By Chris MacDonald, Consultant – Financial Services.
From the moment I started my job search last year, I knew a few things: I knew recruitment was for me and that I wanted to stay in the sector and I also knew I wanted to work in a small business, somewhere I could make more of an impact and somewhere I would feel less like an expendable cog in a machine.
Here are some of the advantages I feel come with moving out of a big company and into an SME:
Working Closely with Senior Management:
From the moment I got my offer from Trace, one of the most appealing elements of the role was reporting directly to Gareth, one of the founders, and being able to work closely with senior management.
In the large corporate I used to work in, you could go many weeks and sometimes months without catching a glimpse of a director or an MD, let alone work alongside them.
From a personal development perspective, this was a real plus and I feel working alongside/getting training from directors with so much experience is giving me the challenge I was looking for. I dare say we enjoy each other’s company as well!
More Autonomy:
KPI’s are a bit of a thorny issue in the recruitment world. Whilst they can serve a function, too many KPI’s and a lack of flexibility around them are what lead to accusations of micromanagement. Often, in large companies, this leads to a culture where you need to hit your KPI’s to say you are hitting them, as opposed to doing what will actually yield the best business result.
At Trace we are not KPI’d and there is very much a sense of autonomy in which we are allowed to go about running our desks they way that works for us and we are more concerned about outcome and are less process-driven
Healthier culture and more flexible working balance:
Big corporates often have wellbeing schemes just to say they have them as opposed to actually wanting to offer them or believing in them. This is something I wanted to change when I went about my search. Small businesses are generally more likely to offer flexibility and accommodate wellbeing needs in order to retain good members of staff rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all approach and this has definitely been my experience so far at Trace!
Reward for my hard work:
Last but not least, it’s not exactly a shocking revelation that people don’t get into recruitment for the base salaries and are motivated by earning commission. Having an attractive commission structure as well as excellent quarterly incentives like our recent outing to City Social are real motivators. Often in large corporates, commission structures are suppressed, and this was definitely something I was looking to address.
If you want to find out more about opportunities with us and how we can develop you into an expert London Accountancy & Finance recruiter, please get in touch.
