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58 when new employees come in, they feel the culture, and we have the programs in place to make it easy for them to focus on their clients and their referral partners." It's also important that employees see they have there is potential for upward mobility in the organization, Allgood said, recommending that as "stars" begin to emerge within the organization, executives start bringing them into some management discussions, so these top employees feel they have a place at the table. Allgood pointed out that several surveys have shown that one of the biggest complaints employees have about companies is that they are not being heard. Eliminating that issue helps keep employees happy, helping retention. "is really instills teamwork," Allgood said, adding that executive also benefits by getting a view from those who have been "in the trenches." ey will have insight on whether a new technology or strategy is likely to be beneficial and are likely to be the biggest cheerleaders of changes they perceive to be positive, helping to drive adoption among their peers. According to a Zenbenefits research report, 63.3% of companies find retaining employees is harder than hiring them. Sixty- nine percent of employees said in the survey that they would work harder if they were better appreciated. "When employees feel engaged, they care about the company and do their best work to achieve the company's goals" Hetzel said. "Employee engagement is not about employee benefits or bonuses; it's about being part of a successful business." Gamification—with dashboards that enable workers to see how they are performing among their peers—and recognizing leaders (though not in a cutthroat way) also helps motivate staff, according Kittyle, who is just starting to initiate gamification strategies. Hetzel and Torigian added that engaging employees in non-work activities is also beneficial in building camaraderie and retention. Inlanta Mortgage has non-work-related contests, sends pizzas or other foods along with thank-you notes to remote workers' homes, and has regular phone calls and online chats with staff in order to engage employees. SitusAMC created different affinity groups, for example bringing together employees who had a passion for cooking. e company also offered mini-learning sessions to teach employees new skills to improve their upward mobility, such as how to engage someone on a Zoom call or how to effectively use email. BSI Financial offered employees a combination of branch barbecues, quarterly fun dates, and nights out, as well as birthday and anniversary recognitions pre-pandemic and similar virtual events during the pandemic. e company is also taking a more focused approach to helping employees deal with stress and other mental health issues, Kittyle said. PREPPING FOR THE FUTURE Servicing volumes are high right now, but the business is nothing if not cyclical. Inevitably, the pendulum will eventually swing to the point where business is declining, leaving servicers with excess staff. How should the industry prepare for that? "e tendency is to grow as quickly as possible and expand the resources as much as possible," Allgood said. "Management needs to be responsible [for ensuring] that the organization that you're building is sustainable. We don't want a mass layoff suddenly." When possible, any reduction in staff should be handled through attrition, Allgood explained. Attrition occurs naturally even with the best of organizations as employees retire, go to another employer, or strike out on their own. ere will also be people who stay but move vertically or horizontally within the organization. According to Allgood, the balance between staff additions and attrition to match volume swings won't be perfect, so a sustainable organization should understand some type of median level of staff, and use overtime incentives to help with volume overflows. "ough you have to address the [current] volume, you don't want to set yourself up for failure in the future," Allgood said. "You have to understand what your attrition will be and how you can wind down your staff." Phil Britt started covering mortgages and other financial services matters for a suburban Chicago newspaper in the mid-1980s before joining Savings Institutions magazine in 1992. When the publication moved its offices to Washington, D.C., in 1993, he started his own editorial services room and continued to cover mortgages, other financial services subjects, and technology for a variety of websites and publications. Cover Story By: Phil Britt "Employee engagement is not about employee benefits or bonuses; it's about being part of a successful business." —Balenda Hetzel, Regional Production Manager, Inlanta Mortgage

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