WHAT IS AN SME?

SME stand for Small and Medium Sized Enterprise. This covers businesses with fewer than 250 staff and a turnover of no more than £50 million. It will include start-us and many companies  with high growth potential. In Hertfordshire, 98% of private sector businesses are SMEs and they account for 55% of private sector employment. 

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF WORKING FOR A SME?

  • A less hierarchical work environment, meaning you are more likely to have direct contact with senior management. A smaller work environment, and indeed workforce, means you're more likely to be integrated and familiar with staff and necessary departments.
  • More responsibility at an early stage; more opportunity for autonomy and ownership of work.
  • As well as having a thorough understanding of your job, you'll gain a better understanding of the business as a whole and will likely inherit varied responsibilities, perhaps even across departments, that will allow you to develop transferable skills.
  • You will be a big fish in a small pond and have access to a network which can help with career progression.
  • With a varied workload and opportunities to work within different areas of the organisation, working for small companies will certainly keep your job interesting. Rather than get complacent doing the same thing over and over again, you'll have more chance to change it up and get the most out of your position.
  • Working within a smaller company means that your good work is likely to get noticed. And given that you will have a more varied workload, you will have ample opportunity to prove your worth and have your potential realised
  • With more opportunities to show your abilities, and working with a smaller workforce, faster career advancement is very likely too. Increased responsibility and having your work noticed will make you hard to ignore and will be more likely to be rewarded with promotions and payrises. This is opposed to larger companies that will be less personable and more likely to overlook you and your abilities.