Hej hej 2019 – about team, empathy and growth opportunities

Outlook on 2019

It is a Danish tradition for everyone celebrating indoors to “jump” into the New Year, symbolizing the overcoming of potential challenges in the year ahead. For Wirtek, before taking the leap into 2020, it’s a good time to take a look back.

Learning opportunities for our team

As an employer, Wirtek understands that nowadays talent wants more than just to go to work. People want to actively get involved in building the company’s culture and to continuously grow their skillset. This is why, during 2019, we provided our team with workshops and trainings designed to familiarize them with:

• TypeScript and React – for a productivity boost when writing your applications;
• IoT & Machine Learning – to discover how to build a facial recognition app;
• Containers, Orchestration Framework & Infrastructure as Code (IaC) – to unlock the essentials of Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform;
• Implementing Clean Architecture – to explore core Software Design concepts for maintainability, extensibility, and reusability;
• Networking – to be able to untangle the web of network connections;
• MCSD App Builder Certification – to validate the team’s skills in building modern mobile and web applications and services;
• End to End Automation Testing Workshop with Cypress.io – to learn how to reach high-quality standards through automation;
• Assertive Collaboration Class – to develop the skill of assertive communication in the workplace;
• ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualification) Training – to allow participants to demonstrate practical knowledge of the fundamental concepts of software testing;
• Postman (Pluralsight) Training – to learn the fundamentals of Postman, how to issue requests and create automated API tests with Postman.

During 2019 we also worked on getting our team certified in:

• SAFe® 4 Practitioner (SP) – a certification that offers an in-depth understanding of the ART, how it delivers value, and what our team members can do to effectively perform their role using Scrum, Kanban, and XP;
• MCSD(Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer): App Builder – this certification validates our team members skills in building modern mobile and web applications and services;
• Wirtek is now a Microsoft Gold Partner.

Our continuous learning culture has allowed us to implement new technologies annually, and 2019 was no exception:

• Infrastructure as a Code methodology, using Terraform as our team aims to become more agile and move at a much faster pace;
• Helm, an extremely potent deployment model for DevOps teams looking to improve their Kubernetes cluster management.
• .NET Core 3, offering great flexibility in deployment for our developers working on Windows-based applications.

In order to build a positive company culture and encourage our colleagues to be more creative and collaborative, we also focus on implementing a concept that is very close to our core values – team bonding. Bringing our team together through fun and social team activities, or challenging their culinary skills during the Wirtek BBQs, is appreciated by all and strengthens ties with colleagues. By getting everybody involved, they will not only work up an appetite but also learn to work together as a team.

Company growth

We are excited to officially announce the opening of our new Heltai Office in Cluj. This new location will support our company’s growth, by giving us room to expand existing customer teams and to bring new teams on board. We consider our workplace of major importance for the whole team’s productivity, as we spend a good part of our days here. We, therefore, chose a location with a lot of social and relaxation spaces, peaceful surroundings and a rooftop terrace.

Empathy and community support

We strive to make our team proud of our social responsibility initiatives and at the same time give them opportunities to be actively involved in helping those in need. Empathetic employees are more committed and understand customer needs better. This is one of the reasons we continue to find new ways to give back, such as:

Yuppi Bake Sale – 4th Year
This year, our colleagues sharpened their cooking skills again, preparing different kinds of sweets and meals. This year’s donations went to helping the Yuppi Camp NGO with their Complementary Therapy Camps for children battling diabetes, autoimmune and oncology disorders.

Walking Month – 3rd Year
Wirtek has signed-up, for the third time, to join the Walking Month competition, raising money for supporting the purchase of the first social ambulance for the rural area of Cluj.

The Companies’ Cross
Our team showed their support for living a healthy and balanced lifestyle by running in the Companies’ Cross 2019 race.

Tree House
Our team got involved in the process of gathering more than 85 books for children in underserved communities, promoting childhood literacy, and giving them an example of how they can make a difference in their communities, years from now.

Angels for souls
This is a charity project that our team supported this year through donations to the NGO, and it integrates two programs:

• one for children that cannot enjoy the spirit of the holidays because of their shortcomings, called “Adopt a letter for Santa”;
• one supporting 2000 seniors who need a warm meal or a much-needed blanket for Christmas, called “Christmas for grandparents”.

The Wirtek Cat House
This is an in-house charity and its goal was to take care of the two cats that visit our Wirtek garden every day. The project was a success as now they have a wooden insulated cat shelter, as well as plenty of dry food every month.

Looking back to our team’s achievements over the last 12 months, makes us think of what growth opportunities await us in 2020.