Companies come in all shapes and sizes, each with different pros and cons. As people advance in their career, they often get a chance to work for companies that fall into different categories, especially when it comes to size. This experience can be very instructive, helping people find the size of company that suits them best. The fact is that working for a small startup can be a very different experience from being part of a large Fortune 500 business. Today, let’s look at some of the benefits you may find if you choose to join a smaller company.
Working for a smaller firm has definite merits, and entrepreneurs can entice top people by touting their unique opportunities and tailored benefits. Here are a few potential positives in working for smaller businesses that may not be as readily available in a large organization.
Gaining Attention
Working for a smaller firm naturally gives you more visibility across the organization. Even the exact same role in a smaller company is likely to bring with it more potential to gain the notice of your supervisor and co-workers. In smaller companies, every team member is relied on to contribute and those contributions are typically directly connected to the company’s success. Conversely, in larger companies, individual contributors are less likely to stand out and their efforts generally have a less direct and obvious impact on the company’s performance.
Not every employee wants to have the spotlight, but for those people that appreciate having their efforts noticed, recognized, and moving the needle for the company, a smaller organization can offer a real opportunity to shine.
Growth Potential
Working for a small company frequently allows employees to try new things and be involved in various tasks. In most startups and small companies, everyone wears a lot of different hats. Team members are encouraged to spread their wings and develop new skills. This less rigid structure enables employees to impact the organization in various ways that may go above and beyond their official job description. This can often lead to promotions or opportunities to shift roles into other facets of the business that may be even more rewarding (financially and personally) as the company grows.
Typically, as companies grow, the team grows. Employees who are already on board the small, but growing company tend to have the most direct opportunities to enhance their own professional growth right along with the company.
In larger companies, there are definitely opportunities for professional growth, but they are often more structured or specific. Someone who comes in as an account coordinator may have a logical path to become an account manager, director, etc. But, opportunities to expand into different roles or departments are often more challenging. Growth often comes in a more predictable timeframe as well, where you might be expected to stay in a role for a year or two before being considered for a promotion. In a smaller company, those opportunities may come faster and more frequently, as the company evolves.
If you thrive in a more unstructured environment where you gain exposure and experience in a wide variety of business facets, then a small company may give you the type of growth opportunity you are looking for.
Flexibility
While corporate culture around work settings and work hours has become more dynamic over the past few years, largely due to having to adapt to the pandemic, larger companies still tend to have more structured ruled and expectations around time spent in the office, a dress code, and other traditional business norms. Smaller companies are often more casual with regard to some of these standard business environments.
Larger companies are more likely to have set business hours that all employees are expected to follow. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with building a business culture around specific expectations like this, it can also make it difficult for some potential employees to ever be successful. Any working parent can relate to the challenges of juggling a work schedule with regular and unexpected kid-related tasks (school drop-offs and pickups, medical or dental appointments, team sports or other activities, etc.). And, we all have things that come up in our personal lives that can also conflict with a set 8am to 5pm (or more likely 7am to 6pm) work schedule.
Smaller companies know that one way to attract talented team members is to provide more flexibility to have a life outside of work. This might mean more flexible work hours, made to adapt to those personal responsibilities that come up during the day.
Many companies have adopted remote work policies, but smaller firms are still more likely to provide this type of location flexibility. Similarly, smaller companies may be more flexible when it comes to things like work attire. I remember when I got into the professional workforce back in the 1980s a jacket and tie were expected attire for men in many offices. While that still may be typical in very specific industries today, it’s pretty rare to find people working in an office with limited or no customer contact being required to wear a suit to the office every day. Smaller companies have led the way in this area, as well, allowing employees to be more comfortable at work.
These types of flexibility can be a huge benefit for many employees and may often be the difference in being able to hire the best candidates.
Career Advancement
As mentioned above, career advancement can often come faster at a smaller company than a larger one. Large companies sometimes require some number of years in a role before advancement is possible. Some of it can become almost automatic when, after X years in a role, a successful employee is given a higher title and a raise. Smaller companies tend to promote employees when they have shown the necessary development (on whatever timeline it happens) and the company finds itself needing team members in more advanced roles to support business growth. So, it’s not atypical for employees to advance in their careers more quickly if they join smaller organizations.
This isn’t a hard and fast rule, of course. For example, smaller companies may not provide an obvious promotion path from someone like a marketing manager to a director, to a VP in any particular timeframe, if the current VP or head of marketing has no plans to move up or out of the organization. So, it’s possible that there simply isn’t a higher role to step into. Larger companies often have more turnover, leading to a steadier flow of open positions for employees to be promoted into.
Still, the combination of being able to more directly impact company performance and opportunities to stand out which are more prevalent at smaller companies are also highly likely to lead to career growth. It’s in smaller companies or startups where you run into senior executives who may have less experience than their counterparts at large companies. This speaks to the opportunities to grow that are more common in smaller organizations.
Company Culture
Company culture is a very amorphous concept. It’s not always easy to fully define. Many companies strive to have positive company cultures to attract and retain employees. However, larger companies tend to face more hurdles in maintaining certain types of company cultures. As they grow, naturally more processes and structure become necessary. But, that process and structure can take away from the culture the company had previously.
Smaller organizations tend to share certain traits when it comes to company culture. One of those is a sense of entrepreneurism where every team member feels like a leader and can make decisions that impact the company. Similarly, smaller companies are typically more nimble and able to change direction quickly. This dynamic can also become a core part of the company culture. Some of these traits are simply not feasible for large companies to carry on forever.
If you are drawn to a more lively, but also possibly chaotic, company culture, then a smaller company (or even a startup) might be the right fit for you.
