Salaries are rising in the business services sector, candidates have several options to choose from

Prague, 16 May 2017

The Grafton Recruitment Agency presented an extensive survey of the business services sector, which indicates that the marked expansion of this sector in the Czech Republic has caused a continuous rise in demand for qualified employees and the related rise in salaries across all monitored regions. The sector is also starting to provide more opportunities to candidates with a secondary school education as well as university-educated candidates. But only to those who speak foreign languages.

The growth of local business services centres and establishment of new operations is of particular benefit to employees and people seeking jobs in this sector. This is also because the number of interesting job offers, which motivates employees to change jobs, is rising on the market. And candidates are not even required to exert too much effort when seeking a new job. “If this concerns a qualified person with experience, he/she is frequently contacted directly by the HR department of the company or the recruitment agency, through social media for example,“ Martin Ježek, business manager of Grafton Recruitment explains, with the understanding that a large number of jobs is also suitable for university graduates, who are frequently contacted at job fairs or by invitations to career days held by individual employers in the branch they are studying.

​Higher salaries, more interesting benefits, high-quality work environment

On the contrary, the marked expansion of the sector is a cause for concern and brings new challenges to employers – it is not only increasingly more difficult to find employees, but also to retain them in the long-term. It is no longer enough to “keep up” with the competition, employers now have to remain a step ahead. Benefits (financial and non-financial), work environment and how the office is equipped, have recently become the main tools in the battle for employees, in addition to salaries. However, candidates’ expectations of the value of benefits significantly exceed those offered by employers. “According to our survey, the average value of the provided benefits ranges around CZK 2,000 per month, but candidates expect approximately CZK 5,000 per month,“ Martin Ježek comments.  Last year business services centres were also forced to focus on modifying their internal HR structures or selection proceedings. The main purpose of these steps was to accelerate selection processes and increase their effectiveness. And people are also not being recruited just in the Czech Republic. With regard the broad regional scope of local centres, talents also have to be recruited from abroad. However, Grafton Recruitment considers the situation on the Czech market positive: “The high-quality network of universities and colleges in the Czech Republic provides the business services segment with a rich source of talented job candidates. 77 thousand graduates leave 68 universities every year. And business service centres are a popular choice for launching their career,“ says Martin Ježek and he adds: Secondary school graduates, particularly those who speak foreign languages, increasingly start their careers in this sector. Our survey indicates that such candidates are recruited for approximately a quarter of the jobs is in this sector.“ Graduates of economically specialised secondary schools frequently start in the position of billing clerks and accountants, comprehensive school graduates frequently utilise their language skills and start work in customer services.

Difficult versus easy to recruit positions

The Grafton Recruitment survey indicated that the positions for which it is most difficult to recruit candidates for, are those where expertise is required in combination with language skills. The paradox is that we are not talking about unusual languages, but about German, French or Dutch for example. As a result, candidates with fluent English and German are most in demand for customer services, IT and finance in Brno or Ostrava. There is also a significant shortage of accountants speaking French or Hungarian language in Brno, while in Prague, there are problems finding suitable candidates with knowledge of complex accounting and demand is also growing for specialists in in-house recruitment and HR administration with language skills. On the contrary, it is easy to recruit people for positions where only English is required, along with experience in administration or customer services, or possibly English and Russian or Italian language combinations.

Typical salaries

According to the Statistical Office the average salary has increased to CZK 29,320. However, most positions in the business services sector exceed this salary, even in cases of graduates without experience. A customer care specialist without experience, with two foreign languages can earn up to 37 thousand Crowns a month in Prague, up to 35 thousand in Jihlava, and up to 30 thousand in Brno, České Budějovice or Pilsen. Employees in this position can expect the smallest salary in the Hradec Králové Region, where the monthly salary ranges around 25 thousand Crowns. Payroll accountants with two languages will earn up to 45 thousand crowns in Prague, 38 thousand in Brno, and 35 thousand in Ostrava, Pilsen or Jihlava. Similar salaries can be expected for IT support specialists speaking two foreign languages. Experts in the field of logistics and HR can expect very good salaries. For example a procurement specialist with two languages can earn up to 60 thousand Crowns a month in Prague, and 40 thousand Crowns a month in Brno, Ostrava or Pilsen. But two foreign languages are not essential, people who only speak one foreign language will also find employment and can also expect above-average compensation. In comparison, a payroll accountant with one foreign language will earn 40 thousand Crowns in Prague, 35 thousand in Brno, Pilsen or Jihlava, and 30 thousand a month in Ostrava or Hradec Králové.