Chris Evans on making the transition from a small to a larger sized organisation

Making the transition from a small to a much larger organisation, or vice versa, can be a daunting prospect bringing with it a raft of new changes and challenges. But if these are overcome the experience can prove extremely rewarding for career development. 

Inevitably there will be pros and cons to working for either a small or large organisation. Generally speaking, you are likely to get more job security, better benefits, clearer defined structure and role responsibility, and more financial resources available at a larger company. But then at a smaller organisation, there will often be the opportunity to work across different areas and effect change quicker.

“As a Global Mobility Manager at several large multi-national companies, I had a specific role of getting people from A to B in a compliant and cost effective way. If I needed to spend any additional money or wanted to change anything I had to go up the hierarchical chain to get it signed off, and then it would filter back down,” explains Tim Wells, who now works as Head of Global Mobility Consulting at Abbis Cadres, a much smaller organisation. “In my present role, I’m not just involved in global mobility, but also finance, marketing and budgets, learning new skills on a daily basis, and have greater ownership of the decision making processes.”

This is a stance supported by James Taylor, a senior IT manager, who made the transition from a leading global retailer to a small, boutique jewellery company, and interestingly back again to a major supermarket chain. “It was strange moving from a major retailer with a big team working on huge projects to a small jeweller with just a dozen people in total, but it was an exciting challenge. I learnt a lot of new skills very quickly, like SEO and marketing, and to get things done I simply had to turn to the people next to me and it would be agreed.”

That said, both Taylor and Wells concede that at a larger company it is useful to work with a big team of people who have different working styles, experiences and knowledge so they get more rounded views on ideas and projects, and can delegate responsibility when they’re overloaded with work.
The pressure to achieve success and deal with less job security can also be more intense at a smaller company where the risks and stakes are often higher. “The room for error is much smaller. If I was to get an unexpected large bill or needed to spend a large amount of capital that was not predicted and planned for when working for a large company, I would have some explaining to do, but they would pay it and move on the next day. Whereas, if we got that at Abbas Cadres, it would have a significant impact on the budget for the month and would directly affect what we spend on other areas.”  

Changing culture

It can also be a quite a culture shock making the transition to a smaller organisation. Managers used to a hierarchical system of command at larger organisations with specific responsibilities, policies, procedures, protocol, set pay and benefits, and confined interaction with colleagues can find it disconcerting moving into a small, intimate, less structured environment.

“Managers are suddenly closer to the boss, assessing the inner workings of the company, warts and all. It is far more raw,” states Steve Thompson-Martyn, Director at Career Directed Solutions. “We had one woman recently who moved from Hitachi to a small company in Leeds who struggled to get the tone of how far she should take control, not helped by the fact there was no formal feedback from other staff. The chemistry didn’t fit.”

While an HR director who moved from BP to a much smaller organisation found it strange that people wouldn’t listen to him because they’d never had an HR director before. “He had to make his own coffee and do his own printing, and was just another member of the team, rather than a team leader. It took some getting used to,” adds Thompson-Martyn.

For those who like structure, formal training and development, the opportunity to work abroad and more mentors for guidance then a large company is probably the better choice. You’re also more likely to get noticed by other employers because they’ll be aware of what the business does and what impact you’ve had, compared with a much smaller organisation.

Add to that a comfortable salary, larger social network, potential for paid sports activities, top notch medical care and bonuses, it’s easy to see the appeal of working at a big organisation and staying there. But thousands still choose to make the transition to small companies every year.

“I was happy in my job at a major telecoms with a great boss and a brilliant team, but I wanted a new challenge,” says David Stockton, a senior marketing manager. “The slow, bureaucratic processes got a little tiring, with plans taking up to a year before execution. Now (at a small marketing agency) I can react quickly and make decisions on the fly. If there’s a problem, I solve it myself. It’s exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure.”