One of the differences in working for myself and working in a large organisation is the issue of cash flow and payment of invoices.When I worked as a manager in the NHS I was always very keen to get contractors paid for their services. I had a relationship with all such people who did work for me. Invariably they were small companies – often one person working for themselves.
I realised they could not afford to wait for money.
What I would often do is to personally ring the finance section to arrange early payment of invoices WHICH WAS ALWAYS POSSIBLE DESPITE WHATEVER THE 'PROCEDURE AND SYSTEM' MIGHT HAVE TOLD ME.
Nowadays I am on the ‘other side of the fence’ as a contractor and I submit my invoice once I have completed work.
So far the longest I have had to wait for payment of an invoice is 7 weeks and large organisations always seem to have a minimum of one month before they part with their money.
Interestingly enough small organisations always pay me within three days.
I understand why big organisations have institutional systems that have no sensitivity to the small contractor BUT WHAT DOES INTRIGUE ME IS WHY MANGERS DO NOT RECOGNISE THE CASH FLOW ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH SMALL COMPANIES AND TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY TO ‘HURRY ALONG’ THE PAYMENT.
Such is life and another example why in my opinion small is beautiful
The bigger the organisation the less in touch with customers or vendors has always been my view and this is brought home much more powerfully in this latest period of my professional life.
2 comments:
This is awful situation that there are such gaps in payments because of "structure".
Actually any company is growing in order to do more, to be more effective. But they just forget what kind of effectiveness they should work on - effectiveness in relation with other people.
Thanks for that Dmitry.
To me it is so simple - management effectiveness is ALL ABOUT building 'relationships of integrity' with customers and vendors. Some managers and therefore some companies just never 'get it.' How they survive I will never know, and how some 'customer care' staff take home their wages at the end of a week without a guilty conscience I will equally never understand. I blame the managers more than the staff because the managers appoint them in the first place and they should check their effectiveness over time.
Phew - I feel better now :-)
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