Features of employer attractiveness in Lithuanian business organizations: employees’ perceptions

Patraukliausių darbdavių rinkimai vis labiau populiarėja tiek Lietuvoje, tiek ir pasaulyje. Juose paprastai naudojami iš anksto suformuluoti instrumentai, apibrėžiantys universalius patrauklaus darbdavio bruožus, ir ignoruojamas faktas, kad respondentai gali turėti skirtingus lūkesčius ir prioritetus. Straipsnyje pateikti empirinio tyrimo rezultatai pagrįsti respondentų (N=1020) atsakymais į atvirą klausimą. Lietuvos verslo organizacijų darbuotojai įvardijo svarbiausius darbdavio patrauklumo bruožus: patrauklus darbo užmokestis, gera darbo atmosfera, lankstumas ir laisvė darbe, laiku mokamas darbo užmokestis. Šie rezultatai yra vertinami patraukliausių darbdavių rinkimų Lietuvoje ir pasaulyje kontekste.The article examines the features of employer attractiveness in Lithuanian business sector. The best employers have been assessed in a number of global and national rankings. The existing instruments to measure employer attractiveness (Wilden, Gudergan, Lings, 2010; Bains, 2015; Van Hoye, Lievens, 2015; Lievens, Slaughter, 2016, etc.) are diverse and ambiguous, many of them are commercialized, pursuing a priori principles of a universal "employer of choice", too broad or too narrow in scope, using too objective or too subjective indicators and neglecting a simple fact that different people have different perceptions about the value and importance of different job characteristics. Addressing these limitations but admittedly building on numerous methodological strengths and insights of the available measures, this article reports the results of empirical research in Lithuanian business sector (N=1020), focusing on employee perceptions and preferences. An open-ended question was used to encourage a full and meaningful answers of employees in their own words what makes organization attractive as an employer. The research allowed to identify such features of employer attractiveness in Lithuanian business organizations, perceived by their employees, as: attractive salary, good working atmosphere, interesting work, flexibility and freedom at work, timely payment of salary, teamwork, organization’s social responsibility and reliability, innovation at work, good working conditions, a respectful treatment of employees, friendly staff, international company. The results were compared with previous national Lithuanian (e.g., www.cvmarket.lt) and international (e.g., www.universumglobal.com) studies of employer attractiveness and revealed both similarities and noticeable differences, indicating the universal and country- specific features of organizational attractiveness that are most valued, appreciated and significant to employees. The study contributes to the knowledge and practice of employer attractiveness development arguing it to be as a key strategy in attracting, retaining and motivating talented employees, existing and potential, and being competitive in the labour market. It is believed that implications of this research will constitute a fruitful base for further exploration of employer branding and employer value proposition development in diverse Lithuanian as well as international business organizations worldwide. Further the elements of employer attractiveness in particular industries could be examined, especially taking into consideration the rapidly growing number of IT service companies in Lithuania and the Baltics. These companies can offer numerous job opportunities for skilled professionals, therefore, understanding what attracts the best candidates would enable these organizations to get the right people, at the right place and at the right time