engleski

Electronic recruitment as a modern method of corporate communication in crisis: Case of Croatia

Human resources, defined as intangible resources, are one of the most important companies’ resources, valuable in creating their own competitive advantage. Despite the fact that two different companies can have the same structure of the employees concerning their educational level, age structure, gender structure or work experience, they however possess group of employees which are unique due to their specificities as knowledge, special experience, skills, abilities or emotional intelligence. Companies are always in search, and especially in times of crisis, for the most valuable employees. There are different traditional recruiting methods, but recently electronic recruiting, which represents a revolutionary method, has been adopted by many organizations. On the other hand, electronic recruiting is one element of electronic corporate communication between potential employer and employees. Corporate presentation on an official website is a modern form of corporate communication with key stakeholders and the general public. The Internet and the World Wide Web, especially companies’ official websites are the cheapest and the simplest form of corporate communication with the most valuable companies’ stakeholder. Employees as key company’s stakeholders need to be informed about companies’ activities. Corporate communication with past, current, and future employees can be built and maintained in the two-way communications through companies’ website. At the present time in Croatia 47% of population above the age of 15 uses the Internet, and according to that information companies can reach more than 50% of the available workforce in Croatia. During economic downturns and crisis when companies try to cut costs, electronic communications in employee relations, particularly when recruiting new employees can be more valuable than ever before. The aim of this paper is to provide evidence of electronic corporate communication, especially of electronic recruiting in Croatian companies, with stress of its impact on companies’ performance in crisis. Verification of empirical evidence will be provided through a sample of Croatian joint stock companies (listed on the Zagreb Stock Exchange). All variables that are used in the research will be based on previous researches on a similar topic but also chosen according to the specificities of Croatian companies and the possibilities of their implementation.

management; corporate communication; electronic recruitment

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