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54 With unemployment hovering around 6% for a few months and the mortgage servicing sector working to ensure it has sufficient staff to deal with the volumes of struggling homeowners coming out of forbearance, the industry could be a new home for workers looking for the next career step. At the same time, lenders are facing continued high homebuyer demand, working to balance shifts between refi and purchase, and trying to address the changing needs of cohorts such as millennials and Gen Z, on both the borrower and hiring fronts. e mortgage industry experts DS News spoke with say while some jobs are hard to fill, maintaining a good reputation, actively engaging with employees, and working to innovate are keys that will help the industry attract the right people with the skills they want while also retaining their best workers in the long term. "Across the board in the mortgage industry, whether it's servicing or origination, you have to cast a big net—primarily due to the influx of a volume that came in last year," said Greer Allgood, Managing Director of Mortgage Operations at Wipro Opus. e COVID-19 pandemic meant many lenders and servicers were busier than ever as people took advantage of historically low interest rates to refinance their loans, so many have had to cast a wide net to fill the available roles. "Even though rates have ticked up a little bit, we're still seeing a high demand for mortgages," said Balenda Hetzel, Regional Production Manager for Inlanta Mortgage. In terms of recruiting and retaining staff to manage the increased volume, Hetzel said that the move to remote work and hiring has helped fill the gap. "We are getting more candidates now than we would have if we were limited to only in-office staff. We have the technology to support someone in Seattle or anywhere in the United States. I do feel like we are getting such a cool pool of people now that there are more remote opportunities." Mary Pat Cummings, Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition, Sourcepoint, echoed that observation, noting that the company now considers job candidates it might not have only a few years ago. Cover Story By: Phil Britt Representatives from BSI Financial Services, Cherry Creek Mortgage, Inlanta Mortgage, SitusAMC, and Sourcepoint discuss how to build a successful, sustainable team.