Even with ongoing mergers and acquisitions, our 2023 Compensation and Benefits Survey found that about half of O&P companies have less than 50 employees. The data from our 2017 Salary Survey was similar. Those numbers fit with broader statistics—in 2022 about 46 percent of employees in the US worked for small businesses. But what’s it like to work at a company with just a few employees?
How a company—large or small—functions and communicates makes up its culture. It can set the stage for how employees perform their jobs and adapt to challenges. The culture within a small business has advantages for employees, simply because of the opportunities for cross-departmental communication and collaboration.
“When you work for a small business, you’ll face real-life challenges that large companies either don’t have or, if they do, they’d never land on your desk,” says CareerAddict, who made the following list of upsides of working for a small company.
- It’s easier to stand out.
In O&P, clinical considerations of patient load and outcomes data make it easier for clinicians to show their work in the best light. But your personality and unique perspectives are easier to share in a smaller setting.
- You can see the impact of your work.
Each time a patient comes through the practice’s door, O&P practitioners see a daily reminder of the value in O&P care. Collecting data that shows that value becomes part of the big picture of the impact of your work.
- There are more opportunities for growth.
Opportunities in O&P constantly present themselves. There’s continuing education, association involvement and leadership, data collection and research, writing opportunities, mentor/mentee relationship, or community activities that can lead to a fulfilling career.
- You work closely with the core team.
Being able to have your voice heard and to feel like an integral part of your employer’s success can make your daily work a more fulfilling experience. In a 2023 article in The O&P EDGE, “Today’s O&P Workforce: Meeting Needs and Challenges Through Better Workplace Culture,” Jessica Norrell, CPO, MBA, owner of MOZN Solutions, said, “If the owner treats their employees like they are an integral part of the business, not only will the employees feel essential, but everyone else will treat them as such.”
- You get valuable practical experience.
In the same article, Michelle Hall, CPO, lead prosthetist and O&P residency director, Gillette Children’s Hospital, Minnesota, said this about shared decision-making that can be easier in a company with fewer employees: “The staff provide the ideas for projects important to them and their patients, while the leadership provides the guardrails in which the staff can pursue that project. This empowers clinicians to improve their workplace and ultimately leads to greater job satisfaction.”
To see the results of our surveys or to read “Today’s O&P Workforce: Meeting Needs and Challenges Through Better Workplace Culture” in our archives, subscribe to EDGE Advantage.
