A host of intermediaries told Mortgage Solutions that it had become more difficult to fill advice roles lately, with quality brokers less willing to risk leaving the comfort of their existing jobs.
It comes as data from the Office for National Statistics shows that unemployment has dropped to just 3.5 per cent, the lowest figure since 1974, as employers battle to fill the 1.2m vacancies.
Starting from scratch
It has definitely become challenging to recruit quality brokers, according to Aaron Forster, director at Create Finance. He suggested that the market uncertainty meant brokers were becoming more cautious about moving, since they may need to leave their client bank and have to start from scratch.
He continued: “We are actively looking for quality brokers. The mortgage market hasn’t impacted our plans to take on advisers. It’s just been that there are less advisers available to take on and this has therefore affected our desired recruitment plan.”
Jamie Lennox, director of Dimora Mortgages, said that his firm has been looking for an adviser for a number of months, but has been faced with a lack of suitable candidates.
He added: “With many advisers being heavily reliant on a pipeline of commissions, which won’t pay for a number of months, they are reluctant to leave as they won’t receive any future payments.”
Easy pickings?
Mike Staton, director of Staton Mortgages, suggested that the recruitment pool had “thinned out massively”, adding: “I think many brokers are waiting to see what happens to the mortgage market before they leave their ‘comfort blanket’ of the corporate world.”
Staton said that during the pandemic, mortgage broking had become more attractive to those outside the industry, often because they either had the time to retrain or because “they saw this industry as easy pickings”.
He argued that the latter group would soon be on the way out, as they realise that “the mortgage industry is a difficult one, always evolving and faster paced than most”.
Making the most of what you have
According to Staton, while there is still plenty of interest in advice roles within his business, the standard of applicants has dropped.
He added: “I am a big believer in developing what we have and have never wanted to mass recruit. It’s important that a broker is given a good six months to bed in and learn the culture of a business before another broker comes on board.”
Staton emphasised that while developing brokers is a time-consuming task, it can be “fruitful if done correctly”.
Richard Campo, founder of Rose Capital Partners, said that when his firm has looked to recruit over the last couple of years, it has been for apprentice or trainee roles, and has “always been overwhelmed” by the response.
He continued: “We were planning on expanding, but that plan is on ice currently. We have got more admin and back office support in place to maximise what our advisers can do, and are also integrating more tech to make onboarding new clients slicker, as opposed to simply putting more bums on seats.
“When things are a little clearer, we plan to bring in more experienced advisers and will be looking nationally, not just locally as we aim to have national coverage in the company.”
Never turn down the chance to talk to good people
Rob Gill, managing director at Altura Finance, emphasised that mortgage broking is a “people business” which makes finding the right recruits incredibly important.
He continued: “We interview regularly, never turn down the chance to talk to good people, and recruit when they become available. We’ve had dialogue with advisers we’ve really wanted for a year or more before they’ve come on board. Equally, we’ve met someone for a coffee when we weren’t really looking and come away thinking ‘actually they’re great, let’s find a place for them’.”
Gill suggested that by being consistent in this approach, and even helping some advisers find other homes if Altura wasn’t right for them, was key to its long-term recruitment strategy.
The rise of the counter offer
Pete Gwilliam, owner of Virtus Search ‒ a headhunting business which works with mortgage lenders ‒ said that recruitment challenges were not limited to the broker sector.
He noted that the pandemic had caused people to reconsider their work/life balance, and firms that can not tune into that mindset are finding it hard to hire the best talent.
Gwilliam added that anyone looking to recruit also has to battle against the counter offer, with employers increasingly trying to convince staff to reverse their intention to leave.
He said: “The value someone brings to a business is brought sharply into focus when they hand in their notice. The fact that an employer has effectively denied the individual the chance to be paid according to their value during their tenure is quickly overlooked, as the individual is made to feel more wanted than they have ever been.”
Building a brighter workspace
Addressing the stressful nature of the industry, and the threat of broker burnout, can help a business stand out when it comes to recruiting ‒ and retaining ‒ staff.
Forster noted that his firm has moved to a new, light-filled office space this week. “Our motivation behind this move was to give our team somewhere they love coming to everyday. After all, we each spend a huge amount of our life at work.”
Campo said that he makes it clear to recruits from day one that mortgage broking is not “an easy life”, in order to manage expectations.
He added that his firm has worked this year with a positive psychologist, Graham Keen, to help manage the threat of burnout.
“Burnout is bad for everyone and I feel we are in a much better place to deal with that now following the work we did with Graham. I would strongly suggest other firms take such steps.”
