Secrets of Successful Mortgage Outsourcing
“Secret” 1 : Know Yourself.
You’ve probably heard this so many times in so many context, that you dismiss this unconsciously. However, this is the basic tenet for success in nearly everything that we do in life. Disregard for this is one of the top reasons for outsourcing failures. Just imagine how confused your outsourcing vendor will be if you yourself are not clear on what exactly it is you do.
Before you even think about outsourcing, your core business should be crystal clear to you. As a rule of thumb : you can successfully outsource anything that is not a core function right from the start. If your market rests on a referral model, you don’t want to outsource your lead generation. If you are keen on underwriting, last thing you’d want is an outsourced underwriter or lead processor.
You can start outsourcing your QA specialist, or some of your junior underwriting and processing staff, or your document management person. With today’s technology, these functions can be performed literally from anywhere. Then you can focus on your core business functions like expanding your market or underwriting that crucial loan application.
Learn which of your business processes can be outsourced without hampering your operations in the transition period and you’ve started on the right foot. This will help in future house cleaning as it would be clear if an action is called for in your end or in your provider’s.
“Secret” 2: Finding the Right Partner.
Outsourcing is about people and relationships. There are quite a number of outsourcing vendors on and off-shore and finding the right partner may prove to be a task. Like every relationships, finding that “fit” would spell your success or failure.
Cultural fit should be in your primary considerations for finding a partner. This can cause difficulties not only in the management dealings but more so in operations especially if the process or work to be outsourced require customer interaction, It would be nearly impossible for your outsourced staff to deal with you and your borrowers and other service providers if they have no clue about your cultural and industry nuances. As an example, an average Californian moves to a new home almost every 5 years. In other parts of the world, people live in one home in their entire lifetime. It would be tough for them to make sense of someone moving constantly. Remember that what is right or common in one culture may be unacceptable or alien to another. In the same light, your borrowers may be sensitive to accents and this can sway their trust in you. There are offshore providers based in accent-heavy countries, but there are providers based in other countries like the Philippines where accent is not an issue.
The capacity to recruit quality people in a timely manner is also an important consideration. Remember that recruitment is not confined at the project launch since you will need to recruit when someone leaves the company or when you expand.
Experience in the industry is definitely a plus since it will contribute to a smoother transition period and better productivity in the beginning years. In the long run however, this will not matter as much compared to an upstart project since the people will become seasoned with time. In an industry where time is of the essence, if you feel that you don’t want to go through the transition learning curve, there are a few outsourcing providers who already have acquired experience in the mortgage industry.
Only a minority of offshore outsourcing providers can strategically address these considerations, so you should take time in selecting your “fit”. For example, Infinit-O is based in the Philippines, a country heralded as a prime outsourcing spot especially for the US due to its abundance of highly qualified people with western cultural affinity and a neutral or even flexible accent. The company is also one of the few that has a mortgage experience.
“Secret” 3: Test, test, and more importantly, test.
Another main reason for outsourcing failures that is recognized and addressed by successful companies is the lack of a formal strategic measurement framework. Simply put, most companies that failed outsourced without even knowing how to check if it works or not. They only know something is wrong when it is already too late or too big. As any key business strategy, you should know how to test if your outsourcing endeavor works to your advantage. This is one thing that successful outsourcing companies are good at. Why? By having a formal strategic measurement framework, you will be able to accurately pinpoint problems and glitches even before they wreck havoc on your operations giving you time and resources to address them. It will also enable you to recognize what works and how you can further improve it.
There are already more than enough compliance requirements in mortgage that having another testing framework may seem to be the last thing you need. A good outsourcing partner can and should help you set up your measurement framework that is beneficial for both parties. An ISO certified outsourcing provider can do this with ease and comfort. This practice may also help you implement a similar framework even for your core functions and processes.
These “secrets” are not kept away behind lock and key in some company’s R&D. Rather, these are just some of the few brute facts that got lost when an outsourcing deal gets ridden with self-made complications. These are general tips to help you on your way, but things are ultimately different from one business to another.