How do you find the time to integrate new loan officers?

When you're the head o a small company, it's hard to find time to orient new recruits. That's why delegation is so important

How do you find the time to integrate new loan officers?
You have been writing about recruiting. But my problem is that I can't spend the time to help integrate new loan officers into our systems. We are a small company and I do 30% of the production. How do I solve this problem?
--Donald from Iowa

Whether you are a small company, or perhaps a remote branch of a larger company, I absolutely agree that I would not be bringing in new sales people without an "onboarding" or "orientation" program in place. Here is the good news. Even though you are the top producer and manager/owner, and you are most qualified to integrate them, you don't have to be the orientation point person. This is where delegation becomes most important. Last week, I spoke about mentorship programs. Assigning the new loan officer to a mentor who has the primary responsibility to integrate them is a great strategy.

This does not mean that the new person follows the mentor around for a month to "absorb" the information. There needs to be a formal agenda. And the mentor does not have to deliver all training, but should be responsible for making sure it gets done. For example, sitting with a processor to learn about file submissions. Or a session with you regarding marketing strategies. Doing it this way contributes to the enhancement of the building a team within the organization. Speaking of delegation, this trait is important on the production side as well. I will address that point next week.
--Dave Hershman

Dave Hershman has been the leading author and a top speaker for the industry for decades with six books authored and hundreds of articles published. His website is www.originationpro.com. If you have a reaction to this commentary or another question you would like answered in this column? Email Dave directly at [email protected].