Technology and interoffice communications remain key areas for corporate improvement, according to the 2012 Loan Officer Core Business Components Survey released by Hammerhouse LLC, a financial services industry recruiting and strategic growth firm based in Mission Viejo, Calif.
In its online survey of U.S. mortgage originators, Hammerhouse found that 32% of the professionals surveyed believe that their firm's technology ‘needs an upgrade,’ is ‘inadequate’or ‘hurts my business.’ Separately, 28% of professionals surveyed believe that internal communications in their companies were ‘inconsistent,’ ‘muddled,’ ‘left open for individual interpretation’ or essentially non-existent, while 24% stated their firm's leadership vision was ‘unclear,’ ‘illogical,’ ‘disconnected’ or essentially non-existent.
‘Lessons for the industry from this survey are clear,’ says Drew Waterhouse, managing director and CEO of Hammerhouse. ‘First and foremost, experience matters – whether we are talking sales professionals, operational personnel, managers or leaders, effectiveness and efficiency. In addition, a primary take-away for lenders from this survey is that going forward, the ability to execute on business fundamentals including vision, strategy, communications, professional development and support, while also leveraging new technology, will separate the best origination firms from the also-rans.’
But that's not to say that loan officers are a bunch of chronic malcontents. Ninety-one percent of the professionals survey indicated that they were ‘born to’ do their job or ‘love’ their job, while 85% believe that their firm's reputations were ‘outstanding’ or ‘good.’
