Currently a staffer at a BB and getting a lot of complaints from analysts and associates that work is not being distributed fairly / evenly.
First time staffer here and I am also trying to build my client facing skills / relationships at the same time.
Any suggestions? What systems have worked best? Welcome any ideas on how best to approach staffing.
Have you spoken with the person you inherited the job from?
In my experience, every analyst / associate thinks they're working the most of anybody in the group so take their complaints with a grain of salt
The key isn't really the tracking system, you just need a way of knowing who's working on what. It's 1) making staffing feel somewhat personal to juniors (e.g., letting them explain that their assignments are actually way more work than their staffing sheets would suggest before giving them more work), and 2) bringing your own intuitions about the group to staffing decisions (e.g., if a certain MD is a nightmare to work for, adjusting incremental assignments accordingly)
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In my group, we had a problem where staffers wanted to take into consideration analyst capacity by having an in person chat with each of them; analysts were all inflating their hours; and it ended up taking days every single time we wanted to staff anyone so the Associates had to do half of the deck by themselves / operate without support at the start of every pitch. Absolute nightmare. This was in a firm with a generalist program so analysts could easily lie. So I do think you should take into considerations what analysts think but also make some judgment calls so you can distribute work relatively fast as well (same day)
As an associate, personally I much prefer direct staffings from MDs/VPs because 1) it allows you to work with MDs/VPs you get along with and know 2) it allows you to keep your coverage sector 3) it keeps you motivated because you feel like it’s more relationship driven & you can set expectations directly.
Every Associate staffing I ever got from the staffer was always the worst staffing outside of my industry coverage that they couldn’t staff inside their own group because they didn’t have capacity (understand: they tried to staff someone on a Friday afternoon to work the whole weekend and Associates in their group refused due to “capacity”), being cross-staffed across groups make people miserable, it’s also very inefficient because people don’t trust you yet and you don’t know how they work. IMO, last minute staffings should not be allowed, and if they happen, at least for associate, the ED/MD should staff directly within their group and take the ownership of ruining people’s weekends without notice.
When it comes to workload, I would treat my male A&A fairly relative to female A&As. Based on my experience, female A&A have the license from seniors to whine about their workload (in efforts to retain them) and get away with a lot. A lot of female A&A take off by 6pm on daily basis, refuse to work weekends and avoid last minute staffings. Male A&As often end up subsidizing the workload of females, however, they become resentful over time and quit. Also, ensure that you are not perceived as a personal friend in the pit, keep a bit of distance from juniors, this will help to alleviate any perceived bias in your staffing allocations.
Is this a joke? Staffers shouldn't discriminate based on sex...
I also disagree that women work less, not the case in my group. Those that actually do jack shit end up getting canned
Most staffers positively discriminate in favor of female A&As. This policy is supported by MDs / Group Heads in order to avoid overworking female A&As and retain them. Ignore my title, been a staffer at a BB for 3 years.
If you have some time this weekend, you should try talking to a woman. A quick “Hi, my name is _____” is a great start. You’ll find they aren’t as scary as you might currently think.
Is that your best rebuttal. Been happily married for 5 years. Freeloaders you are and if it was not the Tzars at the top enforcing quotas “40% female employees across capital markets” etc, you wouldn’t even be here.
LOL damn the Analyst 3+ just cooked you. He's spitting facts though - women are simply not worked as hard as the men in groups due to retention reasons created by quotas
Just because you have one pretty blonde well connected slacker does not mean that applies to “most” of the female A&As in your group. I’ve had some of the most cold hardos in my group be women because they have some “don’t count me out bc I’m a woman” chip on their shoulder, or they’ve just been absolute units but just smile and laugh a lot. Yknow social skills in a client facing role != slacker who signs off at 6pm right?
delusional much. The moment a file is borderline challenging in terms of hours / complexity, my inbox is flooded with coffee requests which are nothing but whining sessions for female A&A. Honestly, if you want equality, zip it and stop hiding behind quotas. If nothing works, a lot of you bail on files sighting “mental health”.
hey man so this is an insane take - just because you've had some bad experiences at your specific firm/group doesn't mean this is the norm. my group has a ton of women and colloquially the best A&A that have come through the group in years are both women...both men and women at the A&A level are up at all hours, don't abandon their teams until the work is finished and sent out, and are warm and friendly people on top of it, really doesn't fall along gender lines
Female A&A spotted. Listen, I have been a staffer for 3 years and almost a decade in IB at two top BBs. Think I know a thing or two when I offer my opinion. There is no place for gender-focused DEI hiring/promotions in 2024 as they have turned into female privilege streams. Besides, if female A&A are competent then why do we need hiring / promotion quotas. Freeloading much……
Thoughts on volunteer method of staffing?
Volunteer staffing was the best model I’ve had
Hard disagree - hands up model is fantastic and allows juniors to carve out the experience they want with the only caveat is they have to be quicker than peers and the aforementioned senior hasn’t put them on their shit list. Can’t get more meritocratic than that.
In IB, nobody wants to get new staffings. Period. So generally nobody is gonna raise their hand to get more work.
Use one of those randomizer apps and just cycle through the junior ranks. Statistically should be equal opportunity
I would find a way to rig the RNG to fuck over Farting Fred next cube
Never going to win the battles so just get through the year until someone else takes over. HR isn’t as easy as you’d think - not just in this job, but any job
We do account based staffing on my team and I like it. No formal Excel staffing tracker
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