Recruitment: a practical overview for employers
Recruitment is not one activity but several routes that differ in speed, cost and how much administration they carry. The first decision an employer makes is whether to hire directly, work with a staffing agency, or recruit from abroad — and each suits a different situation. This page sets out those routes and the criteria for choosing between them. For specific rules and rates it points to official sources rather than restating them. It is a decision framework, not legal advice.
The main routes
Hiring on your own, without an agency, means the company finds, selects and employs people itself. Agency employment moves part of the administration and flexibility to a staffing agency, which assigns workers temporarily. Recruiting from abroad widens the pool of candidates but adds the administration attached to permits.
Which route fits depends on how quickly the roles need filling, whether the need is standing or a fluctuation, and what capacity your HR function has.
- Hiring on your own, without an agency — full control, higher demands on your own capacity.
- Agency employment — flexibility, and the administration transferred.
- Recruiting from abroad — a wider pool of candidates, more administration.
How to choose between them
The useful criteria are urgency, the nature of the need — standing or temporary — how available the candidates are in your market, and your internal capacity to run a selection process and its paperwork.
Seasonal peaks and temporary gaps usually suit agency employment. Key permanent roles usually suit hiring on your own.
What you should be able to decide
Having worked through those criteria, you should be able to say which route — or combination of routes — fits the role, and who inside the company needs to be involved.
If you are considering recruiting from abroad, allow for the permit administration described on the Czech pages covering the employment of foreign nationals.
No specific time limits are stated here; where a permit is involved, verify the timings with the relevant Czech authorities.
Request staff Describe the roles and the site, and we will come back to you to discuss what filling them would involve.