After making a couple of bad employer choices back in the mid '90s, I decided I needed to decided ahead of time what I was looking for in an employer.
That thought process brought up the 5Ps: People, Processes, Products, Pay and Pricing. A friend, Mark Hairston suggested adding a 6th P (Purpose) in 2015 and I've since substituted Processes for Platforms.
I've been involved in recruiting a large number of people over the years. And I've been recruited. My experience (good and bad) has proven, good and bad, that it boils down to the 6Ps; Purpose, People, Platforms, Products, Pay and Pricing.
You can throw in a few others, and is more of an art than science, but always comes down to the 6Ps.
Note: My experience (not opinion) is that the order is important but not entirely weighed equally. 2nd Note: this is specific to a mortgage company but can be easily adapted to other industries.
Bias Warning: I have a bias towards leadership and believe that everything "rises and falls on leadership." How do you define leadership? Influence. This is a period-the-end thing for me and if you don't agree with that, then you won't agree with the rest of this.
Purpose
People
Platforms
Products
Pay
There's no doubt this is a prevailing mortgage industry topic, while the emphasis is very important, PAY should not be the deciding factor. The people and processes are way too important and can "make or break" you ever getting a loan funded and looking at a bank deposit.
Remember this.....If you have an NMLS license, your license number is on the line. Your career can not afford to take chances with a compensation plan that cuts corners now for a federal auditor to make an example of later. Know that the company you work for is worthy of using your license because that's exactly what you are letting them do.
Pricing
Ask for references and call other loan officers and branch managers that work for the company (in the process of this evaluation of my recent move, I went online and randomly called LOs and Branch Managers on a Saturday). See if you can locate some that have left; be sure you remember though, they have left, they could be unhappy about the industry or a particular person, but it's good to weigh as much as possible.
There's a lot of opportunities, insure you've got your eyes, ears and hearts open.
Finally, "think" into the results you're wanting.
To that end...ask questions, pay attention.
That thought process brought up the 5Ps: People, Processes, Products, Pay and Pricing. A friend, Mark Hairston suggested adding a 6th P (Purpose) in 2015 and I've since substituted Processes for Platforms.
I've been involved in recruiting a large number of people over the years. And I've been recruited. My experience (good and bad) has proven, good and bad, that it boils down to the 6Ps; Purpose, People, Platforms, Products, Pay and Pricing.
You can throw in a few others, and is more of an art than science, but always comes down to the 6Ps.
Note: My experience (not opinion) is that the order is important but not entirely weighed equally. 2nd Note: this is specific to a mortgage company but can be easily adapted to other industries.
Bias Warning: I have a bias towards leadership and believe that everything "rises and falls on leadership." How do you define leadership? Influence. This is a period-the-end thing for me and if you don't agree with that, then you won't agree with the rest of this.
Purpose
- what's the companies 'core ideology?'
- mission
- values
- is the Purpose transparent as you work through the other Ps?
People
- what kind of people do you want to associate with? Know this now or the rest doesn't really matter.
- ask the company about values - what is important to them? Does this align with your own values?
- spend time with those in the company other than those recruiting you
- consider the following behaviors (from Speed of Trust) in yourself and the company you are talking to -
- Talk Straight
- Create Transparency
- Clarify Expectation
- Listen First
- Extend Trust: demonstrate a propensity to trust, but always do it appropriately based on the situation, risk and credibility of the people involved
- the company itself; every company is made up of talent.
- is the proper talent in place so you can do your part well?
- does the company have the proper financial strength?
- how open and transparent is the company?
- visit with the talent (people) other than those recruiting you, were you able to meet with accounting, HR and secondary? Be aware of "dog-and-pony" - it's ok they put the sales pitch on you (and they should) but be sure it is real and not just a show.
- what are the T.A.S.K.S of the individuals and company in general
- Talent
- Attitude
- Skill
- Knowledge
- Style
- Trust, but Verify (as Ronald Reagan would say)
Platforms
- this includes everything from start to finish. Do they have the track record you need to get the results you want. While we can only hold ourselves accountable at the end of the day, insure now that the company can support what it takes for you to be the loan officer/branch manager you are capable of being
- training: what training - mortgage, continuing ed, marketing, technical, etc, does the company provide?
- originating: what kind of loan officer does the company expect you to be? Insure this lines up with your "sweet spot."
- processing: what can you expect from processing? What's the company's attitude towards processing? Where does the lines draw/blend between LO and Processor?
- underwriting: what's the company's attitude, culture, around underwriting?
- closing: similar to those above, what's the attitude, the culture? Visit with the company's closing manager? How did you "feel" afterwards.
- customer service: in one sense, you're the customer and you're likely not on-site with most of the other company functions/facilities. Do you feel like they want to take care of you? Does the company have specific people in place to serve you and your Realtors/Builders?
- servicing: (this is becoming a much more relevant factor in today's market). Who services the loans. When you contact a borrower a few weeks, months or years from now, how are they going to feel about you? Are they going to have a good or bad "taste" because of the way their mortgage has been handled
- marketing: (another factor that's growing in importance. Your competition is paying more and more attention to retaining customers).
- where is the processing, underwriting and closing doc functions performed
- be careful of "promises" to bring it local in the future. It's ok that they are promising, but look at the company's track record. If they aren't performing any of these functions separate from corporate now, they probably aren't going to in the future.
- is the company a mortgage banker or broker (not that one is necessarily better than the other, just be sure you REALLY know how the company is closing and selling loans)
- ask these questions very specifically and thoroughly
- when interviewing the company, insure you meet people with titles of underwriter, closer, shipper, insurer. Find out how their process work on the banker vs broker end
- verify all aspects of your business and theirs
- can you work within their systems?
- do their systems "compliment" your style
- do they have systems that will let you get the job done?
- what about their technology?
- is it up-to-date?
- do they have dedicated personnel to keep the systems running properly?
- what LOS system (platform) does the company use? How well do they support the LO?
- what processes do they have for getting everything done?
- is it in writing?
- compliance
- this is huge - not only is the compliance department there to protect the company, your loan officer's NMLS license is also at stake; and not just now, but 10 years from now.
- Internal Platforms - LOS, CRM, Marketing
- External Platforms - all producing loan officers have "their own style." Are you able to integrate your platforms into the company in such a way that you're not taking too big of a step backwards.
- Onboarding Process
- how long does it take to get approved? It's important to know this ahead of time so you can plan accordingly.
- how does the company handle the transition from present employer to new?
- once onboard, how do you and/or your team get up and running with new the company?
Products
- While the mortgage industry has become "generic," it is important to know who the company is selling their loans to.
- Does the company have a good stable of lenders or is the company selling directly to Fannie and Ginnie (seller/servicer).
- There's talk that because of the changes in compensation laws that many loan officers will want to "specialize" in certain products. Does the company have these specialty products or are they capable of bringing them on?
- Warehouse lines
- what is company's present monthly funding?
- what are the company's warehouse capacities?
Pay
There's no doubt this is a prevailing mortgage industry topic, while the emphasis is very important, PAY should not be the deciding factor. The people and processes are way too important and can "make or break" you ever getting a loan funded and looking at a bank deposit.
- what is the compensation plan?
- is it in writing?
- is it real or a bait and switch?
- can you verify it?
- how often are you paid?
- what is the process for being paid?
- is it in writing?
Remember this.....If you have an NMLS license, your license number is on the line. Your career can not afford to take chances with a compensation plan that cuts corners now for a federal auditor to make an example of later. Know that the company you work for is worthy of using your license because that's exactly what you are letting them do.
Pricing
- be sure the pricing is real, but relevant
- many companies will not want to show you the pricing up-front. Personally, I not comfortable with that.
- many good companies will shy away from loan officers/managers that focus on this part of the equation but it is very relevant and needs to be addressed.
- be aware of recruiters that send you rate sheets
- be aware of "bait-and-switch" pricing
- be aware that pricing engines can be manipulated to show you better pricing in the recruiting process
- balance the pricing against the other Ps
Ask for references and call other loan officers and branch managers that work for the company (in the process of this evaluation of my recent move, I went online and randomly called LOs and Branch Managers on a Saturday). See if you can locate some that have left; be sure you remember though, they have left, they could be unhappy about the industry or a particular person, but it's good to weigh as much as possible.
There's a lot of opportunities, insure you've got your eyes, ears and hearts open.
Finally, "think" into the results you're wanting.
To that end...ask questions, pay attention.
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