Tips to help reduced brokers' business pressures
Working as a mortgage broker can be very rewarding, but recent research suggests it can also be stressful.
An unsettled economy continues to make the property market challenging, with rate increases, frequent criteria updates and product withdrawals all factors in the rising stress levels felt by those who work day-to-day in the industry.
In its Mental Health & Wellbeing Survey 2022, The Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter found that 55% of brokers were working more than 45 hours a week on average, over the recommended weekly guidance. Additionally, 13% worked more than 60 hours a week.
Furthermore, 27% of brokers believed that in a regular working week they never get enough sleep and 23% of mortgage professionals questioned thought their mental health was poor of concern, up on recent years.
Such findings indicate a risk of broker burnout, including typical symptoms such as feeling tired much of the time, feeling negative and helpless, suffering self-doubt and a sense of being overwhelmed.
A recent HSE study found that over 17 million of the UK’s working days were lost because of workplace stress.
Read more: How should brokers adapt to the UK’s ever-changing housing market?
Tips to alleviate pressure
So how can the stress levels of brokers potentially be reduced?
Expert advice for dealing with stress includes better communication, so talking to work colleagues and family members about any worries and the support needed. Brokers could also consider setting better work boundaries to help find the downtime required for family life and recreation.
Working from home two or three days a week, to avoid the daily commute, could also be helpful. Taking regular breaks during the working day and using leave regularly is also productive, while exercise helps clears the mind.
Read more: Brokers – here’s how to survive a tough economic period
“Even with the advent of hybrid working over the past couple of years, a recent survey suggested that large numbers of financial services professionals are planning to leave the industry due to high pressure,” said Tim Morris, managing director of Cymphony, which manages inbound communications for businesses. “However, if you want to get the best out of your brokers and reduce the chances of burning them out, I strongly suggest decreasing brokers’ admin.”
Get organised
He explained that organisational skills and excellent administration were the hallmarks of any successful business. “Outsourcing your inbound communications is the best solution to ensure you avoid cold callers altogether and still capture valuable customer enquiries,” Morris said.
He pointed out that on average, 28% of work time was spent on email correspondence and email autoresponders could relieve this stress, letting a customer know their email had been received and they should expect action to be taken soon. Brokers would ideally then schedule dedicated time into their day where they could address customer service issues, rather than jumping in and out of messages.
And what about after hours?
“To allow you and your staff a much-needed detox, I suggest outsourcing your customer service to someone qualified as an inbound communication specialist to answer calls and messages out of house,” Morris said, adding that these services were available 24/7, and could massively boost a firm’s customer service rating because they made the business more accessible to customers.
“In turn, this will lead to better business performance and a happier and more productive workforce,” he said.
