Hi guys,
I got roped into working for a small 'up and coming' lower mid-mkt PE fund in NY. The 2 founders are wildly successful industry vets with 25+ yrs PE experience.
The firm also has 1 Principal, 1 VP and 2 Associates of which I am one...this is my 2nd PE firm after a 2 yr stint at another spot...so in total 6 active Investment Professionals.
So today we just had a conversation where they want to institute a 'work tracking' system where they can understand who is doing what on a weekly basis....hmmm they need that much insight into what the 2 associates are doing in a 6 ppl firm...okay?
The principal then went on to propose that each week everyone should input into Salesforce the # of hours everyone expects to work on each deal in the pipeline / various other assignments.....
We compromised that maybe we should just have a dynamic schedule up on a whiteboard that can be adjusted fluidly. We then went on to spend 1.5 hrs today mapping it all on the wall, highlighting the discrete tasks we need to accomplish with deliverable due dates on a per deal basis + estimated hours.....
Is it just me or are we treading into seriously anal territory??? (a pic of our wonderful new system is attached)
I will note that my previous PE fund had 4 Partners, 2 offices and 6 associates and yes we had a work allocation / tracking system but it was managed at the Deal/Project level:
Assoc 1 is working on X deal pre IOI, Y deal Post LOI and assisting on Portfolio Project A = understood that he is busy. The respective Partners would understand relevant work loads and manage accordingly, I never saw anyone drop the ball or miss communicate expectations in 3 yrs.
Am I crazy or is this just a sign of too much hierarchy / indication of poor management at the mid-tier level. There are another couple of warning signs at this firm (like crazy high turnover) but would love to get your input.
Cheers,
Mobs
More than anything, it sounds like a huge waste of everybody's time.
Seeing as it's your second go-around in PE, you're likely 27/28 years old. Maybe this sounds dumb, but I feel that after you've been working for 3 or 4 years, there is no reason to put up with complete and total bullshit like that. Especially not at a small firm. If they don't know who is working on what, it's because they are retarded.
^ what he said.
I think it's a but nuts for a shop your size (6 deal professionals). If you guys had a weekly update meeting or something, that's probably sufficient..
How did you get "roped" in? Hope you're getting paid.
You better hope your bosses aren't on WSO. That pic will totally give you away to them...
Yeah agreed, I went to ....... and I know they taught us better then posting pics of where you work. You can pm me, I know of one person in my class who might be able to help. Even though based on your posts you may have been in my class.
As the second associate at the firm (I dont have an account) I can assure TheKing that he is, indeed, correct. The bosses here ARE retarded.
This sounds like pure shit. Stay away.
why u leave ur previous PE firm? sounds better than this one
Seconding Illinois. Was the interest the potential for rapid advancement? It seems to me that the less freedom/responsibility/trust the leaders of a firm give to their underlings, the less productive they will ultimately be. Makes me question the real business sense of such leaders, and what their reasoning is for implementing these policies in the first place.
I've worked at a couple of PE shops of slightly larger size as well as have numerous friends in PE and this is the most absurd thing I've ever seen. Monday morning meetings in which each deal is revealed is the substitute for this sort of overly invasive form of work measurement. With 25+ years of PE experience, the partners should know by now that each deal is "unique" and requires a unique set of time invested in each of the deliverables.
Since your bosses want garbage-in/garbage-out over-analysis, give it to them. Calculate the amount of time these processes are going to take out of your day. Assume you can make X # of calls per hour to private companies sourcing proprietary deals and a % success rate. Assume average deal size of your firm and target returns. Calculate what that translates into in terms of carry for the partners. Now, would they rather see a salesforce report on how much time you spend on WSO or $XX in their pockets??
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