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Special Reports
Recruiting And Training
Training Exec Shares Best Practices
'People drive profit.'
By Bonnie Sinnock
In a transitioning market there is always opportunity for quality talent,
according to Dave Savage, chief executive of The Mortgage Coach.
Recently some companies have been cutting while others have been building market share and adding talent, he said.
Overall, there has been a "headcount decrease" in the industry, Mr. Savage added.
He said that over the years he has gathered data from a broad range of effective origination executives to assemble
technologically accessed "best practices" information for his clients, he has found a couple of things
to be very important when it comes to successful recruiting. Among these is making focused decisions about what
one's business is and matching the corporate culture that shapes with candidates. "The more focused and clear
you are on your strategy, the more of the right people you will attract to come work for you," he said in
a report he shared with ON for this article.
Based on his research and input from other industry executives, Mr. Savage said he found there are five main profit
drivers: strategy, focus, measurement, people and technology. "People drive profit," he said in the presentation.
He recommends employers "hire and fire based on values."
Mr. Savage said recruiting strategies should be constant. Employers should "understand that recruiting is
a process and not an event that [starts] when you need people."
He also recommended that employers compile a "database of local talent," be in a continual process of
"[asking] around" to build that database and always "make time to meet new talent."
When it comes to training strategies, Mr. Savage said in his report that the "most common mistakes" are
lack of planning, having too many balls in the air, and having managers approach the rollout of new processes and
tools like an event rather than a one-year project.
He added, "Heavy-handed management enforcement and/or flaky follow up [is] the best way to kill adoption and
optimization."
Mr. Savage said the keys to training success are the following: * Getting everyone involved in the decision, planning
and rollout and avoiding the management vs. loan officer mentality. * Treating big technology rollouts as one-year
projects with three or four milestones. * Holding best-practice sessions with leading users as a means of paving
the way for adoption and optimization in technology rollouts.
He noted that talent generally has to approach the market differently than in the past to be successful because
it has changed. Previously, recruits only had to be "focused" and "smart." Today, originators
need to be trained to deliver "a unique experience that has obvious tangible value to the homeowner."
Homeowners "have never been more savvy and talk has never been cheaper - you need to deliver tangible services
that create value," he said in his report.
He recommends, for example, providing borrowers with an "annual equity review" to let them know what
their options are for using the equity in their home as among the ways to do this.
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