Meeting employees where they're at is key to talent attraction and retention

In the money management industry, a competitive paycheck is not the defining factor for workers and job candidates. Instead, employees want to work at a firm that meets their changing needs in an evolving culture, said human resources professionals during a panel discussion at Pensions & Investments' Future of Asset Management conference on Dec. 12.

In order to attract and retain talent, money managers want to make sure that they are supporting employees "in those moments that matter" and that employees are feeling connected to their firm not only "from a learning and development perspective but also emotionally," said Sandra Hurse, chief human resources officer at GCM Grosvenor.

The alternative investment manager, which managed $76 million in assets as of June 30, was among the four firms that participated in the panel as part of the Best Places to Work in Money Management program. GCM Grosvenor has been named a BPTW winner three times, including in 2023.

At Polen Capital, one practice the Boca Raton, Fla.-based firm has implemented in the last year is holding "stay interviews."

Chief People Officer Rachel Trock said a team member in the employee welfare office holds interviews with current workers to ask "what could be better about their job," "what's going well" and what is one thing the firm can change to make their life easier.

Employees love it because they feel like the firm is "paying attention," she added.

"We really try and do what we can to meet people where they are, listen to their feedback and make changes accordingly," Trock said. Polen Capital, which ranked No. 1 among firms with 100 to 499 employees, has been named a BPTW winner eight times. The manager advised $64 billion in assets as of June 30.

Attention toward employees who are raising families or planning on starting one has increased, panelists said. They're making sure these staffers feel included in their benefits packages, which may include flexible work schedules and subsidized family-planning services.

Job candidates at Napier Park Global Capital tend to ask about parental leave benefits, said Emily Macina, chief human resources officer at the New York-based alternative credit manager.

"The amount of times I've been asked about paternity leave in the past three years is more than the preceding 10 years combined, and I do think this marks a really significant and important shift in our industry," Macina added.

Napier Park, which was named a BPTW winner for the first time in 2023, ranked No. 4 among firms with 50 to 99 employees. The firm reported an AUM of $20.3 billion as of June 30.

Employees at Polen Capital are given a lifetime amount of $10,000 to spend at Maven Clinic, a digital platform that provides services for women's health and family building. Trock said employees have been using the benefit for expenses related to adoption, fertility, postpartum and menopause.

In one instance, an employee used her Maven benefits to handle breastfeeding while she was traveling for work, telling Trock that the benefit is "a game changer."

Trock, who wasn't offered such benefits during and after her pregnancy at her former employer, said the industry has "really come a long way in a decade, so it's really been nice to watch."

Similarly, Lord Abbett gives its employees a $40,000 lifetime benefit from Carrot Fertility, said Rory Melick, a partner and head of human capital management at the Jersey City, N.J.-based manager. The allowance can be used toward services such as egg freezing and gestational surrogacy.

Lord Abbett, which ranked No. 4 among firms with 500 to 999 employees, has been named a BPTW winner four times, including in 2023.

To attract future talent, Napier Park has found success by showing prospective hires how employees who've stayed in the organization have developed new skills over time, Macina said.

A mid-sized firm spun off from Citigroup Inc. in 2013, Napier Park doesn't have as many hands on deck as larger firms. But because of this, it will create new opportunities for people, who end up "moving within the organization to completely different roles than what they started with," Macina added.

"New employees, regardless of what stage they're in, want to know what the journey is for them and what the expectations are," Macina said.

Most BPTW winners said in the survey that they follow a hybrid work model that requires employees to be in the office for a minimum number of days.

But there's a group of people that wants to show up five days a week — Gen Z.

"No one's telling (Gen Z employees) you must be in five days a week," Melick said. "They want to be around one another. They want to see what each other is doing. They want to learn over here from one another."

Coming into the office five days a week herself, Hurse said GCM Grosvenor has been "making sure that the office environment is more vibrant" and inviting. The New York-based firm's junior talent need to see "that the office doors are open," she added.

To attract a diverse pool of candidates, Polen Capital has found success by clarifying its stance on diversity in its job listings, Trock said.

Each listing includes a disclaimer warning candidates that "research shows that women and other underrepresented groups tend to apply only if they meet 100% of the criteria." But the firm adds that it is "committed to leveling the playing field," encouraging people of all backgrounds to apply, "even if they do not necessarily check every box outlined in the job description," she said.

Trock said she hears "from candidates all the time that is why they decided to apply" and encourages other money managers to add this kind of message to their listings to "get better as an industry."

Napier Park said it promotes diversity, equity and inclusion in their culture. In 2020, the firm created a "very impactful" DEI working group composed of employees and senior leadership, Macina said.

Because Napier Park's "employees are going out and leading these initiatives," Macina said they feel motivated since "this is something they want to do and this is a change they want to see."