https://scienceij.com 167 Zolak Poljašević, B. (2024). Employer brand promotion: Does it really matter in transition countries?, SCIENCE International journal, 3(1), 167-173. doi: 10.35120/sciencej0301167z UDK: 658.626-057.15:658.82]:303.025(497.5) 1. INTRODUCTION Greater competition on the labour market, increased demand for candidates with specialized knowledge and skills, and the increased significance of intellectual capital for building a sustainable competitive advantage, are just some of the factors that requires organisations to become recognizable and attractive to job candidates. In order to distinguish themselves from the competition, organisations must continuously work on creating the perception of an attractive employer (Eger et al., 2019), and this can be achieved through the branding process. Employer branding is the process of creating the organisation’s unique identity as a desirable place to work (Backhaus & Tikoo, 2004; Dabirian, 2021; Saničanin, 2021). Employer branding can also be described as the establishing of sustainable and long-term relationships between the employer, current and potential employees (Ognjanović, 2019). Successful employer brands have two key dimensions which are attractiveness and accuracy, meaning consistency between the brand and employment experience, company culture, and company values (Moroko & Uncles, 2008). In many contemporary organisations employer branding represent the centre of the employment strategy. Employer branding aims to create a positive image of the organisation as a great place for work and career development in the minds of potential job candidates (Lievens & Slaughter, 2016). The development of employer brand provides numerous benefits for the organisation. For instance, employer branding helps organisations attract qualified and skilled employees (Ruchika & Prasad, 2019; Dabirian et al., 2019). There is often a reduction in recruitment costs (Mishra & Mishra, 2023; Gupta et al, 2019) because candidates proactively apply and express a desire to work for an organisation that recognizes their expectations and provides conditions in which those expectations can be realized. The emotional experience that employees have when building a relationship with the organisation and its brand is of great importance for achieving loyalty and retaining employees in the organisation. Furthermore, employer branding strategies, such as professional development or work-life balance, positively impact employee commitment dimensions (Botella-Carrubi et al, 2019). EMPLOYER BRAND PROMOTION: DOES IT REALLY MATTER IN TRANSITION COUNTRIES? Branka Zolak Poljašević 1* 1 Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, e-mail: branka.zolak-poljasevic@ef.unibl.org Abstract: The employer brand refers to the reputation that an organisation has as an employer. The employer brand can be influenced by all the information that the organisation puts out about itself, as well as by all the actions it takes. A positive and strong employer brand has a direct impact on the attraction of quality candidates, their engagement, and retention of current employees. That is why contemporary organisations use all available communication channels to promote their employer brand, i.e. their values and unique culture. In contemporary business environment, the internet and social media represents the primary channel of communication with stakeholders, including job candidates. Additionally, continuous use of the organisation’s website can enhance employer attractiveness, support the recruitment process, deliver job-related information, and strengthen their image. The main purpose of this research is to explore the level of employer brand promotion via company websites in the context of transition countries. The aim of the conducted empirical research is to acquire new empirical insights in the fields of human resource management and employer branding. A total of 303 large companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina were included in the empirical research. The analysis was performed through a targeted search of the official websites of the observed companies. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. As expected, the data analysis indicated that organisations operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina do not recognize the importance of the organisation’s website in promoting the employer brand and establishing two-way communication with potential job candidates. Regardless of the fact that in the structure of large companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina dominated companies that require lower-skilled labour, employer branding is a useful management tool that contemporary organisations use in the labour market competition. In this context, the use of all available means of communication, including the company website, is the right approach that can attract quality job candidates. Keywords: employer branding, employer attractiveness, hiring process, transition countries Field: Social Science © 2024 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). * Corresponding author: branka.zolak-poljasevic@ef.unibl.org