More than 34,000 respondents revealed: The most desirable employers are DM, Lidl and Rimac Group

The list of the most desirable employers has seen a noticeable rise in technology companies such as Infobip, which entered the TOP 10 most desirable this year. On the other hand, there is a visible decline in some employers from the retail sector, whose popularity is declining

Who are the most desirable employers in Croatia and what are the reasons for their attractiveness, revealed by the twentieth anniversary of First Choice Employer survey, conducted by Alma Career Croatia, which manages the MojPosao portal. More than 34,000 respondents participated in the survey conducted in 2024.

For the fifteenth year in a row, the most desirable employer in Croatia is dm-drogerie markt. Second place was taken by Rimac Group, while third place went to Lidl Croatia.

The ranking of first-choice employers is as follows:

The list of most desirable employers has seen a noticeable jump in technology companies such as Infobip, which entered the TOP 10 most desirable this year. On the other hand, there has been a noticeable decline in some employers from the trade sector, whose popularity is declining.

What makes the difference?

In order to discover what little secrets make the difference between employers, we asked respondents to choose up to three factors that, in their opinion, the most desirable employer must have.

The majority of respondents (44%) indicated good interpersonal relations, or a good atmosphere at the workplace, as what attracts them to the most desirable employers. In second place was good treatment by superiors, and this item was chosen by as many as 42% of respondents, while in third place was job security (42%). Among the less important factors are the company's social responsibility, intangible benefits and the opportunity for hierarchical advancement.

Na listi najpoželjnijih poslodavaca zamjetan je skok tehnoloških kompanija kao što je Infobip koji je ove godine ušao u TOP 10 najpoželjnijih. S druge strane, vidljiv je pad nekih poslodavaca iz sektora trgovine čija popularnost opada.

Bonuses and flexibility as the most desirable benefits

Of course, we all work primarily for pay, but additional benefits are always welcome. Among the most desirable benefits are: bonuses for outstanding achievements (63%), flexible working hours (52%) and compensation for travel expenses (50%). Among the benefits that are least important to employees are: covered or subsidized costs of cultural or sports activities, referral bonus and subsidizing relaxing activities (wellness massage...).

We often think about quitting

Almost half of the respondents (46%) often think about changing employers, while 39% of them sometimes think about it. Only one in seven respondents (15%) do not think about changing jobs at all.

However, respondents who work for their first-choice employer are much less likely to think about changing jobs than those who do not work for their first-choice employer. Slightly less than half of the respondents (48%) who work for their preferred employer do not think about changing jobs at all, while only 8% of the respondents who do not work for their preferred employer do. Of these, more than half (52%) often think about changing jobs, compared to only 11% of those who often think about changing jobs and work for their preferred employer.

In line with these results, it is not surprising that 44% of respondents are actively looking for a job, while a slightly smaller number of them (42%) are not looking for a job, but if an employer contacted them they would consider it. Only 13% of respondents are not looking for a job at all. Also, those respondents who do not work for their preferred employer (45%) are looking for a job to a greater extent than those who work for a preferred employer (only 16% of them are looking for a job).

About the research

The survey on first-choice employers was conducted by Alma Career Croatia via the MojPosao portal on a sample of more than 34,000 respondents during 2024. The survey has been conducted annually for the nineteenth year in a row.

It is important to note that the survey is based solely on the respondents' perception of the companies themselves and their free choice (the survey did NOT offer company names in advance). The aim of the survey was to find out which, and why, employers on the Croatian labor market are most attractive to the general public and to highlight those that have made the most progress.

Respondents were asked to name (in order) their three first-choice employers (i.e., their 'first', 'second', and 'third' choice employers). Scoring was done so that 'first' choice employers received 3 points, 'second' choice employers received 2 points, and 'third' choice employers received 1 point, and the overall ranking of employers was calculated based on this.