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Last summer, Goldman Sachs hired Adam Grant, an author, academic and consultant who has worked with Google and Merck, the drugmaker. His task? Not cost-cutting but finding how young bankers could get the most out of their jobs.
去年夏天，高盛(Goldman Sachs)聘請(qǐng)了亞當(dāng)•格蘭特(Adam Grant)，他是一位作家兼學(xué)者，并曾作為顧問(wèn)為谷歌(Google)和制藥企業(yè)默克(Merck)工作過(guò)。格蘭特的任務(wù)是什么呢？不是削減成本，而是找出年輕銀行家們?nèi)绾文軓乃麄兊墓ぷ鳟?dāng)中獲得最多益處的方法。
Hailed by Malcolm Gladwell, the 32-year-old is a management professor at Wharton business school and best known for his recent book Give and Take , which argued that those who contribute to the success of others gain in the long run.
這種做法得到了馬爾科姆•格拉德韋爾(Malcolm Gladwell)的大力贊揚(yáng)，現(xiàn)年32歲的格拉德韋爾是沃頓商學(xué)院(Wharton business school)的管理學(xué)教授，最為人所熟知的是他近期出版的《給予和索取》(Give and Take)一書(shū)。書(shū)中指出，那些為別人的成功作出貢獻(xiàn)的人將在長(zhǎng)期中獲益。
Banks may have a reputation for taking rather than giving, but Prof Grant says Goldman is prepared to indulge its young employees because it is concerned about the risk of losing talent. Hence the creation last year of a “junior banker task force” and its earlier decision to offer permanent contracts to entrants rather than two-year ones.
銀行在人們印象中或許更偏向于向員工索取而非給予，但格蘭特教授指出，高盛正準(zhǔn)備縱容一下自己的年輕雇員，因?yàn)樵摴緦?duì)于失去人才的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)深感擔(dān)憂。因此，高盛于去年創(chuàng)立了“基層銀行家特別工作組”。更早之前，該公司還決定向新入職員工提供永久合同，過(guò)去只有工作滿兩年的員工才有機(jī)會(huì)拿到永久合同。
On Prof Grant’s advice the bank is introducing the “entry interview”. The entry interview’s mission is to discover an employee’s values and goals in more detail than hiring interviews. It has two benefits: an employee feels valued from the outset and the employer can frame the job around their ambitions.
在格蘭特教授的建議下，高盛引入了“入職面談”(entry interview)。入職面談的目的是為了比招聘面試更加細(xì)致地發(fā)掘一名雇員的價(jià)值觀和人生目標(biāo)。這種做法有兩個(gè)好處：雇員會(huì)從一開(kāi)始就感覺(jué)受到重視，雇主則可以圍繞員工的志向給他們安排工作內(nèi)容。
The entry interview is one example of the sector responding to the changing needs of young investment bankers. “This generation are much more concerned with work-life balance,” says Prof Grant.
入職面談是一個(gè)例子，說(shuō)明銀行業(yè)正在針對(duì)年輕投資銀行家不斷變化的需求做出反應(yīng)。格蘭特教授表示：“這一代人明顯更加關(guān)注工作和生活的平衡。”
They are also impatient to gain experience and responsibilities, not being content to pay their dues as their predecessors once did. Raj Sood, head of Fitch Learning’s graduate business, which teaches trainee investment bankers, observes: “They are much more demanding. They want their careers to move quickly.”
另外，他們?cè)诜e累經(jīng)驗(yàn)和承擔(dān)責(zé)任方面缺乏耐心，不甘愿像他們的前輩那樣經(jīng)過(guò)多年苦干才得到升職。惠譽(yù)培訓(xùn)(Fitch Learning)的畢業(yè)生業(yè)務(wù)專門(mén)為投資銀行業(yè)的新人提供培訓(xùn)服務(wù)，該業(yè)務(wù)的主管拉賈•蘇德(Raj Sood)指出：“他們的要求要高得多。他們希望自己能夠快速晉升。”
Attempts to change the working lives of junior bankers are also a recognition that the sector will have to offer alternatives to financial incentives.
為改變初級(jí)銀行家職場(chǎng)生活所做的嘗試也可以看作是對(duì)以下事實(shí)的一種承認(rèn)：投資銀行業(yè)有必要在財(cái)務(wù)激勵(lì)以外提供其他類型的激勵(lì)。
While investment bankers still out-earn other professionals, the gap is narrowing. Research by PwC shows that the average pay per head in a sample of nine European and US investment banks has fallen from 9.3 times the private sector average in 2006 to 5.6 times in 2013.
雖然投資銀行家的收入仍然高于其他專業(yè)人士，但這種收入差距正在縮小。普華永道(PwC)的研究顯示，在由歐洲和美國(guó)的九家投資銀行組成的樣本中，樣本投行的人均收入與私營(yíng)部門(mén)的人均收入之比從2006年的9.3倍降至了2013年的5.6倍。
Ken McGrath, the co-head of financial sponsors for Europe at Barclays, says: “Post-crisis the world has changed. There has been a shift in perception of the remuneration opportunity in our industry.”
巴克萊歐洲地區(qū)財(cái)務(wù)投資者業(yè)務(wù)的聯(lián)席主管肯•麥格拉思(Ken McGrath)表示：“金融危機(jī)過(guò)后，世界發(fā)生了變化。人們對(duì)我們行業(yè)中薪酬機(jī)會(huì)的認(rèn)識(shí)發(fā)生了改變。”
In the dotcom bubble, banks offered dress-down Fridays and concierge services. Today it is responsibility, intellectual stimulation and a life beyond the office – in theory at least.
在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)泡沫期間，銀行向員工提供星期五便裝日、禮賓服務(wù)等待遇。而今天，銀行應(yīng)該把重點(diǎn)放在員工的工作職權(quán)、智力啟發(fā)以及辦公室以外的生活——至少在理論上。
Most banks now tell juniors to have time off at the weekend and check that holidays are taken. At JPMorgan, those at analyst and associate level – the first two rungs on the ladder – are implored to take five weeks off a year.
多數(shù)銀行現(xiàn)在會(huì)告訴初級(jí)雇員，周末要休息，并且還會(huì)檢查確保員工享受了假期。在摩根大通(JPMorgan)，處于分析師和助理級(jí)別的雇員——晉升階梯上的最低兩級(jí)——每年被要求休滿五周假期。
Such policies may be imperfect, admits Prof Grant, but they are better than vague edicts to work less.
格蘭特教授承認(rèn)，這些政策或許并不完美，但它們比減少工作量的模糊命令要強(qiáng)多了。
In part, this is an attempt to avoid bankers being inward-looking with no understanding of their impact on the world outside. Thomas Cuvelier, a 32-year-old banker who heads AskIvy, which advises wannabe financiers, notes: “If you are a junior banker you are cut off from society. It creates a bubble.” Last summer, Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman’s chief executive, told interns to have interests away from the narrow confines of work.
在一定程度上，這種嘗試的意義在于防止銀行家將目光集中于公司內(nèi)部，而對(duì)他們給外部世界造成的影響一無(wú)所知。今年32歲的銀行家托馬斯•屈弗利耶(Thomas Cuvelier)是AskIvy的負(fù)責(zé)人，該網(wǎng)站向有意成為金融家的人提供建議。屈弗利耶指出：“如果你是一名初級(jí)銀行家，你會(huì)從社會(huì)當(dāng)中脫離出來(lái)。這種現(xiàn)象幫助制造了市場(chǎng)泡沫。”去年夏天，高盛首席執(zhí)行官勞爾德•貝蘭克梵(Lloyd Blankfein)對(duì)該公司的實(shí)習(xí)生表示，要在狹窄的工作范圍之外培養(yǎng)興趣。
The ambition to help young financiers manage their time is also a response to technology. One describes how emails from different time zones stoked his adrenalised anxiety. “You wake up in the middle of the night and, because you’re stressed and nervous, you check your emails, then get even more nervous because someone is asking for this to be done as soon as possible.”
銀行把幫助年輕金融家管理好他們的時(shí)間作為目標(biāo)，這也是對(duì)科技發(fā)展做出的一種回應(yīng)。有一個(gè)人描述了來(lái)自不同時(shí)區(qū)的電子郵件如何加劇了導(dǎo)致他腎上腺素上升的焦慮感。“你在夜半時(shí)分醒來(lái)，由于你承受了很大壓力，并深感緊張，你會(huì)查看電子郵件，然后變得更加緊張，因?yàn)橛腥艘竽惚M快完成一項(xiàng)工作。”
In 2012, Barclays established an “efficiency committee” to discuss the junior population’s concerns. This yielded guidelines for such things as realistic deadline-setting. After a survey of young bankers found 50 per cent still felt they were being managed inefficiently, the bank decided to add teeth. So junior bankers nominated their three best managers and three worst. If the underperformers do not raise their game they will be hit where it hurts: their pay packet.
2012年，巴克萊成立了一個(gè)“效率委員會(huì)”，致力于討論初級(jí)員工群體所擔(dān)心的問(wèn)題。由此形成了一系列指導(dǎo)原則，包括如何設(shè)定切實(shí)可行的工作完成期限。針對(duì)年輕銀行家的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，仍有50%的受訪者感到他們沒(méi)有受到有效管理。為此巴克萊決定，加大懲處力度。由初級(jí)銀行家提名選出他們眼中最優(yōu)秀以及最糟糕的經(jīng)理各三位。如果管理不善者沒(méi)有拿出更好的表現(xiàn)，他們會(huì)感到肉痛——他們的薪酬將受到影響。
Banks are also responding to frustration over the mundanity of the early work. One analyst sums it up: “You start with very simple tasks such as looking for data and maybe putting into PowerPoint a slide that was already drafted. When you gradually win your seniors’ confidence, they will give you more responsibility until you reach the ‘holy grail’: doing the Excel model yourself.”
針對(duì)單調(diào)瑣碎的初級(jí)工作給員工帶來(lái)的失落感，投資銀行也采取了應(yīng)對(duì)措施。一名分析師總結(jié)稱：“一開(kāi)始你做的工作非常簡(jiǎn)單，例如搜集數(shù)據(jù)，或者根據(jù)已經(jīng)起草好的提綱用PowerPoint制作幻燈片。當(dāng)你逐漸贏得了上級(jí)的信任時(shí)，他們會(huì)讓你承擔(dān)更多的職責(zé)，最終你將拿到‘圣杯’：即由你自己來(lái)制作Excel模型。”
Credit Suisse says it has developed mentoring programmes and increased training. Deutsche Bank has created networking opportunities across the bank and more skill development.
瑞信(Credit Suisse)表示，其已開(kāi)展多個(gè)指導(dǎo)項(xiàng)目，并加強(qiáng)了培訓(xùn)力度。德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)則為員工創(chuàng)造了在整個(gè)銀行內(nèi)部建立人脈關(guān)系網(wǎng)的機(jī)會(huì)，并提供了更多的技能培訓(xùn)項(xiàng)目。
There is also the issue of feedback. One second-year analyst explained his frustration over never hearing about client meetings for which he prepared presentations but was not invited to attend. “I’ve told seniors they should spend five minutes debriefing us. It’s interesting and it’s part of the learning curve.”
效果反饋也是一個(gè)問(wèn)題。一名入職一年多的分析師解釋稱，他的挫敗感來(lái)自于從未聽(tīng)到過(guò)有關(guān)客戶會(huì)議的情況，他為這些會(huì)議準(zhǔn)備了演示材料，卻未獲邀請(qǐng)參加。他說(shuō)：“我已經(jīng)向上級(jí)提出過(guò)，他們?cè)跁?huì)議之后應(yīng)當(dāng)花五分鐘的時(shí)間向我們簡(jiǎn)單說(shuō)一下情況。這是一件很有意思的事，同時(shí)也是新人學(xué)習(xí)曲線的一部分。”
In response, banks say they are trying to give young financiers regular informal feedback, rather than year-end reviews. Barclays is asking senior staff to bring juniors to client meetings. Richard Taylor, co-head of the investment banking division at Barclays, says: “We are focused on providing long-term development and a more stimulating career experience.”
作為回應(yīng)，銀行表示正在嘗試向年輕的金融家們作出定期非正式的反饋，而非僅僅在年終做出評(píng)定。巴克萊要求資深職員帶上初級(jí)員工參加客戶會(huì)議。巴克萊投資銀行部門(mén)的聯(lián)席主管理查德•泰勒(Richard Taylor)表示：“我們高度重視向員工提供長(zhǎng)期發(fā)展機(jī)會(huì)，以及更加激動(dòng)人心的職業(yè)經(jīng)歷。”
Yet ambitions to change the working lives of young bankers for the better may falter if their superiors do not buy into them. Geoff Robinson, who teaches investment bank entrants on behalf of Fitch Learning, has written a paper on how their employers can bridge the generational divide.
但改善年輕銀行家職場(chǎng)生活的雄心可能止步不前，如果這些年輕人的上級(jí)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)并不認(rèn)可這種理念的話。惠譽(yù)培訓(xùn)為投資銀行新人授課的杰夫•羅賓森(Geoff Robinson)曾經(jīng)寫(xiě)過(guò)一篇論文，討論企業(yè)如何彌合代際分歧。
In it he notes: “Senior bankers are used to analysts being in the engine room, not always clamouring for an invitation to the captain’s table.” While this can cause a clash of generations, it does not have to if managers are persuaded that change can “inspire evolution”, he argues.
羅賓森在這篇論文中寫(xiě)道：“資深銀行家已經(jīng)習(xí)慣了分析師們待在輪機(jī)艙里，而不是這群年輕人不停吵鬧著要求獲得與船長(zhǎng)共坐一桌的邀請(qǐng)。”他指出，雖然這種情況可能導(dǎo)致代際沖突，但如果可以說(shuō)服經(jīng)理們接受改變能夠“帶動(dòng)發(fā)展”的觀點(diǎn)，代際沖突并不一定會(huì)發(fā)生。
So, are the banks’ efforts sufficient?
那么，銀行所做的這些努力是否足夠呢？
Some junior bankers doubt their commitment, expressing a weary cynicism over the emphasis on reduced hours. One notes: “I’m probably more efficient but I still do a 90-hour week.”
一些初級(jí)銀行家對(duì)銀行的誠(chéng)意心存懷疑，對(duì)銀行強(qiáng)調(diào)縮短工作時(shí)間表現(xiàn)出了一種充滿厭倦的譏諷態(tài)度。某人表示：“我可能是工作效率相對(duì)較高的那類人，但我每周仍要工作90個(gè)小時(shí)。”
Moreover, some predict the pressure will increase rather than abate, particularly for junior recruits, in the wake of job cuts in the sector.
此外，受投資銀行業(yè)的裁員潮影響，還有一些人預(yù)計(jì)員工的工作壓力將會(huì)增大而非減小，對(duì)于那些級(jí)別較低的新人來(lái)說(shuō)尤其如此。
Alexandra Michel, a former Goldman Sachs banker turned academic, found that after three years at a bank, many junior bankers developed physical tics such as nail biting, hair twirling and insomnia. She is pessimistic: “The banks’ practices have not changed significantly,” she says.
亞力山德拉•米歇爾(Alexandra Michel)曾是高盛的銀行家，后來(lái)她轉(zhuǎn)行做了學(xué)者。米歇爾發(fā)現(xiàn)，在銀行工作三年以后，很多初級(jí)銀行家養(yǎng)成了某些習(xí)慣性的肢體動(dòng)作，例如咬指甲、用手指繞頭發(fā)，此外還有失眠。她感到很悲觀，表示：“銀行的做法并未出現(xiàn)顯著改變。”
Whatever the impact of changes, it will be too late for one 22-year-old who has quit for private equity. “They see us as just commodities. If it’s not you, someone else will do.”
不論銀行的改革措施帶來(lái)了什么影響，對(duì)于一位現(xiàn)年22歲的員工來(lái)說(shuō)都已經(jīng)太晚了——他已經(jīng)辭去了銀行的工作，轉(zhuǎn)入了私募股權(quán)投資行業(yè)。“他們僅僅把我們看做有用的工具，如果不是你的話，還會(huì)有其他人來(lái)做這份工作。”
