Working for a Small Company – Top 10 Pros and Cons

The volatile economic conditions around the world has an adverse impact on the job market.

It is not uncommon to come across experienced executives leaving big organizations because of the reduction in the manpower of large organizations.

The trend of startups and small companies or e-commerce firms is also not uncommon these days.

Today, people do not always seek huge companies that have great manpower, long reputation and reliability. People today are equally eager to work in small organizations and firms.

This is because, while there sure are some drawbacks of working in small organizations and firms, there are several benefits too.

It is thus unwise to leave an opportunity just because the organization is small or unheard of. You need to weigh the pros against the cons before you come to any conclusion.

Here are some of the major pros and cons of working for a small company –

WordPress Table

Merits and Benefits of Working for a Small Company:

While in the past, people conducted a reputation check and referred to the history of a firm before joining it, today things are different.

People are willing to explore and experiment with their career. They enjoy taking chances and love treading through the untrodden path unlike before.

This is because they have a clear idea of the myriad benefits of joining a new firm or organization. Here we have listed a few of these benefits below:

1. Complete Control Over Career:

HR experts are of the view that the biggest plus point of working for a small company is that professionals can have complete control over their own career. There is a higher level of transparency which is often missing in large organizations.

In many huge firms, as an employee you get to handle one sector of the business and you do not even know what goes on in the other sectors.

Because of this lack of transparency, you often lose the drive to do the best in your firm.

On the contrary, in a small firm you get to know exactly how your contribution is affecting the firm’s growth. You are allocated a responsible position in the firm and your position is valued by the recruiters.

2. Greater Responsibility beyond job description:

Working in a small organization will enable you to take ownership of everything that you do. As one of the employees of an organization, you will get hands-on experience at a greater level more than you would with a big organization.

Normally, small organizations are less structured and have more flexibility in their way of working. The thing that matters the most is your personality and preferences in the job environment, which can work in your environment.

If you are willing to work more and learn new skills, there will be many opportunities to widen your horizon.

This will not just help you broaden your perspective but also help you get better opportunities in future.

This ensures your overall development as a professional and helps you get higher in your career at a faster pace.

3. Acquire greater recognition for accomplishments:

Within a startup or organization with a limited staff, there is a higher chance of being noticed by the management.

If you do consistently well over a period of time, you will be looked upon as an asset and will be valued within the organization.

While you may not have a great monetary gain for your achievements, but your work will be appreciated.

This is not often the case within large organizations where you may be overshadowed by others.

Since there have been many good employees in the past who have taken the organization to great heights, your contribution, however big, will not even be noticed. The other side of the same coin is that your mistakes may weigh heavily against you.

Since there are countless employees always eager to join such big organizations, one mistake on your end may even jeopardize your career when you are working in a big firm.

4. Acquire significant exposure to new practice areas:

People working with small organization get significant opportunities to work in new areas which they weren’t exposed to earlier.

Thus, the level of involvement in all areas of the business is significantly higher. Within large organizations, employees often get unconnected from what the business is all about.

The level of involvement within a small company is significantly higher which translates into a higher level of job satisfaction.

Job satisfaction is just a part of the whole thing. When you get sufficient exposure and your work is valued, it adds to your confidence and helps you have a better self image. This can help you set higher goals in your career.

5. More direct impact on the company’s outcome:

Working in a small company offers a professional, the opportunity to be in close proximity to the higher management, which results in decisive actions within a short span of time.

There is greater scope for having a work done quickly, with a high level of efficiency with minimal red tape. You have to undergo fewer layers of approval to handle when decisions need to be taken.

For action-oriented individuals who are habituated to quick decisions on numerous projects that have quicker turnaround times, this would be the perfect environment to work in.

Cons or Drawbacks of Working for a Small Company:

The reason why our predecessors feared to join a new firm or organisation are many. A new firm could never be trusted.

If the enterprise failed, the employees may have to start their job search all over again. It was difficult to predict the progress or stability in case of a new venture.

In case of old firms, you could decide whether the firm is reliable by gathering information from previous employees. Since all this is not possible in case of a new business or enterprise, parents often advise against pursuing such careers.

Here we have listed out a few major drawbacks that you need to consider before you decide to join a new firm or organization.

1. Lesser availability or resources:

The lack of adequate manpower is one of the major problems that executives working in small companies often face.

Even if you are multi-tasking, it may not be possible for you to handle numerous tasks at the same time on a regular basis. As a result, the level of workload that you will need to deal with would be significantly higher than within a large organization.

This also means that the work may turn stressful and may even hamper your health in the long run. You may lack sleep. If you are a useful resource, you may even find it difficult to take a planned leave.

2. Lower Pay or Inadequate Remuneration:

Most small businesses that you would come across lack the financial resources as compared to large organizations.

Though you get a high level of experience, you will get paid lesser than what you would do for the same job profile in a large organization.

As there are limited financial resources for the company to run its operations, you are likely to have lesser benefits compared to what you would enjoy while working for a large organization.

While you grow as an employee and the experience you gain may bring better returns in the long run, initially you may find it difficult to manage finances.

3. Restricted mobility Or Growth:

This is a major problem with small companies, though the job titles may be high profile. If you join such an organization in a high position such as President or Vice President, then you will have lesser chances of getting promoted.

Unlike the privileges that Presidents of big and reputed companies enjoy, you may not be able to travel or have a planned future. The great level of uncertainty in the small firms also pose a great level of risk.

4. Lesser job security:

There are many businesses that often fail to take off. For example, if your company fails to attract clients and grow in the long run, it may close down and render you unemployed.

However, you do not face such a problem with job security while working with large organizations.

Similarly, a small company may not have the funds to pay off your salary if it goes bankrupt. This is not probable in the case of large companies as reputation matters a lot to them.

Experience in a small company that just closed down may not help much. This is not the case with experience in a huge organization that is known to everyone.

5. Greater likelihood of menial tasks:

This is a major problem with most startups and small companies. Small businesses often lack suppliers and receptionists.

Therefore, you may have to handle a lot of odd jobs such as answering e-mails and phone calls, washing the dishes etc.

Executives joining a small company from a larger organization often face this problem.

However, these problems can be avoided if the company has sufficient staff and you are in higher rank on the basis of your skills and experience.