Finding out what makes your people tick is easy if you ask the right questions. And you might learn a few things about them which will help you manage them better. So when you sit down with them, ask the following questions in a non-threatening way. 

What do you want to get out of this job?
Make sure you cover three perspectives: financial, the role itself and a personal perspective.

Everyone is motivated financially, but to varying degrees. For many, job satisfaction is equally important and for some people at some stages during their career, being able to manage family matters can dominate.  Try to understand what gets them up in the morning. And what would stop them wanting to bound into the office with energy and enthusiasm.

How do you see this changing in the medium and long term?
Priorities change in people’s lives and many people will already be thinking ahead.  Talk to them about how they see the future and the changing requirements they expect to have. You’ll find that a number of them will have been keen to talk to you about something but haven’t found the right moment to do it. Presenting them with the opportunity to talk will help them as well as you.

How are you finding your work/life balance in the current market?
Some people are wholly career orientated and others value their home life more than they do their working life, but the majority of people would prefer to strike a balance between the two. It’s important to ensure that everyone is able to strike this balance. In the long run you’ll benefit from a team member with a stable home life even if you lose a few workplace hours along the way.

What can we do to help you achieve your aims?
You may not be able to deliver on all of their suggestions, but there are almost always one or two small things you can do immediately which will make a big difference: for example it might be as simple as leaving a bit earlier on Fridays or working from home occasionally.

You might also find that by talking to each person about where they see their own strengths, you can redeploy or reallocate tasks based on their areas of interest and skills.

So how might you unearth hidden talents? Again, by asking the right questions.

Where do you think your strengths lie?
Everyone will have a clear picture of their own strengths and weaknesses. They will tend to be over modest as it is a natural reaction to seek praise. Give it if it’s due.

Where could you extend your impact on the business and add further value?
It is helpful if they identify the areas they would like to expand into. Do their thoughts coincide with yours?

What do you think helps you to work at the best of your ability?
Ask questions about their preferred working style. Some people like to work as part of a team whereas others prefer to work solo, some are good problem solvers, and others are strong negotiators, some creative, others systematic in approach.

It may be worth running some simple exercises so that you can assess people’s strengths in a team environment. You will be able to identify who takes the lead, who is the natural project manager, who looks after the team, and who is the maverick. We can help you with these.

You may think that the place for all of this is annual appraisal and professional review process. But there’s a place for the informal route as well – you’ll probably learn more and it will be perceived as a less risky environment. So try it out on one or two people. They’ll think it’s great. After all, who doesn’t like to talk about themselves?

So you’ve arranged a one to one with each of your team. Opening and maintaining lines of communication with the team can engage your people while at the same time gaining a new, fresh perspective on the issues you face. You might also find you have people with skills and ambitions that can offer a valuable contribution in other areas of the business.

But how do you start the ball rolling? 

Here are a few key questions designed to elicit the information you need.

Before you start asking the questions, let the person know that this is a no risk conversation and that you have three main aims:

1. to find out a bit more about them and what’s important to them,
2. to get some honest feedback on the firm and
3. to hear their ideas about the future direction of the business.

What first attracted you to the firm?
Their answer will probably fall into two areas: values and environmental factors. It’s important to make sure that the values that attracted the person to the firm when they joined are still perceived to be there. Many things may have changed with current market conditions and businesses constantly need to evolve. Whereas this is healthy and necessary, you need to make sure that you don’t lose sight of the core values that brought people to the company in the first place.

Where has the company lived up to or fallen short of your expectations?
Assessing where the company has met, exceeded or indeed fallen short of an individual’s expectations, can identify what aspects of the business need fine tuning. You’ll also discover more about your people and their goals and aspirations.

What do you think the main hurdles are that the firm must clear?
You probably have a pretty good idea of what the problems are from your perspective, but it can only serve you better to find out what the people on the ground think. Seeking their opinion will also assure them that they are a vital component in the machinery of the company. Further still, ask them how they would go about tackling the issues – you may find you unearth one or two expert problem solvers.

How do you think you can contribute best to the firm going forward?
It’s helpful to understand how each person sees their contribution, strengths and weaknesses. In this way you can best align career expectations with your needs. When team members have a clear understanding of their career path, they acquire a sense of direction and can focus on achieving their goals.

In today’s volatile investment climate many private equity investors find themselves in a position where they can’t fulfil the role for which they were employed, ie investing!

The changing nature of the private equity industry has meant that from top to bottom, investors have seen their role change. At a time when there are few investments to be made, the focus has shifted to managing portfolios and reporting to LPs.

I’m contacted by experienced investors every day who are looking for ways to be reassured about their future.  A large part of my time at the moment includes being a rational sounding board for the thoughts that they cannot express in the office.  If only private equity team leaders were pro-active in communicating with their team – even if the communication is that nothing is certain – then I’m sure the benefits would be felt throughout the business.  But the norm in many funds seems to be, say nothing.

The most common question people are asking me right now is: Am I in the right place?  More often than not, they are, but what makes them ask the question is anxiety and lack of communication about the future strategy for the business.  Imagine you are an investment executive. Not so long ago you would be busy researching markets, negotiating with managers and bankers and laying the groundwork for a string of potential investments. But now the opportunities have dried up and you find yourself fire fighting in the portfolio and talking to LPs to assure them of the worth of the firm’s portfolio. Naturally you begin to wonder where your job and your financial future, is going.

From my perspective, what private equity partners should be doing is making the team feel they are part of the future of the business. And one of the easiest ways of achieving this is by effective communication.

Change has always presented the greatest opportunity for private equity; the success of the buyout industry itself is founded on the need for owners of companies to find new business partners, and retiring MDs to pass the company on to the next generation of managers.

And it’s for this reason that I know that private equity will embrace the wind of change that blows in today’s market and come out on top.

Sure, roles within all businesses – not just private equity firms – are changing, but why not let your team know how you envisage the future and what their role will be going forward? And if you don’t know then involve them in creating the master plan for survival and revival.

I know it sounds corny and you’re all highly professional, super human investors, but it’s easy to forget that what your team wants is to feel needed, loved and involved. So by clearly communicating your thoughts about the future direction of the firm and the role you anticipate for them, you’ll help alleviate the uncertainty in their minds and have a more productive workforce.  Surely it’s better to be open with the team rather than risk losing them by saying nothing at all?