The establishment of recruitment agencies in the Czech republic

In our last blog, we talked about how recruitment agencies were established in the world. What preceded them and when they really started taking off. This article focuses on the history of recruitment agencies in the Czech Republic. When were they first established here? How have they evolved over the years and how has the Internet transformed them? Let our history lesson begin!

The Beginnings

The first recruitment agencies started popping up at the beginning of the 90s because the fall of Communism opened the doors to foreign companies, eager to set up their headquarters in our country. Therefore, there were many new job opportunities that needed to be filled. International agencies did not waste any time and relocated along with the companies that had spent years cooperating with. This is how the first branches of international recruitment agencies were established in the Czech Republic. 

Employment agencies were quick to follow suit because there was also a demand for a flexible work force, which would supplement permanent employees during high season, when there was a need to increase production. Temp workers made their way here as well, even though they were primarily widespread abroad.

Nevertheless, the beginning of recruitment agencies in the Czech Republic also meant ample time and effort spent on educating employers, who were not used to these types of services. Moreover, the companies’ response to paid services was usually something along the lines of: “Why should I pay you, when the unemployment office is full of people for free?” So, although the situation is completely different nowadays and recruitment agencies are perceived as a standard part of the labour market in the Czech Republic, the beginnings were very harsh and challenging for most agencies. Keep in mind that the most modern gadgets in the 1990s were the fax machine, a land line and the Yellow Pages (a telephone directory).  

The Turn of the New Millennium 

Following the economic recession, which resulted in many people looking for job opportunities, at the end of 1999, agencies began specializing in specific types of positions or headhunting. Then, the Internet made its way here and changed pretty much everything in sight.  

We did not have a legislative framework amending temp employees until 2004. Therefore, agencies were governed by the then Labour Code from 1965, which wasn’t adequate enough. The first legal amendment followed, which prohibited temporary assignment of a worker between two employers, except for licensed employment agencies, which led to their start-up. However, these were mainly employment agencies rather than recruitment agencies.

The Internet

Let’s go back to the Internet for just a second because it has had a huge impact on our society. Thanks to the new possibility of immediate updates, more information available to the candidates, job websites and agency web pages, the entire recruitment process has become much faster and easier. With social networks, recruitment has definitively shifted online. 

The beginning of the 2008 recession resulted in increased demand for flexible workers. This recession lasted for four years and led us to where we are today, when there is more demand for work than supply. The art of attracting applicants is thus now more important than ever before.

And that’s the end of our history lesson! We hope you have learned something new. To find out more about the history of agencies around the world, read HERE.