Doremus/Forbes Insights Group Study: Corporate Culture “Fun” for Small Business ExecsApril 7, 2011 New York‚ April 7‚ 2011: Who’s having more fun at work? Employees from small companies (5-24 employees) believe they’re having more fun than those at larger companies. That’s according to the executives who own or co-own them. Doremus, the business communications specialist, and the Forbes Insights group, recently took the pulse of the senior-level executives working at small and mid-sized businesses for a survey called “Engine of Growth: Understanding the SMB Decision-Makers.” The poll was conducted in late 2010. Participants included 700 respondents from a Forbes panel of business owners and co-owners. Home office and franchise owners were excluded from the sample. When asked to match various adjectives to their company cultures, the executives from both small and mid-sized companies were in agreement when describing their cultures as “hard-working” and “innovative.” But not so when it came to having a good time in the workplace. 40% of the smaller company execs described their work environment as “fun,” but only 27% from larger companies could say the same. 39% from the smaller companies also thought their work environments were “relaxed,” but only 23% from larger companies were breathing easier on the job. Smaller companies were also in the lead when it came to attributes like “flexible” and “creative.” 59% from small companies described their work environment as “flexible,” whereas 41% from mid-sized companies saw it that way. 53% from small companies said their work environment was “creative,” while only 40% from the mid-sized companies thought that way. But when it came to “traditional,” the big guys were ahead. 33% of the executives from larger companies saw their businesses as “traditional.” Only 19% from the smaller companies described their companies that way. Hope Picker, Director of Research for Doremus, said, “Many of the executives in our study, regardless of the size of their companies, described their company cultures with core values like ‘hard-working,’ ‘service-oriented,’ ‘honest’ and ‘friendly.’ Those from the smaller companies who felt they were having more fun on the job might have attributed it to a more close-knit environment, making it easier to foster connections with co-workers. For example, in a small company, it’s not a big deal for a company to create fun experiences, order in pizza for everyone on a Friday or celebrate everyone’s birthday. It gets more cost prohibitive to do the same when you’ve got nearly a thousand people.” Bruce Rogers, Chief Brand Officer, Forbes, added, “It’s encouraging to learn, especially in a recessionary environment, that corporate cultures remain strong and have a positive influence on many people. Small and mid-sized companies have traditionally been the backbone of our economy. Overall, this is very good news moving forward.” To learn more about the Doremus/Forbes.com “Engine of Growth” study, contact Hope Picker at hpicker@doremus.com or Bruce Rogers at brogers@forbes.com. Doremus is a specialist in a world of generalists. With offices in New York, San Francisco, London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong, it specializes in business communications, helping companies align their communications with their business objectives. It does this by leveraging a unique understanding of the complexity of their industries and audiences, and translating that into compelling business-building solutions. Doremus is a part of the Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC). Omnicom is a leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom’s branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, interactive, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries. Forbes Insights is the custom research practice of Forbes Media, publisher of Forbes magazine and Forbes.com, whose combined media properties reach nearly 50 million business decision-makers worldwide on a monthly basis. Taking advantage of a proprietary database of senior-level executives in the Forbes community, Forbes Insights’ research covers a wide range of vital business issues, including talent management, corporate social responsibility, financial benchmarking, risk and regulation, and doing business in emerging markets. |
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