各大投行公司費力挽留青年才俊

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)聘請了亞當•格蘭特(Adam Grant)，他是一位作家兼學者，並曾作爲顧問爲谷歌(Google)和製藥企業默克(Merck)工作過。格蘭特的任務是什麼呢？不是削減成本，而是找出年輕銀行家們如何能從他們的工作當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)的大力讚揚，現年32歲的格拉德韋爾是沃頓商學院(Wharton business school)的管理學教授，最爲人所熟知的是他近期出版的《給予和索取》(Give and Take)一書。書中指出，那些爲別人的成功作出貢獻的人將在長期中獲益。

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於向員工索取而非給予，但格蘭特教授指出，高盛正準備縱容一下自己的年輕僱員，因爲該公司對於失去人才的風險深感擔憂。因此，高盛於去年創立了“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，過去只有工作滿兩年的員工纔有機會拿到永久合同。

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)。入職面談的目的是爲了比招聘面試更加細緻地發掘一名僱員的價值觀和人生目標。這種做法有兩個好處：僱員會從一開始就感覺受到重視，僱主則可以圍繞員工的志向給他們安排工作內容。

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.

入職面談是一個例子，說明銀行業正在針對年輕投資銀行家不斷變化的需求做出反應。格蘭特教授表示：“這一代人明顯更加關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，他們在積累經驗和承擔責任方面缺乏耐心，不甘願像他們的前輩那樣經過多年苦幹纔得到升職。惠譽培訓(Fitch Learning)的畢業生業務專門爲投資銀行業的新人提供培訓服務，該業務的主管拉賈•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.

爲改變初級銀行家職場生活所做的嘗試也可以看作是對以下事實的一種承認：投資銀行業有必要在財務激勵以外提供其他類型的激勵。

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於其他專業人士，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部門的人均收入之比從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.”

巴克萊歐洲地區財務投資者業務的聯席主管肯•麥格拉思(Ken McGrath)表示：“金融危機過後，世界發生了變化。人們對我們行業中薪酬機會的認識發生了改變。”

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.

在互聯網泡沫期間，銀行向員工提供星期五便裝日、禮賓服務等待遇。而今天，銀行應該把重點放在員工的工作職權、智力啓發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.

多數銀行現在會告訴初級僱員，週末要休息，並且還會檢查確保員工享受了假期。在摩根大通(JPMorgan)，處於分析師和助理級別的僱員——晉升階梯上的最低兩級——每年被要求休滿五週假期。

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，這些政策或許並不完美，但它們比減少工作量的模糊命令要強多了。

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，這種嘗試的意義在於防止銀行家將目光集中於公司內部，而對他們給外部世界造成的影響一無所知。今年32歲的銀行家托馬斯•屈弗利耶(Thomas Cuvelier)是AskIvy的負責人，該網站向有意成爲金融家的人提供建議。屈弗利耶指出：“如果你是一名初級銀行家，你會從社會當中脫離出來。這種現象幫助製造了市場泡沫。”去年夏天，高盛首席執行官勞爾德•貝蘭克梵(Lloyd Blankfein)對該公司的實習生表示，要在狹窄的工作範圍之外培養興趣。

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間作爲目標，這也是對科技發展做出的一種迴應。有一個人描述了來自不同時區的電子郵件如何加劇了導致他腎上腺素上升的焦慮感。“你在夜半時分醒來，由於你承受了很大壓力，並深感緊張，你會查看電子郵件，然後變得更加緊張，因爲有人要求你儘快完成一項工作。”

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“效率委員會”，致力於討論初級員工羣體所擔心的問題。由此形成了一系列指導原則，包括如何設定切實可行的工作完成期限。針對年輕銀行家的一項調查發現，仍有50%的受訪者感到他們沒有受到有效管理。爲此巴克萊決定，加大懲處力度。由初級銀行家提名選出他們眼中最優秀以及最糟糕的經理各三位。如果管理不善者沒有拿出更好的表現，他們會感到肉痛——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.”

針對單調瑣碎的初級工作給員工帶來的失落感，投資銀行也採取了應對措施。一名分析師總結稱：“一開始你做的工作非常簡單，例如蒐集數據，或者根據已經起草好的提綱用PowerPoint製作幻燈片。當你逐漸贏得了上級的信任時，他們會讓你承擔更多的職責，最終你將拿到‘聖盃’：即由你自己來製作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，其已開展多個指導項目，並加強了培訓力度。德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)則爲員工創造了在整個銀行內部建立人脈關係網的機會，並提供了更多的技能培訓項目。

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.”

效果反饋也是一個問題。一名入職一年多的分析師解釋稱，他的挫敗感來自於從未聽到過有關客戶會議的情況，他爲這些會議準備了演示材料，卻未獲邀請參加。他說：“我已經向上級提出過，他們在會議之後應當花五分鐘的時間向我們簡單說一下情況。這是一件很有意思的事，同時也是新人學習曲線的一部分。”

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.”

作爲迴應，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定。巴克萊要求資深職員帶上初級員工參加客戶會議。巴克萊投資銀行部門的聯席主管理查德•泰勒(Richard Taylor)表示：“我們高度重視向員工提供長期發展機會，以及更加激動人心的職業經歷。”

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生活的雄心可能止步不前，如果這些年輕人的上級領導並不認可這種理念的話。惠譽培訓爲投資銀行新人授課的傑夫•羅賓森(Geoff Robinson)曾經寫過一篇論文，討論企業如何彌合代際分歧。

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道：“資深銀行家已經習慣了分析師們待在輪機艙裏，而不是這羣年輕人不停吵鬧着要求獲得與船長共坐一桌的邀請。”他指出，雖然這種情況可能導致代際衝突，但如果可以說服經理們接受改變能夠“帶動發展”的觀點，代際衝突並不一定會發生。

So, are the banks’ efforts sufficient?

那麼，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.”

一些初級銀行家對銀行的誠意心存懷疑，對銀行強調縮短工作時間表現出了一種充滿厭倦的譏諷態度。某人表示：“我可能是工作效率相對較高的那類人，但我每週仍要工作90個小時。”

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，受投資銀行業的裁員潮影響，還有一些人預計員工的工作壓力將會增大而非減小，對於那些級別較低的新人來說尤其如此。

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，後來她轉行做了學者。米歇爾發現，在銀行工作三年以後，很多初級銀行家養成了某些習慣性的肢體動作，例如咬指甲、用手指繞頭髮，此外還有失眠。她感到很悲觀，表示：“銀行的做法並未出現顯著改變。”

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了什麼影響，對於一位現年22歲的員工來說都已經太晚了——他已經辭去了銀行的工作，轉入了私募股權投資行業。“他們僅僅把我們看做有用的工具，如果不是你的話，還會有其他人來做這份工作。”