Choose SMEs, not Corporate! Or wait, maybe Corporate is better?
13-12-2021
What are the differences if you work in a small-medium enterprise (SME) rather than a corporate? Which one is the best fit for you? In this blog, we’ll compare some of the pros and cons there are to working in an SME or Corporate.
Let’s get started!
Experience
SMEs have a small team. You work together with all your colleagues who often have a different function than you. You get to know all your colleagues and some even on a personal level. The atmosphere in an SME is more like a family rather than a workplace. The workflow of an SME is flexible and there is little to no structure. Therefore, SMEs are often more flexible when you need time off from work.
Communication is much faster compared to corporates instead of waiting for replies to emails. (It won’t take days foryou to get a reply.) Moreover, you can always give your ideas to your boss without having to rely on anyone.
Corporates, on the other hand, have a large team. You work mostly with colleagues who have the same specialization as you and together you work specific projects focused on your specialization. You will never get to know all your colleagues because some of them work in another office or in another sector that you have no relationship with when you work.The workflow of a corporate is stricter. There is a hierarchical system implemented. Your ideas must be approved by your floor manager before it goes to the decision maker or CEO.
Communication is much slower compared to SMEs. If you need something from another sector you can send an email to which they reply. It will first go through your manager. Then to the specific sector to one of the employees and if it is important enough it goes to a decision maker
Tasks
In a Corporate you will work mainly on the specific tasks you have been hired for. This means that if your job has to do with marketing, you will focus only on marketing and nothing else. If you wantto focus only on your specialization then a corporate work style suits you.
SMEs have a different approach: the team is small and therefore there will be times when your colleagues need an extra hand to help them with their tasks. If you have the time, you can help them with that. You will not only be working on marketing, but also on finance, Human recourse, etc. So you get the full package of a business. If you want to be an all-round or an upcoming entrepreneur, the SME work style is for you!
Benefits
When we talk about fringe benefits, we are talking about pensions and extras in the contract like a leased car. Companies have better fringe benefits. The reason is that they have the finances to give you those benefits. SMEs often don’t have that luxury, they are more likely to invest it to grow the business.
To summarize.
SMEs and Corporates both have their advantages and disadvantages. The question is what you prefer. Do you really want that lease car or do you want to get to know your colleagues better on a more personal scale. That is for you to choose.