If you had worked your entire career in the consumer loan business and then joined a mortgage company, it wouldn’t take you long to realize that the former is a direct business and the latter is a relationship business. That makes implementing new technology in the mortgage industry a careful balance to strike. How do you bring in great technology customers want without threatening loan officers who have done business for 20 years with a handshake?
At PrimeLending, I try to lead a technology organization that can deliver the technology mortgage customers expect — and today that’s anything that offers more transparency on the process — while ensuring that they get the expertise that sets our loan officers apart in the industry.
How can this create tension? Some customers may want the convenience of getting a simple text on their mobile phone that says, “Your loan has been approved.” Meanwhile, some loan officers may want the personal satisfaction of being able to call or email a customer with this news. After all, they’ve worked hard to shepherd that loan through a complicated process.
I’ve found success in striking the balance between customer demand and colleague expertise by following a few simple rules:
- Let the business hear what the customers are saying. We conducted a lot of focus groups to get at what frustrates consumers trying to get a home loan. It was critical for our business managers to hear this input so they could get on-board to collaborate with us on a strategy to respond with a better experience.
- Communicate early and often with all stakeholders. Within Technology we have so many different groups that we’ve got to make sure that communication between them is working well. When we’re rolling out a business transformation project, it literally touches every group within our company: underwriting, legal, compliance, you name it. That means getting the right people into the process early or face having to undo your work later. One strategy I’ve pursued successfully here is embedding Technology staff into non-IT departments. That gives me and our technology team insight into what’s going on in that department, what the opportunities are, and what the impact of changes we make might could be at the department level.
- Never lose sight of your true north – the customer. When you’re trying to move fast and be collaborative, you want to get everyone’s input. At the same time, you have to walk a fine line of getting too much advice and nothing done because there are so many ideas on the table. That’s why it’s critical to remember that the more customer-centric an organization we can be, the better. Any ideas that draw us away from that goal have to be tabled.
ALSO READ
Tim Elkins joined PrimeLending in November 2008 as Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer. In October 2012, Tim was promoted to executive vice president, chief information officer, and he is responsible for information security, IT operations, and technology initiatives.
