Top originators want
companies to keep their promises and to reward good work
If the mortgage industry wants to stem
rampant turnover and continue to expand, change must first come at the company
level. In this current climate, especially as recruiting efforts are at an
all-time high with a strong focus on attracting young originators from the
ranks of the millennials, a seismic shift needs to happen to respond to the
changing expectations of employees.
Turnover
in the mortgage industry is high, which
leads to a variety of issues for both the employer and mortgage originators.
Whether you are working for a large national or international bank or a small local
mort-gage company, people and relationships
are vital to business success, which means a high turnover rate can be a drag
on growth.
The mortgage industry is a behemoth,
with U.S. home mortgage debt totaling in excess of $10 trillion. Competition
for borrowers and talent alike is fierce, however. Determining what really
works when it comes to attracting and retaining top talent, then, is a
challenge that must be met, if a mortgage company hopes to compete effectively.
Don’t disappoint
The performance of a mortgage
company’s loan originators is often a main determining factor of whether
borrowers will come back to the company again and again for their borrowing
needs. Consequently, recruiting top originators is a goal everyone in the
industry is focused on.
The common recruitment techniques
normally involve promising originators big checks, written up-front, with the
objective of getting those originators to move their business to the mortgage
company doing the recruiting. Along with that big check normally come promises
of better back-end service and career-growth opportunities.
Nearly everyone recruiting originators
says the same things, and it all sounds fantastic. So, why is there so much
turnover? The problem is that even though the same promises are echoed by many
companies in the recruiting phase, in a lot of instances, those promises are
never kept after a hire is made.
Some originators, for example, move
their entire book of business and staff to a new company based on promises of
greater marketing assistance and support only to find that they are given the
same set of tools every other
mortgage originator has at their
disposal, and then they are expected to achieve within that limited framework.
To go from autonomy and a position of
respect for being a top producer in one shop to being forced into a system
where you became just another number doesn’t feel right and, ultimately, that
disappointment leads to more turnover. From existing top performers to
lower-producing originators that still show great potential, if mortgage
companies hope to attract and retain that talent, it is important for them to
understand what creates the ideal work environment for originators.
Create a plan
There must be a better way to attract
and retain talented mortgage originators. Part of finding that path involves
thinking outside the box at times. Sometimes you need to zag when everyone else
zigs. The goal should be to develop a program that ensures everyone wins.
When you achieve that goal, success is
the natural outcome. This creative mindset should be applied to creating
programs that incentivize originators who aren’t normally satisfied with
sim-ply plugging into the daily grind of the status quo.
Create a plan to ensure that your
originators’ hard work and enduring commitment to get better and grow the
business is properly acknowledged. Why? Because true success comes from not
only providing employees what they need today, but also in helping them to plan
and secure a better future for themselves and their families.
So, when it comes to recruiting and
retention, does your compensation model feel the same as those offered by other
regional mortgage companies, national players or big banks? If so, it might be
time to think about the pro-cess more organically. An exercise that can be
helpful is to think of the perfect company — one in which mortgage originators
are happy and want to stay. That involves more than compensation. You also are
selling a culture.
Build loyalty
With the right formula in place for
recruiting and retaining productive mortgage originators, the company will make
more money and its market share will grow, fueled by the goodwill that is
generated in workplaces where employees feel valued and recognized.
It’s important to put incentives in
place to show that the company’s employees are the No. 1 priority, and not just
numbers in a system. In order to operate at maximum productivity, employees
must not only feel valued today, but also have the peace of mind to know that
their company is commit-ted to them and their careers over the long term — and
is willing to reward them over time for their performance.
Think about setting up programs to
reward originators who meet mini-mum production standards for annual loan
production, for example, or per-haps establish a program that is based on loan
quality. Loyalty works both ways, and the results of such reward incentives
will be readily apparent in the ongoing commitment demonstrated by originators
who feel valued and supported. This paradigm shift will promote the retention
of top talent by changing the way your originators look at their careers.
Whatever recruiting and retention
pro-gram you set up to attract top originators, the most important factor is
that the benefits promised must be delivered, so they are not seen as a carrot
dangling in the air, just out of reach. Everyone must win.
No comments:
Post a Comment