Brokers - People, pay and productivity

Attracting and retaining the right talent is the second key to the success for any broking firm – and it’s long been a challenge for the industry. In the last decade, the number of brokers has shrunk by almost two thirds.

In fact, the elements of a compelling career opportunity are not hard to identify: interesting work and attractive rewards will get you most of the way there. Broking can provide both, but it requires effective systems for brokers to manage the mortgage process.

Just as importantly, the same inefficiencies and manual tasks which reduce productivity and profits are also the greatest barrier to creating a satisfying working experience for brokers. Most advisers want to be sitting down with clients, developing relationships and considering which products best meet their needs. In reality, many spend much of their day doing paperwork.

Transposing fact finding notes into internal systems, rekeying these for the application to the lender, and repeating many of the same tasks for insurers and solicitors, all mean that too many advisers’ roles are an endless cycle of form filling which quickly drains the profits and pleasure from broking.

No wonder we can struggle to attract the best and the brightest.

With an end-to-end, integrated system about 90% of the labour-intensive, repetitive tasks that absorb the majority of a brokers’ time on each case can be automated. Data captured during fact-finding is entered straight into the system, once and for all. Information is automatically populated in forms for regulated advice, instructions for solicitors and surveyors, decisions in principle, and the mortgage application itself.

Eliminating the need to re-enter data saves huge amounts of brokers’ time. It significantly boosts productivity and frees them to build relationships with existing and new clients, as well as focus on lucrative insurance sales which are too often an afterthought. It also massively reduces the scope for errors across the process, preventing problems which can lead to delays.

Automation delivers a better broking experience
and a more
satisfying customer journey, helping you to
build a
better broking business.

Automation delivers a better broking experience
and a more
satisfying customer journey, helping you to
build a
better broking business.

The final element to consider when searching for a successful broking system – and to create a successful broking business – is competition. Inefficiencies and manual processes have remained in the broking industry largely because there was little alternative for clients, for lenders and for those looking for a career in broking.

As new entrants to the industry proliferate and the best begin to achieve scale that’s changing. Even before alternative providers prove they have a sustainable business model, they are altering expectations: The promise of a mortgage decision in minutes (even if the reality doesn’t always match up) is fast eroding patience for week-long delays waiting for the mail.

The proliferation of automation, AI and other technology in other industries is also shaping the demands of both clients and professionals. By 2020, millennials – those born between the 1980s and the end of last century – will comprise half the UK workforce. Dubbed “digital natives”, they’ve grown up surrounded by digital technology, and it is pervasive throughout their lives. They expect services and workplaces to reflect this reality. The paper-based processes many adviser firms rely on appear increasingly anachronistic to this and other generations – as customers or employees.

Whether new entrants or established players, such as price comparison sites employing new technology, those able to provide a modern, fast, digitally-enhanced sales process will attract increasing business flows and the best talent in future. And those sticking with traditional processes will increasingly struggle to compete.

The final element to consider when searching for a successful broking system – and to create a successful broking business – is competition. Inefficiencies and manual processes have remained in the broking industry largely because there was little alternative for clients, for lenders and for those looking for a career in broking.

As new entrants to the industry proliferate and the best begin to achieve scale that’s changing. Even before alternative providers prove they have a sustainable business model, they are altering expectations: The promise of a mortgage decision in minutes (even if the reality doesn’t always match up) is fast eroding patience for week-long delays waiting for the mail.

The proliferation of automation, AI and other technology in other industries is also shaping the demands of both clients and professionals. By 2020, millennials – those born between the 1980s and the end of last century – will comprise half the UK workforce. Dubbed “digital natives”, they’ve grown up surrounded by digital technology, and it is pervasive throughout their lives. They expect services and workplaces to reflect this reality. The paper-based processes many adviser firms rely on appear increasingly anachronistic to this and other generations – as customers or employees.

Whether new entrants or established players, such as price comparison sites employing new technology, those able to provide a modern, fast, digitally-enhanced sales process will attract increasing business flows and the best talent in future. And those sticking with traditional processes will increasingly struggle to compete.

Cloud solutions to
future-proof your business

Most modern mortgage solutions are now cloud-hosted, with the solution accessed through a simple web browser. For small broking businesses this has significant advantages:

More than just a solution

To succeed in the new environment, brokers will need more than a software solution: The process is only as fast as its slowest part, so systems must cover the end-to-end mortgage journey. To do that requires a platform to support all the players in the process: to enable one-click instruction of solicitors, for example, and workflows aligned with lender systems, so that key steps such as the instruction for the valuation, issue of the mortgage offer, and exchange are automatically updated as they’re completed.  

With a platform connecting the broker, lender, client, and others, the most time-consuming processes can be completed in hours rather than days or weeks. Bank statements, wage slips and ID can be uploaded electronically by clients at home and automatically validated, eliminating delays waiting for the post; applications can be submitted to lenders with a single click; and open banking can take the hassle out of affordability checks. Every part of the process can be streamlined to improve the customer journey, reduce broker workloads and accelerate the process.

In a changing market, this is more important than ever. 5-year fixes have been growing in popularity for some time, and now make up around half of all mortgage purchases. Broker opportunities are therefore falling, so making the customer experience streamlined and efficient, and putting yourself in the best possible position to retain and attract business, is more important than ever. Technology is the answer.

As technology evolves and customer expectations grow, brokers need to work smarter, not harder.
An end-to-end integrated platform, like Smartr365, provides a firm foundation on which to build a business that can both survive thrive in the new broking environment.

Find out more about Smartr365

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As technology evolves and customer expectations grow, brokers need to work smarter, not harder.
An end-to-end integrated platform, like Smartr365, provides a firm foundation on which to build a business that can both survive thrive in the new broking environment.

Find out more about Smartr365

x