There’s No Going Back Now!
By: Bill Dolan, CMB.
For a short period of time, this pandemic caused real havoc to us all as most lenders were not equipped to work remotely. However, both borrower demand as well as low interest rates forced all of us to react quickly, with a greater technology-enabled way to continue to perform and support both our clients and your borrowers.
In every case, the technology was implemented because of sheer necessity and we have learned to adapt in just a very few months. With banks and credit unions returning to the workplace, what will it mean for mortgage lenders? Will you revert back to the way you performed prior to the virus or will you continue to explore and expedite adoption of technology tools, systems and incredible innovations to process transactions far more efficiently? Why therefore, would anybody revert back to the same old, same old? The brightest and innovative mortgage bankers won’t even think of looking back but will want to focus on grabbing as much market share leaving their competitors in the dust!
Whether trends continue with this crisis and we find ourselves once again in a national or regional lockdown, you as a mortgage lender will rely heavily on the technology you scrambled to implement as a “temporary fix” to a revised way to ensure a truly safe mortgage closing.
Let’s face it, competition in our business is fierce and margins are pretty thin which creates a major problem if you are caught on the wrong side of the demand curve. The good news for those who embraced technology over the last few months is that the hard part is done.
At SCA for example, prior to Covid-19 only 35% of our employees were properly equipped to handle remote work. By the end of March, the company ramped up our capability so that 100% had not only the proper technology and equipment but were working remotely without any loss of productivity whatsoever, and that continues today. Realistically, it wasn’t that hard. SCA realized we could do it and we did it and it was done! With our clients adapting to the new way of doing business, SCA has learned to move forward no matter what the environment may end up. This allows us to do business faster and far more efficiently.
Isn’t it time you make the necessary changes permanent?