August 1, 2018

by Jeremy B. Wilkins
Brock & Scott, PLLC
USFN Member (North Carolina)

The mortgage loan servicing industry is an assorted blend of professionals comprised of corporate directors, attorneys, compliance experts, and real estate management specialists. Add in federal and state regulatory climates, and the result is an industry with a lot of moving parts. Interests differ as often as they amalgamate. The challenge for success and sustainability falls on managers at all levels. Management must lead with vision, cultivate an atmosphere for success, and continually drive a work product at the highest standards. Whether a law firm, mortgage servicer, investor, or trade organization within the loan servicing industry, the foundational concepts discussed in this piece can be helpful for drivers of long-term organizational success.

Culture
Leadership and culture go hand-in-hand. Culture must be clearly defined in all facets of an operation and be continually validated by management. It is essential for management to establish a culture of consistency of outcome, with the employees’ actions rooted in that consistency, which is defined as continual success at a high level.

To define and promote an institution’s culture, management’s actions and communications will play a vital role. The use of visual aids (e.g., motivational messages) can be effective and impactful. Regular reiteration of core principles will further educate employees about the company’s culture and the company’s success. Consider making it fun at times by finding team-building exercises outside of the daily work functions that intertwine the company’s principles. Managers must define the culture and lead in its development.

Goals + Action = Go-Action
No organization is vibrant without a structure of goals set and promulgated from its management staff — and an action plan to accomplish those goals. It’s a two-step process; goals, standing alone, are hollow ambitions. Accordingly, a viable action plan is necessary to accomplish the goals: “go-action.”

Go-action should be tiered with a lofty, supreme objective setting the agenda, and secondary goals serving to drive this ultimate organizational goal. Go-action must be recalibrated on a regular basis to allow for organizational reassessment and for measures to prevent complacency. Go-action will also drive the company’s identity, interconnecting with the cultural buy-in. Management must lead when it comes to the go-action — with the setting of goals welcomed, rather than resisted. Effective leaders will champion these goals with a connectivity for the downline staff to perform at a high level.

Ask yourself: What is your primary go-action? What is your secondary go-action? When answers are not easily forthcoming, a management team is not ready for prime time. If answers stop at just a goal without action, then failure is looming.

Data Driven
Success in the mortgage loan servicing industry is rooted in the ability to execute a work product at a high level, with accuracy and efficiency, every day, without exception. Data is the measurement of performance. In conjunction with attention to detail, management within the loan servicing industry must be savvy when it comes to analyzing the raw data. Sound managers will exhibit a fluidity with the data before them each day and will ensure that each matter is handled appropriately and timely. Consequently, let the data drive the process when it comes to managing a file, and managing staff, within the milestone arena.

Data will show where and how long a file has been in its current bucket and will set the blueprint for legal or operational action. Management must be data-centric and ensure that information drives the efforts — which goes hand-in-hand with attention to detail. Effective supervisors will work from reporting mechanisms, capturing loan-level data from milestone to milestone, diligently and efficiently.

Using data and reporting mechanisms, management can focus on an environment conducive to effecting attention to detail. Attention to detail is a characteristic that every good manager must have, and organizational goals must bolster this trait. Each loan-level performance metric is rooted in quantifiable data; therefore, each action, down to the minute, must be precise.

Management must implement and lead with controls such as detailed reporting mechanisms; milestone-related checklists; as well as organized, purposeful daily huddles pinpointing specific milestone-related work for daily action items. Management must ensure that these controls are engrained institutionally for sustained effectiveness.

People Development
Sound management (both legally and operationally) will live or die by the staff around them. It should be the objective of management to find the right people — and to develop those people by giving them the tools to succeed. Managers should ensure that staff are placed in a position for success. They should continually evaluate their staff and offer ongoing training protocols to fine-tune daily work functions. They should not fear moving staff to other roles where an individual’s strengths are better suited. Lastly, a fundamentally good manager is always developing their potential replacement. They should expect staff to be trained and, with the right capabilities, able to step into a lead role at any moment. An organization will thrive with comprehensive people development.

In the mortgage loan servicing industry, leadership is paramount. It is the foundation for success and sustainability — a trait that should be embedded within the organization through its people, infrastructure, and vision.

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Summer USFN Report

Note for consideration of the USFN Award of Excellence: This article is a "Feature."