Monday, October 25, 2010

Greatness of a small company

Working for a small company can be the best job you'll ever have!  I've worked for huge companies like Hershey and now I work for a small family owned company.  I loved both jobs for different reasons.  For now, I'll share why I love working for a small company.  I was hired as the office manager.  There were 2 other girls that worked for me in the office.  We accomplished all office tasks necessary for our company, hr, ar/ap, accounting functions, payroll, and customer service.  I was hired over the other top choice for my position because I had interest in getting out of the office and helping elsewhere in the plant.  I have learned how to run our store from cashier to shipping.  I have learned how to run the packing room (at least the basics of how we pack and how to manage the personnel that we have on any shift).  I have been given the basics of how to bake (could fill in for a few hours, but nothing like what the real bakers can do).  Most recently, I've really been working on my warehouse skills.  I've been picking orders for several months now, but officially on Friday drove a forklift onto a truck (a little scary to drop onto the back of a trailer).  Each day brings new challenges and new excitement.  I know personally each employee that works for our company.  I can stop and chat about their family or what happened over the weekend with any one of our people.  This is a huge advantage over a large corporation.  We all have to work together to get the job done.  In the end our team effort is to get the best pretzels out to our customers. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with working for a big company, but if you ever have the opportunity to work in a small company, take it and treat it like it's your own company.  You might really like it!

3 comments:

  1. Becky,
    I think a lot of people leave their jobs because they don't get the kind of opportunities you're talking about. Maybe not the specifics of baking pretzels or driving a forklift, but the opportunity to become a more rounded employee. The chance to become more knowledgeable about everything your company does can not do anything except make you more valuable to the company. People who are only skilled at 1 thing are much more at risk for becoming excess to surplus when new methods come out that make their one skill easier, like sales or accounting, and when layoffs come around, people who can only do one thing are the first to go. So kudos to you on finding a job you like that gives you the experience to work on all facets of the business and become a more rounded employee.

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  2. Getting to experience many different aspects of a company is a great advantage when working within a company. When working at UPS, I was utilized in solely the warehouse, but was curious about expanding my knowledge about the company by working in other departments. I was only at this job temporarily, which may be the reasoning for me staying in one department, but I feel that by having the opportunity to experience other area's of the company, I could become an even stronger asset to UPS.

    You never tend to hear negative feedback from working at these smaller companies like Becky explains, but I often feel that i hear more negative feedback from former employees who work at these larger companies. Despite the opportunity for growth in numerous areas in larger companies, I feel that by experiencing more area's within these smaller companies, you are preparing yourself for future success.

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  3. Great post, Becky. It's always encouraging to me to hear stories from people who really enjoy not only their jobs, but also their place of employment, co-workers, etc. as much as you do. I agree with what you have to say about working for a small company. It's more of a team environment where people really feel like they can make a difference, and genuinely care more about their team members. I do feel like this is avaiable in larger organizations if they are managed correctly, but I agree that smaller companies are the place to go for that kind of environment.

    I agree with what Tom had to say, as well. I think the more you know about every aspect of the company the more you feel like you are an integral part of it, and, usually, the less disposable you are. I've definitely felt more like that at the smaller businesses I've worked for.

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