The pandemic obviously caused a lot of devastation, but from a workflow perspective, it did produce some benefits.
Consumers no longer expect to meet their mortgage broker in person. That means brokers can be anywhere when they meet with clients – their office, their home or even the beach. It also means clients can be anywhere – whether in the same suburb or a different state altogether.
But there’s no point running a remote business if you can’t do it productively.
It is possible for brokers to work remotely effectively. To make it a reality, you need to do these three things.
1. Set clear expectations
Every member of the team – you included – needs to have clear tasks to perform, clear targets to reach and clear boundaries to observe.
That way, everyone will understand that even though they’re not in an office, they still need to act professionally.
2. Embrace systems and processes
As part of those high standards, you need to document all your processes and create clear systems.
When everyone works in the same physical location, you can have a quick face-to-face chat anytime you want to clarify something confusing or check on the progress of an application.
When you work in different locations, though, that’s not possible. That’s why systems and processes are vital. With those in place, if someone is unclear about something, all they need to do is check the process or follow the system. In this way, 99% of questions will be answered in advance.
And what about the other 1%? Well, create a system and process for that too. For example, people might be required to raise issues at a specific time (e.g. the daily morning meeting) or discuss them in a specific way (e.g. a designated Slack channel).
3. Place a premium on communication
You need to communicate regularly with your team, and they need to communicate regularly with each other. Otherwise, your culture will suffer.
That means you need to have scheduled team meetings. This might be a quick catch-up you hold at 9am each morning to discuss work in progress or ‘drinks’ you hold every Friday afternoon to maintain relationships.
Also, you need to encourage team members to hold impromptu conversations with each other, whether by Slack, Zoom or phone. This could be to discuss important work matters or have fun ‘watercooler’ chats.
Auctus Coaching can show you how to run a profitable remote business. Book your discovery call with Christian Paterson today or fill in this online form for more information.
