EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CodeAbroad is a full service recruiting agency that aims to connect Austrian and German companies with highly qualified IT experts and programmers from abroad. Over the course of the semester the initial startup idea was tested and refined through in depth customer interviews, an extensive online survey and market analysis.

Problem

Nowadays it is getting increasingly difficult for companies to recruit IT experts and programmers. Studies confirm that there are not enough people to fill the high demand of the market and forecast that the situation is not going to get better over the upcoming years. This often leads to project delays or higher costs as companies have to rely on external agencies or freelancers. Since traditional recruiting channels, like job boards, often do not yield the desired results, HR managers have to hire headhunters and pay exorbitant recruiting fees to fulfill their needs. On the other hand there is a considerable number of programmers willing to work in Central Europe. People from Eastern Europe and countries with high unemployment rates like Spain and Greece are attracted by the higher salaries and relatively good job market outlooks. However, when seeking a job in one of these countries they are often having language difficulties, do not know where to search and are uncertain if companies would accept international applications.

Solution

CodeAbroad wants to solve this problem by connecting the two parties. The startup company aims to be a full service recruiting agency taking care of the entire recruiting process from finding the right candidate to skills assessment to organization of transportation and housing for the new employee. That way on the one hand companies can hire great young talent from abroad to finally fill the open positions. On the other hand, programmers can gain international experience and earn more than they would in their home country.

Next Steps

After the need on both sides of the market was proven through in depth interviews with HR managers and an online survey for programmers with more than 130 replies, the project team received very positive feedback and first potential customers expressed their interest. An email list of software developers willing to work abroad was also collected.

Over the coming months the project team is planning to schedule additional interviews to refine the product, gain feedback and build a recruiting network in the target markets.

First beta tests with selected companies are planned for October and the team is optimistic that full operation of the company will start as early as the beginning of 2015.

Contact Person

• Lukas Gutwinski, BSc (WU)
  lukas@workbeat.at
  www.workbeat.at

Student Team

• Lukas Gutwinski (WU)