Team Jefferies,
You have heard us say countless times that all of you, our employee-partners, are Jefferies’ most valuable asset. There are many things that differentiate Jefferies, but we believe our success hinges on our culture: our sense of mission, purpose, empathy, humility and compassion are all at the top of the list. In full recognition of this, our Board and shareholders have not only allowed, but encouraged us to make enormous investments in our human capital. Equally important, we all must find the right balance between delivering for our clients and taking the individual time we each need to recharge, be with our family, and enjoy community and connection.
You heard us mention at our town hall earlier in the year that we have gotten the sense that too many people throughout Jefferies feel they are either too busy, incur guilt, or perhaps are unaware, to take the necessary time off from work or actively participate in many of the services and programs we offer. The sole purpose of this note is to reinforce to every person throughout Jefferies, from the most junior to the most senior, that we want you to take full advantage of all that we offer. Again, we need you to do that for your individual and our collective long-term benefit.
We know that you are all extremely busy and the demands of our jobs require sacrifice from everyone, particularly in the heat of the moment. We are not denying this and recognize that we all care “A LOT” and there are times we have little choice but to grind it out, but that does not mean making mental and physical health a permanent second-class citizen. They are essential requirements for long-term success.
We hope you have seen from the two of us that family and friends are the most important aspect of our lives. While our families understand how committed we are to Jefferies, they need us to be physically and mentally present and deserve ample time with all of us. We all love to win, and in the heat of the moment it can feel necessary to work oneself to the bone, but that isn’t sustainable or smart in the long term. That is not the culture we want to foster. People who take advantage of others by being unnecessarily demanding or ignoring their need to have a reasonable amount of balance in their lives need to look themselves in the mirror and re-establish their humanity. We are a Wall Street firm, and we all knew the demands required when we chose this profession, each relishing the challenges and opportunities to learn and personally grow. We do not have to sacrifice any of that mentality, but we must each look around at our co-workers and juniors and make sure we treat them exactly how we want to be treated and with the respect that they deserve.
By and large, we have it mostly right at Jefferies in this regard. However, it is far from perfect and there is ample room for improvement everywhere. It starts with each individual taking personal ownership of their own journey and having the confidence to speak up when needed and take advantage of all we offer as a firm. Our leaders at Jefferies need to recognize and embrace the privilege and responsibility entrusted in them to be mindful of how they can help everyone around them make their long-term journey the best it can possibly be.
If we keep working to get this right, the trajectory that we have been enjoying will only continue and get even better. Let’s remind each other about what we all stand for at Jefferies and make sure we make our most important asset we have around the globe —our people—stay healthy, happy, wealthy and wise.
With great appreciation and respect for all,
Rich and Brian
PS: Below is a list of all the services and programs we offer at Jefferies. They are all for each of you, but only you can choose to take advantage of them.
Employee Benefits:
- Paid Time Off
- Parental Benefits
- Parental Leave for all employees
- Family Planning and Building Benefits
- $25K USD stipend for qualified surrogacy, adoption, or fertility benefits through Carrot
- Cleo family support (from planning to pre-teen)
- Parental Leave Coaching Program
- Employee Assistance Programs
- US: Cigna
- Asia, Europe, Canada: TELUS Health
- UK: Unum
Culture & Wellness
- 100+ Employee Resource Group events around the globe each year
- Sign-ups available through the Inclusion at Jefferies website
- New Hire Initiatives (new hires automatically enrolled):
- New Hire Welcome Day
- New Hire Buddy Program
- New Hire MD Coffee Chats
- Wellness Programs
- Details available via our Wellness Website
Training & Development
All Divisional Training Curriculums are specific to title level and are between 6-12 months long, consisting of approximately 10-20 courses throughout the year
- Divisional-training curriculums (details available through our Training and Development website)
- Investment Banking Training Curriculums
- Analyst Programs (2); Associate Programs (2); Vice President Program (1); Senior Vice President Program (1); Sales & Negotiation Training Programs for Managing Directors (2)
- Global Markets Training Curriculums
- Analyst Programs (2); Associate Program (1); Vice President Program (1); Senior Vice President Program (1); Negotiation Program for Managing Directors (1)
- Corporate Training Curriculum
- New MD Development Program
- Coursera, on-demand learning
- External Training Reimbursement
- Investment Banking Training Curriculums
- Mentoring Initiatives
- Cross-Divisional Mentoring Program (12-month initiative available to Analysts – Managing Directors globally)
- Investment Banking Associate Career Advisory Program (12-month initiative available to Investment Banking Associates)
- Investment Banking Senior Vice President Advisory Program (12-month initiative available to Investment Banking Senior Vice Presidents)