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62 to deliver the firm's product or service. While few firms have taken the initiative to make this an independent department, training is a core function of any good human resources department. Our industry is no different in that respect. However, what often happens in industries that experience rapid growth is that the training function begins to become decentralized by necessity. With workloads increasing, companies are hard pressed to pull together the employees who require additional training, instead using mentors on the line to impart the necessary education. ere are many problems with this. First, it is impossible to ensure that all aspects of a required training program get across to a new worker when a mentor delivers the training. Furthermore, it's quite possible that the more experienced worker will impart workarounds developed over time but that run counter to accepted company processes. Finally, the risk of losing their position to new, younger, and lower paid workers may influence some mentors to impart less information than is required to succeed in the position. Another tactic that some companies have fallen back on involves learner-paced online teaching tools. Some of these are quite good, and when the company has time to develop them, it can provide information that delivers a company- approved educational experience. Unfortunately, when changes are required, the system must be updated, which can take time and money. Often, these programs become outdated but remain in use because they are all the company has available to meet the training need. Industry trade groups will often provide educational opportunities that they make available to any company for a fee. Many companies will send their managers to these events, which are often of high quality and carry the sanction of government regulators who track continuing education. e problem is that these managers are then expected to return to the company and train all of their subordinates and peers in a form of mass mentorship. is is rarely effective. All of these methods are useful, and a complete internal training regimen is likely to include them. To be most effective, these methods will be combined with classroom instruction, supervised on-the-job instruction, and traditional continuing education opportunities. Which of these methods are your vendors using to ensure that everyone who works on your job knows exactly how it must be done? If you don't know, you need to ask. THE GOOD NEWS: TRAINING IS IN! e proliferation of affordable and accessible educational tools in conjunction with increasing compliance pressures has made training a higher priority for most companies. In the U.S. financial services industry, more companies than ever are focusing time and resources on training. is benefits both the vendors and the clients they serve, but only well-planned and well-run educational programs achieve anticipated results. When management and staff share a mutual understanding of the skills and training required for each job, both benefit. Consequently, more companies are starting to fill the information gap between employees and management through training and development. is isn't limited to our industry, of course. In the new economy, more employers in all businesses are realizing that investing in employee training is vital. According to Forbes, corporate training spending grew by 15 percent in 2013 to over $70 billion in the U.S. and over $130 billion worldwide. is increase is the highest growth rate seen in seven years. is trend is gaining strength as employers learn that employee development can have an enormous economic impact on a company. R Magazine reports that companies that invest $1,500 or more on training per employee annually average 24 percent higher profit margins than companies that invest less. Additionally, the American Society for Training and Development found that across 2,500 firms, the companies offering comprehensive training have 218 percent higher income per employee than those with less comprehensive training. Of course, the real benefit to increased training in our industry is compliance risk mitigation. Failure to do so can lead to costly compliance errors that will threaten the continued existence of the financial services company the vendor serves. However, investing in employee development is not solely for the benefit of the company and its clients. Employees reap the benefits, as well, through career advancement—one of the highest-valued non-financial motivators for employees. is contributes to longer tenures, keeping the best employees working for the company, which is one way leading service providers maintain their leads. Furthermore, an active training program sends the message to employees that they are valued. It helps workers understand that management wants to keep them in the company. is leads to more engaged employees. According to Gallup, companies that have engaged employees outperform other companies by up to 202 percent! All of this means that American business owners and managers have come to realize the importance of training and that you are more likely than ever to find out that someone you work with maintains an active employee training program. But how will you know if it is sufficient for our needs in the mortgage industry? WHAT A GOOD TRAINING PROGRAM LOOKS LIKE In our industry, regulatory compliance is a matter of following both the letter and the spirit of the law, as handed down primarily by the industry's largest and most powerful regulator, the CFPB. But before we take any comfort from the fact that there is a top regulator, we should remember that regulators at every other level have the right and the ability to lay down their own requirements. Furthermore, each major investor levies its own requirements, under the threat of the dreaded buyback request. It is very difficult to provide a checklist that will let the lender or servicer know if a potential vendor knows everything it needs to know in order to deliver a fully compliant service. One may hope that a well-written RFP will uncover any shortcomings in the company's knowledge level and should request detailed information about the various training systems or processes in place. Quite often the business plans that come back simply call for "routine or continuous training." is doesn't tell buyers what they need to know. e answer to this question may well include information about the individual training programs provided by the company, the trade associations it works with, or other educational institutions, but that's not nearly as important as the company's overall approach to employee development.

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