When it comes to staffing and hiring challenges, the mortgage business is hardly unique in facing some challenging circumstances in recent years. The pandemic has been more than just a disruption — it has prompted a profound shift in the personal and professional circumstances of so many Americans.
Coming at a time when professional stability and longevity were already waning, the result is a labor market that is both more challenging and competitive than at any other time in recent memory. In an industry where experience and hard-earned expertise is so important to give homebuyers the insight they deserve, maintaining a team of knowledgeable and experienced professionals is arguably more important than ever.
The question is how.
It is not enough for decision-makers and executives to simply declare that they will prioritize hiring and retention. Hiring and retaining good people and talented professionals takes meaningful measures and sustained commitment.
Here’s what that looks like:
Work on your core
Core values are only as good as your willingness to apply them. In hiring and retention, that means identifying candidates who are a good fit with your team and your culture. Alignment with core values is so critically important that there is a strong argument to be made that it should be the single biggest criteria for any hire: given more weight than experience or education.
Developing and establishing clearly defined core values creates a framework for employees to do their best work. My own company’s core values include the following: