Hammerhouse LLC, a national recruiting and strategic growth firm for the financial services industry, released the results of its 2012 Loan Officer Core Business Components Survey. The online survey of several hundred current mortgage originators across the United States sought to ascertain their views on issues related to the Core Business Components of residential mortgage lending: Leadership, Culture, Business, Operations, Technology and Geography.
Key positive responses to survey questions
►91% of professionals survey indicated that they were “born to” do their job or “love” their job
►89% believe that compensation at their firm is “fair and compliant”
►89% believe that their firms meet industry service standards
►89% believe their firm’s pricing is “consistent” and “competitive”
►88% believe their firm consistently closes loans “on time”
►88% believe the relationship is “excellent” or “acceptable” between originators, managers and leaders
►85% believe that the reputation of their firm is “outstanding” or “good”
Key responses indicating room for improvement
►32% of professionals surveyed believe that their firm’s technology “needs an upgrade”, is “inadequate”, or “hurts my business”
►28% of professionals surveyed believe that internal communications are “inconsistent”, “muddled”, “left open for individual interpretation” or essentially non-existent
►26% stated that their firms had “no” professional development program or were “on my own”
►24% believe their firm leader’s vision is “unclear”-“illogical”-“disconnected” or essentially non-existent
►24% believe that originators have “insignificant”-“very little” or “no” impact on operations at their firms
“Lessons for the industry from this survey are clear. First and foremost, experience matters - whether we are talking sales professionals, operational personnel, managers or leaders, effectiveness and efficiency,” said Drew Waterhouse, managing director and CEO of Hammerhouse. “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.”
Click here to view the full results of the 2012 Loan Officer Core Business Components Survey. This statistically significant survey reaches out to mortgage loan originators’ production professional for their opinions on critical issues facing the mortgage industry and impacting their job performance.
