The development of medium-sized human resource marketing enterprises in Latvia

Abstract

Research on the development of human resource (HR) marketing is very topical because HR marketing as a function of human resource management is a novelty in Latvia; rapid digitalization and growth of the number of Internet users are taking place; there is an obvious shortage of qualified labour in the world’s economy, and an inability to attract human resources using the traditional methods can be observed. The purpose of the research is to study the development of HR marketing in Latvia (Boitmane, 2016).

The proposal is to research the development of human resource marketing in Latvia and the prospects of development of the use of human resource marketing tools.

The methodology includes the study of theoretical literature and a survey prepared by the authors of the study, 'Human Resource Marketing in an Organisation', which includes 9 sets of clauses with 73 clauses. The authors performed a target-driven, focused observation with a non-representative sampling of 15 respondents selected by the authors. Descriptive and conclusive methods of statistics were used in the data analysis. The research sampling consists of juridical entities – organisations that have a corporate website where the job advertisements of the organisation are published and that have their own strategy and activities in the sphere of human resource management. The probable sampling of the research constituted 90% of the population, that is, 62 respondents. A sampling of 79 respondents participated in the research.

The findings revealed by the research were comparatively little competence and knowledge on the part of organisations in the sphere of human resource marketing. In organisations where the process of strategic human resource management is organized purposefully, the competence and knowledge of the management is higher, which, as a result, shows that human resource marketing is not being identified as a term, but the authors of the research concluded this based on the human resources marketing tools used currently by the organisations. The results of the research show that it is the shortage of labour that will motivate the application of human resource marketing.

Research limitations. In performing the research, the authors faced the fact that out of 415 organisations or respondents, valid survey questionnaires were filled out by 79 respondents. Many of the survey forms were filled out partially or incompletely, showing evidence of the lack of information and knowledge. The empirical part took place over 3 months, which was 1 month longer than anticipated in the research plan. The extraction of the research data was complicated by the large volume of survey clauses.

Practical implications of the research: as a result of human resource marketing research, theoretical material has been created that will encourage organisations to implement human resource marketing functions in their business activities. The data, materials and conclusions obtained from the research provide motivation for the creation of a handbook for leaders of organisations and human resource managers on putting human resource marketing into practice in an organisation.

The social implications of the research provide knowledge and vast information for the public about human resource marketing, its development and opportunities. From the scientific perspective, nowadays, the term 'human resource marketing' indicates new developmental directions that are connected with rapid technological development and changes in public thinking and traditions. It is a transformation of organisational thinking from product marketing to human resource marketing.

The originality is determined by the uniqueness of the research, since there has been little study of human resource marketing in Latvia and no research has been performed on the function of human resource marketing in Latvia.