Organizational changes in companies mean that administration and procurement are increasingly less likely to function as large, standalone teams. As the “Salaries in Enterprises” report by Grafton Recruitment shows, administrative roles now make up a relatively small share of organizational structures, and hiring in this area is clearly selective. Employers are increasingly looking for specialists who combine classic administrative skills with capabilities that support project processes, cost control and operational coordination—something that is reflected both in demand for these roles and in pay structures.
Demand for roles and skills
Data for 2025 shows a persistent gap between demand for employees in administration and procurement departments and the average benchmark across all analyzed roles. In the third quarter, the demand index for these positions stood at 0.75, while the benchmark reached 1.01, according to Grafton Recruitment’s report “Salaries and Trends in Enterprises.”
Experts emphasize that the current situation is the result of processes that began several years ago. After a period of strong demand rebound in 2021–2022, linked to rebuilding supply chains and reorganizing processes after the COVID-19 pandemic, the second half of 2022 saw a gradual decline in recruitment in administration and procurement. However, analyses indicate that this downward trend has slowed, and demand for employees has stabilized.
Today, companies are no longer expanding back-office structures; instead, they increasingly focus on process automation and resource efficiency. Employees’ tasks are being integrated with other areas of operational activity, which also limits the scale of new recruitment.
“Administrative roles now represent a relatively small part of organizational structures. Companies are increasingly reducing back-office teams in favor of more flexible, multifunctional structures where administrative tasks are combined with other areas such as project support, cost control or process coordination. As a result, recruitment in this area is more selective and focuses on competencies that go beyond classic administrative functions. These changes are not always reflected in job titles yet, but they are clearly visible in the description of responsibilities and objectives,”
explains Anna Gawlik, Senior Recruitment Consultant at Grafton Recruitment.
Over the past year, employers most frequently sought candidates for office manager, administration specialist, and assistant positions—roles that are crucial for smooth operations, providing support to management and ensuring stability of business processes. The highest number of job postings in administration and procurement appeared in the Mazowieckie, Śląskie, and Wielkopolskie regions.
Different levels of demand across departments
Administration and procurement fit into a broader trend of reduced recruitment in support functions, according to Grafton Recruitment’s “Salaries and Trends in Enterprises” report. Demand indices in many departments remained below the market average in 2025—for example HR (0.63) and marketing (0.82). Even lower values were observed in areas such as audit (0.47), tax (0.57), and IT or PR (both 0.54), where hiring was carried out on a targeted basis and only for specific business needs.
A different trend was visible in customer service and operations, where the demand index matched the market benchmark (1.01). The highest demand was recorded in logistics (1.09) and sales (1.05).
Regulatory changes and the role of administration in companies
An additional factor influencing how administrative departments operate is changes in labor law and announced intensified inspections by Poland’s National Labour Inspectorate (PIP). New regulations—covering, among other things, working time records, forms of employment and documentation obligations—increase the scope of responsibility not only for HR and legal teams, but also affect administrative teams’ activities. In practice, this means the growing importance of roles focused on compliance, procedure standardization, and ongoing adaptation to a changing legal environment.
“Regulatory changes affect the entire organization, so implementing them requires cooperation across many departments—from legal and HR to administration. A large share of tasks accumulates in administration: updating documentation, organizing information flows, or adjusting procedures to new requirements. As a result, the importance of roles that can combine knowledge of regulations with their practical application in day-to-day operations is growing,”
adds Zuzanna Spaltenstein-Kotas, Data Protection Officer at Gi Group Holding, VESTER Attorneys-at-Law.
Salaries
Salary structures in administration and procurement reflect the diversity of functions and their importance for organizations. Pay levels depend on the scope of responsibility and degree of independence, and they also vary by region.
In 2025, employees in support functions (reception, secretarial/front-desk roles) earned PLN 5,500–8,000 gross, while executive assistant roles could reach up to PLN 13,000. The highest rates were offered in the largest metropolitan areas, especially Warsaw and Kraków. For administration specialists, top rates reached PLN 8,500–9,000, with the best pay available in Warsaw, Kraków and Katowice. In procurement and health and safety (OHS/BHP), maximum specialist-level salaries (PLN 11,000–14,500) were offered in those same locations as well as Wrocław. Meanwhile, specialists responsible for fleet management earned up to PLN 9,500 per month (in Warsaw).
Management roles remained the best paid. Office managers and administration managers earned PLN 9,000–15,000 gross, with the highest rates offered in Warsaw, Kraków and Poznań. In procurement and purchasing, ranges were even wider at PLN 10,000–20,000, with the top salaries available to managers working in Łódź, Katowice and Warsaw.
“The salary analysis in administration and procurement shows that the market increasingly rewards scope of responsibility and real impact on how the organization operates. Pay differences between positions result not only from seniority, but also from how broad and complex the set of tasks assigned to a given role is,”
explains Ozanna Grausch, Branch Manager at Grafton Recruitment.
How did salaries grow in 2025?
The largest increases were recorded for receptionists (9.5%) and administration specialists (9.3%), as well as head of purchasing/procurement department (7.7%) and department assistants (7.4%). More moderate changes applied to fleet management and procurement specialists (both 6.7%), personal assistants, executive assistants, and OHS specialists (each 5.6%), as well as office and procurement managers, where increases ranged from 5% to 5.7%. The lowest dynamics were observed for secretaries (4.8%), administration managers (3.8%), and facility managers, whose pay rose by 1.4%.
“In 2025, pay changes in administration and procurement were differentiated, and closely linked to the role performed within the organization, its structure, and the existing pay grid. The highest growth rate affected positions that directly support ongoing operational processes, while in functions with a stabilized pay structure the dynamics of increases remained limited,”
adds Anna Gawlik, Senior Recruitment Consultant at Grafton Recruitment.
About the report
Grafton Recruitment’s “Salaries and Trends in Enterprises” report was developed based on job-advertisement data and a quantitative survey conducted among employees. The analysis covered 4,975,256 job postings from one of Poland’s popular recruitment platforms. From this dataset, 1,414,836 offers related to the private sector were extracted. After a deduplication process intended to remove repeated records, the final number of unique job advertisements amounted to 637,793. The study included positions covered by Grafton Recruitment’s salary grids.
