SonarSource
Service: Talent Acquisition as a Service (TAAS) – Team Build Out
Project: Hyper-Niche Tech Talent Search
Background
A Permira portfolio company - SonarSource, a tech unicorn headquartered in Geneva with a global presence, is renowned for its leading product SonarQube, an advanced code analysis tool designed to improve code quality for developers and businesses worldwide. With a commitment to software innovation, SonarSource faced the challenge of finding highly specialised, niche tech talent to fuel their rapid growth and innovation projects across their operations in Europe and the USA.
The Challenge
SonarSource had struggled to secure the elusive, hyper-specialised talent needed to maintain its competitive edge and accelerate product development. Despite their stature in the tech world, traditional recruitment methods were falling short, and the CEO sought external expertise to address this critical gap.
Our Approach
In Motion began by embedding itself into SonarSource’s culture and operations, allowing us to gain a deep understanding of their unique needs and company ethos. This allowed us to craft a compelling employer brand narrative that resonated with the hyper-niche talent SonarSource needed.
Tailored Talent Narrative: We built a narrative that highlighted SonarSource’s cutting-edge culture, forward-thinking vision, and innovation, which became a key attractor for top-tier talent.
Targeted Headhunting: By leveraging deep industry connections and a refined headhunting strategy, we pinpointed individuals with the specialised skills they required, ensuring they not only met the technical qualifications but aligned with SonarSource’s culture and mission.
Streamlined Onboarding: Once the talent was secured, we worked closely with SonarSource’s leadership to streamline the onboarding process, ensuring that new hires integrated seamlessly into the team, with minimal disruption to ongoing projects.
Scalable Internal Processes: As our initial engagements bore fruit, we extended our role, aiding SonarSource in building internal processes to support ongoing recruitment efforts, ensuring the company was ready to scale rapidly for future growth.
Achievements
Within the first six months, In Motion successfully recruited seven highly specialised tech experts, meeting SonarSource’s immediate needs. This success prompted an extension of our engagement, evolving into a strategic advisory role where we helped SonarSource develop scalable internal hiring processes.
Funding & Growth: During our engagement, SonarSource secured half a billion dollars in funding, reaching unicorn status with a valuation exceeding $1 billion.
Extended Partnership: The success of our initial hires and the streamlined processes we implemented allowed Sonar to continue its expansion, positioning them for future innovations and market leadership.
In the Media
Conclusion
In Motion’s partnership with SonarSource exemplifies the power of our TAAS model in delivering hard-to-find, high-calibre talent while simultaneously equipping the company with the internal tools needed to continue scaling. Our approach went beyond recruitment, helping SonarSource build a sustainable and adaptable talent acquisition model that would fuel their long-term growth.
