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58 relationship in which both parties have an underlying understanding of their values and culture, attributing to the success of their financial plan and achievement of long-term goals." Subotic clarifies that, while diversity is a priority, that doesn't mean companies should not still strive to hire the top talent they can secure. "We do not hire based on superficial qualities such as race, gender, sexual orientation, or age; rather, we hire based on qualities such as work ethic, drive, and potential," he explained. "Naturally, our team has become more diverse through these efforts. A large portion of our new hires come as referrals from our advisors. Because our team is diverse, they know and refer a diverse group of people. An as our new hires become more diverse, they begin to refer their friends of various backgrounds which continuously brings in top talent from every walk of life." Blend's Smith recommended that industry firms look outside of traditional colleges for talent. Some employees with outstanding talent don't have a four-year degree. "We need to challenge our hiring processes," Smith said. "ere can be unconscious bias. You need to look at what you can do to eliminate that." Fifty-eight percent of Ocwen's hires over the past 18 months have been people of color, and 30% of the company's SVP level or higher employees are women. In 2019 alone, Ocwen hired June Campbell on as CFO, and the company's board has two female members. By being proactive, companies can ensure diversity among new hires. "Our goal is to continuously set the standard for equity and inclusion as both an organization and as an employer," Blend says in its Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging annual report. e company saw an increase to 33.9% (+0.7 ppts) in women applicants for all roles across the organization. Hispanic or Latinx applicants rose significantly to 6.5% from 5.7% in the previous year. Black or African American applicants decreased slightly to 3.3% (-0.2 ppts). "We nearly doubled our applicant count to 40,000 unique applicants this year," Smith said. However, if the diversity effort stops at the hiring stage, any potential benefits will quickly disappear, said Jodi Gaines, Chief Client Relations Officer, EVP of Government Relations and Business Development for Insight One Solutions and Vice Chair of the AMDC. "If people don't have a voice, if they don't have an opportunity, they will go somewhere where they do," she explained. Subotic also suggests that the industry should also focus on recruiting diverse candidates while they are young. "e mentorship and investment in their business need to be done early, giving them the opportunity to build and grow a practice that will be able to have a more significant impact on our communities," he explained. However, hiring is only the first step in helping any new employee feel empowered. "On the very first day, new team members are given a personal tour by the Employee Engagement Manager. ey are introduced to everyone in human resources, the training room staff, as well as their management team." Young said the goal is to let new team members feel valued from the very beginning. Additionally, NTC informs new hires about the company's open-door policy, and about their ability to talk to any member of the leadership team, including CEO John Hillman, should they choose to, Young said. "We empower not just our new team members, but all of our employees to give us what I refer to as courageous feedback," Young said. "e reason I'm at Auction.com is because I have a voice here. My journey is to make sure that everybody has a voice at the table. Empowering our employees cultivates diversity," said Ali Haralson, General Manager and Chief Business Development Officer, Auction.com. "Everyone should have a voice; if you don't allow for that, you are missing out. If you don't think about it, you are behind." —Jodi Gaines, Chief Client Relations Officer, EVP of Government Relations and Business Development for Insight One Solutions; Vice Chair, American Mortgage Diversity Council Cover Story By: Phil Britt

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