0
0
There is certainly talk of lenders being ready to move the automation needle, but how many have actually made the leap? Hiring additional resources continues to be the go-to strategy for managing current volumes, with mortgage leaders not ready to admit they should have done the vendor/technology research months ago (perhaps even years ago) to gain efficiencies.
In my last blog, I touched on impact “hiring bodies” to manage demand has on overall business and how adding automation can help position the industry better for 2021. Now, I ask lenders to think further about the substantial investment being made to hire quality candidates versus what if takes to leverage automation using current staff.
Consider the cost and time spent planning how many people you need and then trying to find the right skillset. First you look in Indeed, LinkedIn and other recruiting sites. They you might post job ads on industry sites. Perhaps you even have an employee referral program which offers your team a bonus to find good people to fill open roles. No matter the channel, your team is out there posting, picking, scheduling, and screening right along with the rest of the industry. And let’s say you find someone, candidates in high demand have choices and might not pick you!
Then the day comes when you have finally successfully recruited someone by promoting company values and offering an attractive salary and benefits package. Now it’s time to onboard and train. It will undoubtedly take a few weeks to get them their credentials, technology assets for remote work, spend time confirming their benefits enrollment and complete all security training. Then they will need to learn your processes and shadow their peers to understand the workflow and tasks they need to perform before they can fully step into their new role. And, because they’re new, your managers will need to monitor their work for a period of time as they move up the learning curve to be at the same productivity level as your seasoned staff. All of this has real costs to the business.
The impact reactionary hiring has on corporate culture and morale is even more concerning. Six months ago, you asked your associates to refer a friend. It’s certainly a great way to find talent, but when business slows those newly hired are likely to be first up on the “chopping block.” How will the employee who helped you recruit feel about that?
If you hire too few resources, you risk not being able keep up with workload. If you hire for today’s volume, what happens when volume changes? It can be a constant seesaw of overworked and underworked employees you need to manage,
Some may think about leveraging those newer and/or high paid resources in other parts of the business until demand picks back up. This doesn’t always work out too well when these employees find themselves doing work they have no desire to do or under-performing on work out of their comfort zone.
How can you avoid this human impact to the business and stop wielding the hiring and firing axe? Automate First.
I implore you, take the time for a small disruption now to add technology automation into your processes. Really sharpen the proverbial saw that can be revved up or down as needed.
Trade ongoing salary and benefits for one-time, sometimes nominal depending on the technology, implementation fees and affordable user licenses.
Instead of spending time and money recruiting and onboarding, train existing staff and have them get excited about the investments you have made in automation that make them more productive. They already understand your business practices and processes, reward them with technology that will clearly help them do their jobs better and let them see the role they play in the successful operation of your business.
Anecdotally, training auditors to perform inhouse post close QC on our LoanHD® platform can take just a few days. The system guides users through a review by exception workflow and automated reporting can help managers keep close tabs on defects, root case and action plan effectiveness. Compared to staff on boarding to scale less than automated reviews, you could be up and running on technology using your existing workforce in far less time. Alternatively, opting for our audit services can have an even more rapid rollout.
When you really think about it, optimizing staff through the use of more automation is likely to take less time and less cost for your business.
Well, put. I see what you shared in our industry.