Sezonski Poslovi u Hrvatskoj: Prilike i Savjeti za Poslodavce

Thanks to the service economy due to growing tourism, as well as other sectors such as seasonal agriculture and hospitality, the demand for qualified workers is particularly high during the busy season. The challenge for a company’s HR teams and hiring managers is to identify quality candidates with the qualifications and experience required for these seasonal positions, especially considering the ongoing worldwide talent shortage. In this article, you will get to know how to attract nice and competent seasonal employees in Croatia and how one might proceed in terms of recruitment without compromising a lot of time and money.

1. Seasonal employment [Sezonsko zapošljavanje]: main characteristics, prospects and legal frameworks in Croatia

The demand for seasonal jobs [sezonski poslovi] is especially high in Croatia from April to October because of the numerous tourists visiting the Croatian Adriatic coast. Based on recent data, Croatia has emerged as one of the indicators of the tourism sector, which stands for 19% of the country’s GDP and is a chief factor for the creation of some seasonal jobs in 2024 [sezonski poslovi 2024]. For instance, it is estimated that in 2023 about 707,000 of the total employment was in the hospitality sector, of which 70% were seasonal workers [sezonski radnici]. This high demand propagates in almost all sectors including agriculture, retail, and entertainment, making it even more competitive for companies to attract the right employee for their temporary staffing needs.

2. Create an attractive employer brand

To enable the recruitment for seasonal jobs [sezonski poslovi] to be effective the HR teams need to establish a compelling employers’ brand that attracts suitable candidates within the shortest time possible. Here’s how to create a strong brand for seasonal hiring:

Highlight Unique Perks:

It is a trend that many employees engage in searches or occupations that ensure the provision of attractive remunerations, adequate working hours, and some enforced housing and transport conditions in Croatia during various seasons. To help your job offer stand out, these benefits should be listed and clearly described within bullet points.

Share Success Stories:

Include the real-life experience of previous seasonal workers and present them in a way that focuses on the growth available, positive experiences, and present company culture.

Optimize Your Online Presence:

Navigate your website and page in social networks in such a manner that it conveys the company’s values and existing vacancies suitable for seasonal employees.

3. Use Digital Recruitment Tools

Recruiting is all about targeting a larger audience faster and one of the best and effective ways of doing this is by going online. If the workforce is usually seasonal that is why there are social platforms with specific features to use for seasonal jobs in Croatia [sezonski posao hrvatska] and short-term recruitment enabling organized HR teams to fulfill their needs. Here are some tools you might want to consider:

Online Job Boards:

For reaching candidates in Croatia is recommended to use local job boards such as Posao.hr and MojPosao.hr Most of the job advertisements [oglasi za posao] currently come with seasonal positions to enable you to post to candidates who are looking for such positions most of the time.

Social Media Campaigns:

LinkedIn and Facebook are common in Croatia and can be used in the installation of ranking ads during dates they record high hiring.

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS):

The value of an ATS in an organization is in its capacity to handle applications, monitor candidates’ progress, and communicate with them so that the time to hire can be compressed.

4. Development of Relations with Local Institutions

The available talent appropriate for seasons may therefore be sourced through contact with local universities vocational schools and training institutions. Reading the employment opportunities available in Croatia, a good number of students prefer temporary employment during their vacations, and this results in increased applicants for short-term employment. Here’s how to access this resource:

Campus Recruitment Drives:

In addition, actual employers can organize open recruitment for hosts at universities or offer presentations to find students willing to work during seasons.

Collaborate with Training Programs:

Recruiting from trained human resources should start by contracting with vocational training institutions that offer hospitality, tourism, or agricultural courses since the candidates are readily available.

Offer Internships and Part-Time Roles:

It is always effective to employ young people and provide a part-time or internship position that can guarantee that you will train the individual for the seasonal period.

5. Compensate Standard with both Competitive Salary Structure and Clear Comprehensive Wages

The standard of living has slowly been improving in Croatia, and all employees are focusing on equality in wages and other employment benefits. It has been found that the pay and the total reward statement if it is transparent increases the chances of people applying for seasonal jobs [sezonski poslovi] by a considerable notch. Consider the following tips:

Benchmark Pay Rates:

Find out what the wages for seasonal positions within your business sector are in Croatia and what offers you should set.

Provide Accommodations and Other Benefits:

Common necessities such as shelter are relatively expensive during the tourist high season; thus accommodating seasonal workers [sezonski radnici] may be part of their package.

Highlight Earning Potential:

If your positions provide for extra hours or bonuses, this should be highlighted to people when advertising your positions since such individuals will consider their pay.

6. New ideas should focus on options that will enhance work-life balance and flexibility

The nature of sporadic, erratic employment and the high proportion of young workers, students, and travelers in the labor market [tržište rada] during the season mean that flexibility, including in working hours, is important. By promoting these aspects in your job listings, you can attract candidates who prioritize a balanced lifestyle:

Flexible Shifts:

Greeting work ads with the possibility of differing shifts will always give an added advantage when it comes to the choice, meaning that different positions will be available to several applicants.

Seasonal Wellness Programs:

This could be under health, transport, or even offering vouchers for meals to help make the short-term employee experience better.

Recognize and Reward Effort:

This means that the workers should be taken through a bonus scheme which awards some of them for having achieved certain set goals or improved their performance.

7. On the specific topic of onboarding and training the recommendations

This is particularly important during recruitment for seasonal employees since the on and training impacts the level of productivity once they get to work. HR managers should expatriate training issues by going virtual, onboarding, presentations, and checklists in which the new employee will learn how to adapt quickly within the firm.

Job-Specific Checklists and Guides:

To break it down, new hires could be saving time training and enhancing job satisfaction by receiving guides and checklists at their workstation according to the nature of their job.

Group Training Sessions:

It is recommended to conduct group orientation sessions at the beginning of the season; thus, new employees will know each other and will already be in line with the expectations of the organization as well as compliance with organizational values and norms.

Feedback Mechanisms:

It is recommended to have reporting times in a month or weeks with seasonal employees to be ready to solve any problem that may appear in the way of a successful work experience in any company.

Hiring during the summers is different in Croatia and managing it for Human Resource departments is especially crucial. Hiring a seasonal workforce is possible by brand building, digital tools, local institutional affiliations, and offering appealing and competitive packages for its workforce. Such practices do not only improve the experience of the seasonal employees but also the likelihood of hiring competent and experienced candidates, who can be retained within the business every season to guarantee success for the businesses within the wide-ranging seasonal sectors in Croatia.