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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 38 August 2024 C O V E R S T O R Y public face to the clients and munici- palities with which the company deals, Imwold says there is an overall focus on instilling a sense of personal ownership and commitment into these teams. "Our goal is to take the processor and make them process owners," Imwold explained. "You've got to make the phone calls, but if it's a simple case of 'if you get this answer, you always do this'—that's the stuff we're looking to automate. We want to create tools that can capture the data we need from the municipality. What did they tell us? Enter it into the system, so then it's easy for the next person to know exactly what that conversation was or to automate the next steps." Bron also has a strong focus on cross-training team members to understand how every aspect of the busi- ness works, which also increases opportu- nities for employees to move both up and laterally throughout Bron's structure. Imwold said, "We don't want the 'big company' [mentality] that thinks, 'This is what I do. It's my box.' We spend a lot of time trying to find folks who are com- fortable with change. We're going to train you in the basics, but we need you to be able to move around." As part of this commitment to mak- ing every member of their team's skillsets as broad as possible, Imwold noted that the company does not utilize the com- mon structure of annual reviews with an associated pay bump. Bron does do annual and semiannual reviews, but they are primarily designed to allow for feed- back and communication rather than being an anchor for salary increases. Instead, the company had designed a "Road to Mastery" that lays out a plan for how employees can move through train- ing that will teach them various aspects of the business and open doors for future advancement within the company. As employees add to their skillsets, requisite pay increases are part of the incentive to pursue that training. "As you gain skillsets, you should get paid more," Imwold explained. "As you become more valuable to Bron, we want to share in the rewards." The Road to Mastery tracks employ- ees' progress and notes when they are potentially ready to move to a new role or department. "We've all worked at companies where the process is, 'Okay, here's your review, here's your 1%, 2%, 3%," Imwold said. "But I don't want to wait until the end of the year [to pay employees more]. If you've picked up six or seven skills for us, you're more valuable to us, and we should share that with you." In addition to the formal Road to Mastery, Bron also offers other associate development plans that can offer team members further education, such as that available through the Five Star Academy or even access to MBA programs. Hamilton cites Bron's IT team as an example of this "grow from within" phi- losophy, noting that most of the IT team were initially processors who learned and expanded their skills. "They understand our business. They know how to do the job. They know what people on the floor are doing," Hamilton said. Imwold added, "I feel very comfortable saying you can go anywhere on our floor and find that the employees care. They come to work every day wanting to do a good job, wanting to do right by the clients, and they understand why we do it." Hamilton also noted that Bron is proud that, during the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company did not lay off any team members. "We've always protected our associ- ates," Hamilton said. "We lost money, but we didn't lay anybody off. We knew the pandemic wouldn't last forever, so why let people go? We've spent a lot of money investing in our people." Moore added, "I think another thing that makes it exciting for our team mem- bers is when they see a lot of the high-end positions, and they know that these are people that started just where they're at. So many people have grown and moved departments through there, so they know that we put our money where our mouth is. Everything is available for you to grab," Hamilton said, "We take care of our associates. Our associates take care of the clients. I think you see that in our num- bers, in our below-market turnover. Most of our leadership team leads and above have been here for more than three years." Bron also sponsors several charitable initiatives, with a particular commit- ment to helping support residents of Haiti. That relationship dates back to when Hamilton was deployed to Haiti with the U.S. Army as part of the UN Mission, "Uphold Democracy." While serving there, Hamilton met Carmen Neihaus, principal of Sonlight Academy in Port de Paix Haiti. The school offers "a student-centered, college-preparatory program enriched by a challenging and "I don't want to wait until the end of the year [to pay employees more]. If you've picked up six or seven skills for us, you're more valuable to us, and we should share that with you." —Todd Imwold, COO, Bron