Transitioning from large corporate HR to an SME

I've always worked as "generalist" in SME's more so than large corporate organisations during my HR career and this suits me as I enjoy the variety I get each day. One thing I would note is sometimes the different behaviours or approaches I've noticed between the two. I can be "corporate" when needed but equally sometimes SME's need a more down to earth approach to HR.

I've noticed when working with HR colleagues in the past who have primarily worked in more corporate HR environments that they've struggled to switch up their approach to the less formal, more down to earth approach that SME's sometimes need (depending very much on industry of course). I'd consider the industry you're looking at moving into.

My HR role in a manufacturing SME for example certainly wouldn't have benefited from a more corporate HR approach when I first joined it. The employees and management would not have taken kindly to that approach and my job would have been much harder than it needed to be, as the business developed and grew then we slowly worked towards some more corporate approaches as it were but certainly never reaching the levels you might see in much larger entities.

My current role now is probably a hybrid of the two approaches, working in tech we're perhaps more corporate in some aspects but equally we're a small business so we still take on some of the less formalised approaches of some SME's. For me it's finding the healthy balance between the two.

I agree with Fiona in that it will largely depend on your values/skills set but also how you prefer to work. SME's can be very challenging but in different ways to perhaps what you are used to. And, as Fiona also rightly points out, HR roles in SME's are usually standalone so you rarely have someone else to bounce ideas off of, split the load with or have higher escalation point. Sometimes you are the highest escalation point within the HR department.

I've always worked as "generalist" in SME's more so than large corporate organisations during my HR career and this suits me as I enjoy the variety I get each day. One thing I would note is sometimes the different behaviours or approaches I've noticed between the two. I can be "corporate" when needed but equally sometimes SME's need a more down to earth approach to HR.

I've noticed when working with HR colleagues in the past who have primarily worked in more corporate HR environments that they've struggled to switch up their approach to the less formal, more down to earth approach that SME's sometimes need (depending very much on industry of course). I'd consider the industry you're looking at moving into.

My HR role in a manufacturing SME for example certainly wouldn't have benefited from a more corporate HR approach when I first joined it. The employees and management would not have taken kindly to that approach and my job would have been much harder than it needed to be, as the business developed and grew then we slowly worked towards some more corporate approaches as it were but certainly never reaching the levels you might see in much larger entities.

My current role now is probably a hybrid of the two approaches, working in tech we're perhaps more corporate in some aspects but equally we're a small business so we still take on some of the less formalised approaches of some SME's. For me it's finding the healthy balance between the two.

I agree with Fiona in that it will largely depend on your values/skills set but also how you prefer to work. SME's can be very challenging but in different ways to perhaps what you are used to. And, as Fiona also rightly points out, HR roles in SME's are usually standalone so you rarely have someone else to bounce ideas off of, split the load with or have higher escalation point. Sometimes you are the highest escalation point within the HR department.