WalkMe’s team lends a helping hand

In the closing days of the year, we often reflect on the highs and lows of the past year and what we hope to accomplish in the new one.

The WalkMe team recently came together and created something meaningful to give back to those in need, allowing them to connect and collaborate with each other in the process. 

Led by Stojan Zrnic, WalkMe’s RVP – DACH, a team bonding experience connected a small group of employees from across EMEA. Instead of doing the usual “fun stuff”, Stojan approached The Hand Project with the goal of giving back.

What is The Hand Project?

The Hand Project has been running for 10 years now in Germany, supporting individuals in both Africa and Asia by providing prosthetic hands. The hands themselves are put together by volunteers, just like the WalkMe team that took part. 

The initiative positively changes the lives of people who have lost their hand(s) in unforeseen circumstances, and its success is entirely possible due to the participation and promotion by many organizations. 

Through The Hand Project, companies can continue to support vulnerable individuals by involving them in a team bonding experience with The Hand Project like WalkMe did.

“It makes a positive difference, whilst giving our team that feel-good feeling”, Stojan tells us, which is something that resonated with each of the WalkMe team members as they constructed the prosthetic hand from scratch.

How does it work?

Each team receives a kit containing everything you need to create a prosthetic hand, including screws, nuts, bolts, individual parts, and – of course – an assembly manual. To create a fully functional prosthetic hand, teams work together and listen to one another.

The tricky part was, the team was only allowed to use one hand – their less dominant hand – for assembly. For example, right-handed people wore a sleeve on the right hand, eliminating access to that hand. Despite being tricky, this gave us an opportunity to understand how difficult it can be to do everyday tasks with one hand, which is something most of us take for granted.

What were the results?

In this task, there is no competition and attention to detail is crucial. One small mistake and the hand won’t function. On average, it took 90 minutes to complete a single prosthetic hand. And, since we had 12 team members on deck, we split into three groups and created three fully functional hands.  

What about quality checks?

After we built the hands, we tested them by wearing the hand and lifting various items such as a cup, a pen, and a phone. We also tested the function of each finger to ensure they were working well. The three hands were then sent to The Hand Project factory to ensure a constructor vets the hands and completes a full QA assessment.

When will people receive the hands?

The prosthetic hands we built are being shipped after Christmas and will be received by their new owners in January, along with a handmade bag by the team to put a smile on their faces.

To learn how you can take part in the project, please visit The Hand Project’s website.