's the people who bring those values to life. In our office, but also at HQ and in other locations, I see that happening every day.”
About Paula Li
• Commercial Ops Lead at Barco Americas since 2020
• Prior to joining Barco, Paula held leading positions in customer services in other firms
Paula’s advice
Embrace change! Like Charles Darwin said: ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
About John Hogg
• Barco University – MX Lead Trainer for the Americas since 2022
• Prior to joining Barco, John had been working in the ProAV Industry for +30 years
John’s advice
If you treat everyone exactly like you’d like to be treated, you will have a lot of fulfilling and positive relationships and an abundance of happiness
