Pros
This privately owned company has been in business for more than 25 years and during my employment has grown from being a certified small business with a handful of employees at one location and less than $30 million in sales to a large business with over 450 employees at 5 locations and $120 million in sales. The owners have vision, understand the ever changing technology industry and the need for our company to be on the cutting edge of the latest service offerings. In addition our President is amazing with numbers and job analysis which always ensures our company is in excellent fiscal condition. Because the owners work in the office everyday good performance is recognized and hard work is rewarded. The owners are very generous, when the company does well employees receive bonuses & company picnics or holiday parties are given, they have always paid for employee HMO medical coverage (even though the cost continues to rise), employees are given movie tickets on their birthdays & their is a robust employee recognition program. They are always thinking of ways to improve morale at each of the offices and host periodic employee lunches / BBQs or implement new programs, like the kick off of our new Wellness Program starting this year. The employees are truly my favorite part of working here, I have a great bunch of co-workers, they are dedicated, hard working, knowledgeable and fun to be around. Because our owners are family oriented they understand the importance of work / life balance and the need to handle family emergencies when they arise.
Cons
Working for a privately owned company is different than working for a publicly traded company or the government, some employees who come to us from larger public companies or the government don't understand this concept and feel disappointed or unhappy. Because we are in the technology industry - an industry that is ever changing - we as a company under go a lot of change, if you are someone who doesn't deal well with change this could be a problem. In order to be more efficient & cost effective we have rules, some people have a hard time following rules and therefore view this as a negative. We do have a few new / inexperienced managers - which is good because it shows growth potential - but can be perceived as a con because they need training - which is something HR is currently rolling out. In my experience I have come to realize that you will never get along with everyone you work with 100% of the time, your ability to realize this and work towards better communication and interpersonal skills will allow you to make the most of your work relationships wherever you go.