tado° pioneers intelligent climate solutions with a more efficient approach to engineering recruitment

THE CHALLENGE

Finding skilled engineers to maintain rapid growth momentum

For a fast-scaling company in its formative years, establishing a strong market presence was vital in ensuring tado° could maintain its trajectory. “tado° essentially pioneered the concept of smart climate control a decade ago when it was virtually nonexistent, so carving out a strong market presence was instrumental for our growth,” Luka highlights. As the company experienced rapid expansion, the demand for engineering talent surged in parallel. Building this dynamic team would be pivotal in supporting the company’s success. “tado° is very focused on delivering value to our customers. We prioritize using technology to solve real-world problems through quality solutions and experiences. We’re a very product-minded company, and investing in our engineering team was imperative in fueling our growth and innovation.” Given the breadth of the task, Luka needed accelerated access to a skilled candidate community aligned with the tado° mindset. “In that transition from a startup to a scale-up, the hires you make along the way can really underpin your success. We needed to find high-quality candidates who could hit the ground running. For us, it wasn’t just about the skills; mindset is an incredibly important part of working at tado°. We look for people who can deal with uncertainty, embrace the 80-20 principle, know when to dive in and when to step back, know how to identify key stakeholders and who to collaborate with to keep things running smoothly. This is especially important through such a fast-scaling period for us. Every hire is absolutely essential to sustain our momentum." 

With a strong emphasis on candidate fit, Luka saw the importance of identifying a recruitment partner who could act as an extended team member. However, finding this trusted talent advisor became a key challenge for the business. “We worked with numerous agencies, but many struggled to understand our rather unique needs. We spent hours explaining our vision and values to recruiters, only for them to present candidates who weren’t aligned with our mindset. It often felt like we were just another company for them to send profiles to. Our core value is to prioritize the customer, and not just to create fancy tech products. We need people who strive to solve real-world problems and make an impact. Any successful recruitment partner would need to be aligned with this ethos to deliver candidates who could effectively contribute to our vision,” states Luka.