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60 that servicers look to the Five Star Institute's conferences and other industry events to share intel about best practices with other servicers. "If you are up to the industry standard, it will help," Douglas said. However, he also cautioned that even meeting industry standards won't automatically provide "a grand shield." Training and proper scripting is more important than ever so that new employees, many of them working remotely, provide the expected service, according to John Lawrence, VP of Special Servicing at Selene Finance. "Gone are the good old days of bringing everybody into a conference room and doing training." "I'm a big believer in training and making sure that the training is not only about content specific information, but also that we're highlighting soft skills, through the training and encouraging agents," said Steve Schachter, President of SourcePoint. Agents need to be emotionally aware as well as knowledgeable about industry rules and regulations. Pop-up cues/tips can give agents real-time help with customer relations and with industry requirements. Managing a remote workforce is challenging, noted industry consultant Patrick Coon (formerly of HomePoint and Cenlar). Coon said that the first step is to check daily to determine if there are technical issues that need to be solved before someone is "available." Customer and employee surveys can help keep tabs on performance and highlight any pressing issues and pain points so that everyone in the organization is aware of them. "Audit, audit, audit," Lawrence added. "Listen to phone calls. Our executive team listens to phone calls every month—the good and the bad. You need to hear what customers are saying, and you've got to listen to what associates are saying." By monitoring calls, one can learn where employees need to improve, Schacter said, adding that it's important to support employees with the technologies they need to succeed. For Sourcepoint, that includes AI- based scripting that listens to the conversation agents have with borrowers in real time and provides next-best conversation advice so they can be confident in their conversations. "We want to make sure that our agents have the latest information," Schachter said. Staid added that Sourcepoint management also works to know what agents are best skilled for what tasks, using intelligent routing to send the right interactions to the right agents. EMPATHY IS ESSENTIAL While technology is essential from an efficiency standpoint, the "human touch" remains critical when it comes to providing the empathy servicers must exhibit toward borrowers in today's environment. at process begins, Coon noted, with truly listening to what those borrowers need. "e key to this is being pragmatic," Coon said. "We've gone through a tumultuous time over the last two years. Communication with customers is more important than ever, because of the concerns that they've had and issues that they faced. You have to acknowledge that they've gone through a lot and that there are ongoing concerns." "It's about being able to identify with them and to get on the same wavelength," Lawrence said. "It's something that's difficult to do, but it's truly necessary for you to be able to really understand what the customer is going through." Empathetic communication with customers helps secure their business in the long term, Coon added. Servicers and staff alike need to know when a servicer will reach out and why (for instance, perhaps making contact on the 15th of every month regarding late fees). Communicating via the borrower's preferred channel—email, chat, phone—is also very important. A servicer's website should also offer not only self-servicing options but also the latest information on a borrower's account and status, Coon suggested. Schachter added that servicers should also ensure that their websites display properly, whether the borrower is using a laptop, PC, smartphone, or other web- enabled device. Cover Story By: Phil Britt "Audit, audit, audit. Listen to phone calls. Our executive team listens to phone calls every month—the good and the bad. You need to hear what customers are saying, and you've got to listen to what associates are saying." —John Lawrence, VP of Special Servicing, Selene Finance