Recruitment of CTO for software house in 28 days
Finding a technical leader who understands business borders on a miracle. We scanned the market and delivered a candidate who manages a 40-person IT department to this day.
The board of BlueCode Solutions had been looking for a technical leader for nearly 5 months to no avail. Projects were stalled, and the team of 42 developers needed clear architectural decisions. We stepped into action when the situation began to realistically threaten key contract deadlines.
The challenge
The company was losing exactly 14,300 PLN per week due to delays in technical decision-making. The previous recruitment agency had failed to deliver a single candidate in 114 days who met both business and technical requirements simultaneously. 12 critical infrastructure changes were waiting for approval, and team morale had dropped by 23% in the quarterly satisfaction survey.
To put it bluntly, we are not the cheapest, but the client knew that every additional week without a CTO cost him more than our commission. The main problem was that candidates with high technical skills completely failed to understand the needs of BlueCode Solutions' end clients.
Our approach
We abandoned traditional advertisements, which weren't working anyway. We started with a 6-hour internal audit, talking to 3 development team leaders. We wanted to know what kind of boss they actually needed, not what was written in a dry job description.
We utilized our contact database built since September 2016. We focused on the direct search method, contacting 17 people who were not actively looking for work at the time. We conducted 9 preliminary interviews, of which only 3 people moved to the presentation stage with the client. We checked not only the code but, above all, the way they managed people in crisis situations.
The solution
We delivered a short list of 3 candidates within 11 business days. Each of them participated in an hour-long panel with the board, where they had to solve a real BlueCode Solutions business problem. We also helped in final terms negotiations, as the client's budget was fixed at 36,500 PLN net on a B2B invoice.
Ultimately, we chose a person with 12 years of experience who had previously led similar departments in product companies. The entire process, from the first meeting with us to signing the letter of intent, took exactly 28 calendar days. No beating around the bush — this was our fastest process at such a high level in 2024.
Results
The new CTO took over duties in April 2024 and unblocked all 12 stalled projects within the first 60 days. The IT team stopped losing people, and the efficiency of implementing new features increased by nearly one third.
Timeline
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March 5, 2024Diagnostic workshop with BlueCode Solutions board and analysis of technical blocks.
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March 12, 2024Completion of the first round of direct search and selection of 17 potential leaders.
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March 19, 2024Final meetings with 3 top candidates in the Wroclaw office.
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April 2, 2024Contract signature and start of onboarding procedure for the new CTO.
"I was skeptical because the IT industry is difficult right now. Wroclaw Synergy Group didn't spill slogans; they gave us 3 specific people to choose from. We chose the best one, and for 4 months, everything has been working like clockwork."