Pros
I can’t say enough about how amazing the personnel situation is here. I have always worked for much larger companies and have NEVER seen people work this well together. Every single person I have spoken with tells me how much s/he loves the company (even when we speak privately). Most have been here for many years, but they embraced my presence and new role immediately.
I think the executive team is brilliant, and not just in terms of manufacturing expertise, although their accomplishments in that realm are certainly impressive. I have worked in senior management roles and found that treating employees well is not only appropriate and consistent with my values, but strategically advantageous. It saves a LOT of money in recruiting, retraining, and personnel issues as well as errors and time inefficiencies stemming from overwork and workplace injuries. The pleasant work environment, appropriate compensation, and profit-sharing opportunities inspire everyone to do their best work every day. Very few companies can boast assets like a fully functional, competent, compliant work force.
I feel inspired at HVI every day. The executive team is open to new ideas and technologies, which is important for an entrepreneurial spirit like myself who cannot bear to stagnate. I constantly research and cultivate my professional skills to satisfy my own curiosity and intrinsic motivation, and I am always seeking to improve ROI for my employer as technologies and paradigms shift and evolve, thereby creating new opportunities for growth. My field is highly dynamic, and so am I, and in many ways smaller companies can adapt more readily to these shifts because they are not as deeply entrenched or invested in obsolete, inefficient technical infrastructures as larger corporations.
Cons
In any smaller company, there are inherently fewer advancement opportunities. However, it means a lot to me that successful efforts on my part will benefit the people I see and interact with every day. It feels more personal and offers the opportunity to make a bigger difference for this company than I could working for a monolith, so that trade-off is worthwhile to me.