Petar Miljkovic and Gordana Stefanovic Barjaktarevic, GoPro: Business Ethics Contribute to Humanity, Successful Task Completion and Set One Company Apart from Another
GoPro was founded with the goal of creating an environment in which employees will truly want to work. A successful story of the development of solutions meant for business planning started 13 years ago, and natural growth is expected in the future, to which the upgrading of the existing tools and the following of trends will contribute.
The company was founded by the best experts in this field, who set the foundations of an expert and professional relation to employees and business. The director, Petar Miljkovic, and the project manager, Gordana Stefanovic Barjaktarevic, talk about the company, its values and its vision.
How have you become the gold partner of Microsoft and what does this mean in concrete terms?
Petar Miljkovic: Being a gold partner of Microsoft is a complex topic, which entails a multitude of standards that need to be met in certain spheres. Our company has confirmed its quality in five areas and the status of a gold partner recommends us to everyone who wants to cooperate with us. Concretely, the companies which are considering cooperating with us have a confirmation that they are working with the best. Behind the confirmation of that quality is Microsoft.
Through the work of the company, its mission and vision, the concept of ethics is highlighted. Does it reflect the philosophy of your operations and how does it fit into modern trends?
Petar Miljkovic: At the company, we take great care of the satisfaction of our employees, because we believe that only a satisfied man can be proactive, feel that he belongs to the collective and provide quality solutions. This makes our clients satisfied too. We also belong to the world in which every company is looking to make a profit, but our slogan is – not at any cost. If we believe that a solution would not benefit our client, we will not propose it, even at the price of a great gain. I believe that this is why clients recognize us as a top-quality company and they are loyal to us, and potential clients value us as the best partners for cooperation. This important business principle means a lot to our employees as well, because it reflects the company’s relation to them. Of course, our common values are, among others, integrity in everything we do, a professional approach and reliability.
Also, our philosophy is based on three pillars – people, processes and systems. It is only if all three elements are harmonized that we can talk successful business operations.
The pandemic has brought various challenges, but also opportunities, when it comes to digitalization. How has it affected your business? Have you noticed that the habits regarding your clients’ operations are changing?
Petar Miljkovic: The pandemic enabled us to more quickly reach decisions we had already been considering, such as working from home. We have not yet returned to the offices, and with the flexibility during the lockdown period, we once again showed that care for the employees comes first for us.
When it comes to the clients, many have realized that the question “Why?” when it comes to digitalization is no longer the most important one and that the time has come for “How?”. So, a large number of companies have recognized the importance of methodology, processes and tools in order to achieve their goals in modern business.
The development of digital solutions and services seems like an interesting opportunity for young people who are entering this world. What sort of advice do you have for them? How can they dedicate themselves to the topic of digitization and where do you see the potential?
Petar Miljkovic: Young people should primarily foster critical thinking and not reject what came before. Two extremes at first sight, the traditional and the ultra-modern, need to be used in equal measure. Relying on what’s behind us and upgrading it with our own work and studying or at least following the new technologies.
Job satisfaction is also very important. When a young man sees the results of his work and the satisfaction of the client they work with, as is the case at our company, there is no better motivation for further development.
Many companies pay great attention to social responsibility, and this has also proven to be true in the pandemic. In what way is GoPro a socially responsible company?
The company was founded by the best experts in this field, who set the foundations of an expert and professional relation to employees and business. The director, Petar Miljkovic, and the project manager, Gordana Stefanovic Barjaktarevic, talk about the company, its values and its vision.
How have you become the gold partner of Microsoft and what does this mean in concrete terms?
Petar Miljkovic: Being a gold partner of Microsoft is a complex topic, which entails a multitude of standards that need to be met in certain spheres. Our company has confirmed its quality in five areas and the status of a gold partner recommends us to everyone who wants to cooperate with us. Concretely, the companies which are considering cooperating with us have a confirmation that they are working with the best. Behind the confirmation of that quality is Microsoft.
Through the work of the company, its mission and vision, the concept of ethics is highlighted. Does it reflect the philosophy of your operations and how does it fit into modern trends?
Petar Miljkovic: At the company, we take great care of the satisfaction of our employees, because we believe that only a satisfied man can be proactive, feel that he belongs to the collective and provide quality solutions. This makes our clients satisfied too. We also belong to the world in which every company is looking to make a profit, but our slogan is – not at any cost. If we believe that a solution would not benefit our client, we will not propose it, even at the price of a great gain. I believe that this is why clients recognize us as a top-quality company and they are loyal to us, and potential clients value us as the best partners for cooperation. This important business principle means a lot to our employees as well, because it reflects the company’s relation to them. Of course, our common values are, among others, integrity in everything we do, a professional approach and reliability.
Also, our philosophy is based on three pillars – people, processes and systems. It is only if all three elements are harmonized that we can talk successful business operations.
The pandemic has brought various challenges, but also opportunities, when it comes to digitalization. How has it affected your business? Have you noticed that the habits regarding your clients’ operations are changing?
Petar Miljkovic: The pandemic enabled us to more quickly reach decisions we had already been considering, such as working from home. We have not yet returned to the offices, and with the flexibility during the lockdown period, we once again showed that care for the employees comes first for us.
When it comes to the clients, many have realized that the question “Why?” when it comes to digitalization is no longer the most important one and that the time has come for “How?”. So, a large number of companies have recognized the importance of methodology, processes and tools in order to achieve their goals in modern business.
The development of digital solutions and services seems like an interesting opportunity for young people who are entering this world. What sort of advice do you have for them? How can they dedicate themselves to the topic of digitization and where do you see the potential?
Petar Miljkovic: Young people should primarily foster critical thinking and not reject what came before. Two extremes at first sight, the traditional and the ultra-modern, need to be used in equal measure. Relying on what’s behind us and upgrading it with our own work and studying or at least following the new technologies.
Job satisfaction is also very important. When a young man sees the results of his work and the satisfaction of the client they work with, as is the case at our company, there is no better motivation for further development.
Many companies pay great attention to social responsibility, and this has also proven to be true in the pandemic. In what way is GoPro a socially responsible company?
(Photo: Gordana Stefanović Barjaktarević)
Gordana Stafanovic Barjaktarevic: First, I want to express great gratitude and respect to our employees and praise them, because so far they have responded gladly to each humanitarian campaign we’ve organized as a company, and there have been a lot of them indeed. Furthermore, our clients have also been very ready to help when they had an opportunity to do so. In business and in life, it is important to share such values with people you work and spend time with.
I would especially like to emphasize the humanitarian activities dedicated to children suffering from serious diseases and the campaign in cooperation with NURDOR, when we visited the children’s department of the hematology-oncology department in Nis. We are also proud of our cooperation with SOS Children`s Villages, and I would also like to highlight our participation in their Sports Day in Kraljevo, where, together with our families, we were their guests. I am also using this opportunity to invite everyone to help those who need it.
When it comes to social responsibility, we are proud of our work with young people, through our Summer School “Future Knowledge”, which we organized with the Petlja Foundation, with the support of Microsoft. It was meant for young people from SOS Children`s Villages from the Strong Youngsters Center, children who have grown and stopped living at the SOS village. We thereby wanted to provide them with guidelines for the development of their careers and help them through specific technical knowledge that they will find useful in life.
We also organized Microsoft Dynamics NAV Academy in cooperation with Microsoft, which, as part of the courses at undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, realizes workshops through which students acquire basic knowledge about the ERP solution. To many attendees, it is precisely this academy that has helped them be recognized as a potential and find their place in our GoPro team.
GoPro has always been actively involved in socially responsible projects, especially those that have to do with children. This will continue in the future as well.