Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon just sent a firm-wide voicemail about the coronavirus crisis. Here's what he told employees.
- Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon sent a voicemail to the firm's 38,000 employees on Sunday night updating them on his state of mind and how the firm has been responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Solomon told the story of how the company held a call last week that discussed coronavirus testing procedures, hospital readiness, and treatment options that was attended by 21,000 people.
- The CEO explained how important it is for employees to take care of themselves and ensure they don't get burned out. On Sunday, Solomon went for a two-hour ride on his road bike, he said.
- Solomon wrapped up the call by announcing a firmwide town hall for this coming Thursday.
- Goldman has favored voice communication over written memos during its 150-year history, and it remains one of the few banks to still use voicemails as a way for the CEO to communicate with employees.
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Goldman Sachs has long been a firm that prefers voice communication to written memos.
The firm's employees famously liked to stop email conversations cold with the initials "LDL," or let's discuss live, and it's one of the few that still uses voicemails as a way for the CEO to communicate with staff.
So it's no surprise that in the age of the coronavirus, Goldman continues to rely on voicemails to share employee updates. On Sunday, CEO David Solomon sent another one to the firm's 38,000 employees updating them on his thoughts about the pandemic and how the firm has responded.
First, Solomon put some numbers on the situation. As of Friday, about 80% of Goldman Sachs's employees were working from home, a percentage likely to increase this week as the company brings its Asia continuity plans in line with those it's enacted in Europe, Solomon said.
The CEO went on to explain how important it is for employees to take care of themselves and ensure they don't get burned out, especially when the lines between work and home get blurred when working from home. On Sunday, Solomon went for a two-hour ride on his road bike to escape the demands of his job, he said.
"It may seem small, but it made a significant difference on how impactful I could be afterwards," the CEO said.
The CEO said he'd just gotten off a 5 p.m. call, and had already spoken to his second-in-command, John Waldron, and Chief Financial Officer Stephen Scheer, six or seven times that day.
During the work week, the three have been working from separate locations to reduce the chances of more than one contracting COVID-19, according to a person with knowledge of their schedules. Solomon has been working from the 41st floor in Goldman's headquarters, while Scherr works from the 29th floor, the person said. Waldron has effectively moved his office to Jersey City, New Jersey, where the company operates a second office hub.
Solomon also gave some details on how the firm was helping clients, saying that it's been "responding to challenges like restructuring margin loans and increasing requests for capital," Solomon said in the voicemail heard by Business Insider.
Solomon also shared an anecdote that illuminated just how hungry clients are for information about the coronavirus and how it may impact the economy in the following months.
On Friday March 20, Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, who as head of Goldman's institutional strategy group provides research to private wealth clients, convened a call that was attended by 21,000 people who dialed in to listen.
The idea for the call, which discussed testing procedures, hospital readiness, and the search for a therapy and vaccine, came out of Waldron's conversations with the CEOs of Quest and Regeneron, and officials at Massachusetts General Hospital, Solomon said.
"One way our people truly have risen to the occasion is how we share our learnings and insights," he said. "Clients are super hungry for this information."
The same day, Solomon, alongside the CEOs of the other large banks, briefed the House Financial Services Committee on what the banks are doing to support consumers and companies, including small businesses.
Solomon wrapped up the call by announcing a firmwide town hall for this coming Thursday.
"As I said before, this is a marathon and it requires all of us to make choices and try to prioritize."
