It’s like that classic question, ‘what comes first – the chicken or the egg?’ The same concept can be applied to hiring for mortgage broking businesses. If you’re running your own growing operation, at some point you’ll probably find yourself looking to expand your team. So, the question is: should it be a mortgage broker who will help you generate sales and deal with customers, or a loan processor who will help with the admin and paperwork?
Here are three things to consider before making the decision to hire a mortgage broker or loan processor.
1. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
It’s important to know what you do best. Some brokers are the rainmakers of the business. Networking and bringing in business comes naturally. However, an overload of admin and ongoing operational requirements can weigh down even the best salesperson.
Other brokers are excellent at the back end. They are operationally savvy and enjoy getting paperwork in order, submitting applications, liaising with banks etc. By contrast, they may not enjoy the hunting and gathering side of a broking role, or may not be as strong in that area.
When hiring another person, you should be able to keep doing what you do best and fill the gap in your skillset by recruiting someone better suited to perform those tasks.
2. What will save you time?
If you’re operating solo at the moment and are thinking of making your first hire, chances are you’re under the pump managing it all yourself. Take a deep breath and get ready – it’s about to get busier for a moment.
Hiring someone is a big commitment, as it makes you responsible for someone else’s welfare and performance. As an employer, you need to ensure you can offer a great employment experience and keep a good employee happy and engaged, so they’ll continue helping your business succeed. While the hiring process itself requires a fair bit of your time, it’s not something to be rushed. You need to take your time with this and hire the right person who can join your team as a valued turnkey solution – unless you’re willing to train someone up.
If you’re currently swamped with writing customer loans and consulting with new customers, then hiring another mortgage broker may not solve your problem. You may benefit more from bringing in some backend support, which will free you up to write more business. Hiring a loan processor could also give you back that crucial thinking time you’ve so badly needed to take your business to the next level. You know your business and what value you uniquely offer customers. Training another broker to communicate your business’ value can be a long haul, while training a processor can be much quicker when executed correctly.
3. Are you a business or a broker?
This is a crucial question to ask yourself. Take a moment and think about it, as these are different situations which will require a different approach to hiring.
A business has structure, systems, processes and templates: things that will help develop consistency so operations run smoothly. Businesses think differently. On the flip side, you may not want to build a business. You could be perfectly comfortable writing whatever volume you can manage on your own, and build your book. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this!
Once you know your objective as a business owner, then you can think strategically about what the business needs to grow – whether this means hiring brokers to help with the volume of customer interactions, or processors who will help you manage the admin.
Making your first hire is a crucial time in your business, so don’t rush it. Stop for a moment, think about your objectives, and develop a hiring strategy that aligns with your business goals.
If you’d like some support in making this decision, please feel free to send us your details, and we’ll be in touch within 48 hours to get started in walking you through this important time.
