Can HRM utilize hero analyses in identifying employees’ profiles? The case of the Slovak and Czech Republics

Abstract

Finding feasible ways to predict the behaviour of organizations’ current and future employees is one of the most crucial HRM roles. The identification of heroes is a potential and innovative technique. The objective of the study is to identify heroes recognized by university students (to-be employees) and the values the students attach to them, as the grounds for establishing an employee profile useful in recruitment and selection processes. Simultaneously, the study pays attention to the respondents’ cultural context, namely the one of national culture (students of Slovak and Czech universities). The sample employee profiles open new opportunities for further exploration of the approach on the academic level as well as in the HRM practice. The differences identified in applicants’ hero categories significantly enhance understanding of their behavioural tendencies. The findings open several questions about the role of companies as well as educational systems in future employees’ value system evolution.