House & Home Loans director Rael Bricker on trusting your staff and loosening the reins.
Learning to trust your staff and let go of control can not only free up your time, but boost your business efficiency immensely, says top broker Rael Bricker.
Bricker, director of House & Home Loans, has made a conscious effort in the past year to delegate tasks to his back office team wherever possible – something which he says many brokers struggle with.
“Brokers are mostly Type-A personalities, and it’s a process of learning than it’s not necessarily the best way you can be spending your time. It’s about letting go and learning to trust people.”
For Bricker, the process was a gradual one.
“It’s something that works best if you do it in stages, loosen the reins one step at a time… Find something you can pass on, train them in it and trust them to do it.”
In the initial phases of their employment, Bricker asks his staff to copy him in on all client communications and helps to shape the way things are done.
“It’s so that I can see it’s up to standard and if required I can add my own comments in and do it in such a way that it doesn’t denigrate but just gently let them know that they might be using too much of this or not enough of that and they learn how I build a relationship with clients and they learn the way I like to do things.”
When Bricker feels comfortable with their work, staff are trusted to handle all communications on their own, but they also learn when it is appropriate to include him in decisions or communications.
In late 2003, Bricker had 22 brokers on his team, but found that the team was not only inefficient, his time was being drained and small but essential parts of the mortgage process were being missed. House & Home Loans now operates with a team of ten brokers and a highly skilled admin team.
All of Bricker’s back office staff have Cert IV qualifications and now can handle most processing tasks, allowing Bricker to focus on spending time with clients and referrers and growing his business.
This system also serves a double purpose, says Bricker, as House & Home Loans back office can serve as a kind of broker training ground, should admin staff choose to take that path.
“When I do interviews I let them know that there are two career paths in the brokerage; you can progress in the back office and eventually lead the back office team or you can learn to become a broker.”
The sense of inclusion and career progression that comes with this is a key part of keeping the team cohesive and motivated, says Bricker.
