It brings recent hires up-to-speed with loan processing
Broker aggregator outsource Financial has launched its Loan Admin Mentoring Program, designed to help its brokers get their support staff up to speed with loan processing.
The program is tailored towards the needs of recent hires, arming them with tools and resources in line with best practice.
Head of training and education at outsource Financial Heather Gallagher (pictured) said, as with other industries, finding staff was one of the biggest challenges encountered by brokers.
Once staff were hired, the challenge became how to get them up and running and working efficiently, as quickly as possible.
“It’s a program designed for loan processing staff [and] loan administration staff: specifically, people who are fairly new in their job,” Gallagher said.
Using the example of learning to drive a car where there was a risk of passing on bad habits, she said the program was designed to teach staff best practice from the beginning.
“The right way to do things, the most efficient way to do things, the way to use the technology … it’s designed to take the burden off the business owner,” Gallagher said.
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She explained that the program would run for five weekly sessions (each for two hours), and would be available online, nationwide. Most of the participants already signed up had between three-to-six months’ experience in the role.
“It covers everything from compliance fundamentals and software training, all the way to doing a successful loan submission [and] tips on how to structure loans, with an additional session devoted to how support staff could add value, without overstepping the responsibilities of their role,” Gallagher said.
There was a balance between what a loan processor or loan administrator could do, and what a broker could do, and Gallagher said a lot of people danced very close to that line.
“We’re going to make sure we help them understand how they can be a big benefit and asset to the business but not cross the line between what they’re allowed and not allowed to do,” Gallagher said.
The program also covered many of the “bells and whistles” on the Salestrekker CRM system – something Gallagher mentioned was valuable to brokers who may be too busy to be fully across all the features.
Understanding how processes and/or client communications could be made more efficient, would add value to broker businesses, enabling support staff to “be a star from the beginning”.
Expressions of interest had already gone out to outsource Financial broker businesses, with the first module scheduled for 20 April 2022. outsource Financial said it intended to run this new mentoring program multiple times throughout the year, to ensure this type of education was readily accessible for those who needed it.
The point of difference at outsource Financial was that its people live by the mantra, “education is empowerment”, Gallagher said. Like all of its mentoring programs, this was provided complimentary to outsource Financial brokers.
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“We believe it’s our key role as their business partner, to provide them with all the tools and resources to be successful: education is a big part of that,” she said.
The new Loan Admin Mentoring Program taught staff about “the right way” to do things, abiding by best practice.
It was part of a suite of education programs provided by outsource Financial to its 800 plus members, including their New Entrant and Commercial Mentoring programs, with more in the pipeline.
