It introduces a hashtag that is meant to be much more than a buzzword
SRE Mortgage Alliance Inc. uses the hashtag SREfamily, and it’s more than just a buzzword for social media.
“That’s really what we believe these individuals are — our family members,” said John Glen Stevens, chief revenue officer at SRE. “Our great people make it easy for us to be a great place to work.”
Employees are the lifeblood of any company, and the key to creating a great work family for SRE is onboarding people who “understand the vision and the purpose of being ‘Built for Purchase.’”
There are a few things SRE looks for in an employee, one of which is an entrepreneur mentality where the person really takes ownership of their role and responsibilities. Another key thing is people who share the company’s expectation for the future of the industry.
“We need people who understand that vision of a mortgage professional and a real estate professional becoming the same one, which is a Real Property Advisor,” Stevens said. “We strongly believe that’s where we’re headed in the industry.”
Last but not least, an individual who works at SRE must understand that the company “gives first” to the clients out there handling those real estate transactions.
If a person is able to have those three strong qualities, not only are they going to excel here they’re going to increase in their responsibilities and move up in the company, Stevens said, noting they currently have just over 50 employees and are still hiring as SRE continues to grow.
“Everything we do - whether it be our digital pieces, our human assistant pieces, our focus on that person’s business - we’re always looking for the top people to work here.”
While disagreements are inevitable, at the end of the day “as long as we all have our focus on the same vision, that’s what’s important,” Stevens noted.
There’s a reason SRE attracts and retains the cream of the crop - it really does treat them like family. Although COVID has put a damper on some things, like weekly face-to-face town halls for example, leadership ensures their people are still celebrated. They offer efficiency bonuses to employees whose ideas to streamline the business are enacted, and also give bonuses for successful referrals of friends to join the company. SRE also has benefits including health, dental and vision.
“Yesm we recognize birthdays, we promote new hires over social media - we want the world to know the amazing people who work here - but those are the small things,” Stevens said.
Some of the extras include a credit towards employee cell phone bills, in recognition of the fact they often are using them for work-related purposes, and SRE also offers unlimited vacation.
“If you are having a hard time and you need to reset and restore, then do it,” Stevens said. “A happy, healthy partner in the business is going to be more productive.”
For all the talk about great workplaces, it’s not the companies that are amazing — it’s the people. It’s not an organization’s high-tech systems that are amazing — it’s the people who are making those systems work.
SRE is staffed with like-minded individuals who want to make life better for the company, and serve customers as best they can. They really foster a solution-based approach, which is another term that’s not just a buzzword for Stevens and his team.
As he puts it: “If there’s a problem, SRE Mortgages Alliance Inc. is out there trying to find a solution to that problem, and make the industry as a whole better.”
