What are mission statements in the Mortgage industry?

Anyone that has been in the mortgage industry for a decade or more has seen dramatic and incredible change over the years. The industry has consolidated, changed and is once again booming. Through this change companies have struggled to identify who or what they are to their employees. Are we a growth oriented giant? Are we a family company without innovation, are we a mid-sized company trying to determine who we are going to become? The big question becomes....do we represent what we think we represent? Has the top tier management lost a connection to the field and the reality of the mission? All too often loan officers make a move based on what is presented to them on a multifaceted experience. This would be the website, recruiting site, general web presence, and ultimately the recruiter or manager sharing their pitch. The issue today is they rarely align with the reality of the true culture, mission and vision of the company. This is what I call the great mortgage divide. We have all experienced it. We fall in love with this perception we created from what is presented, however when we enter the room and spend some time we realize the company is something all together different. Rarely is it intentional to mislead...it is caused by directionless growth and change without an honest evaluation of who the company is. It is often a disappointing experience for mortgage professionals after the reality sets in that the honeymoon ended with the offer.

So that brings me to the mission...the vision and the reality. Many companies spend countless hours in a boardroom with top level management and outside consultants coming up with a clever mission statements based in a gaping disconnect with a reality that no longer exists in the field. You hear the common cliches shared by countless companies stating they are a family company, client oriented company, fun culture, caring company, community focused company and so on. More often than not the reality is not at all what the stated mission and vision are. You find yourself in a company void of all the traits you were sold on. Soon you realize you are a cog in the machine and not truly part of anything special and the company is no different than the last. It is wildly disappointing.

So what aligns the mission statement and vision? Management that is truly engaged and has their finger on the pulse of their workforce. In the case of mortgage companies it means the executive management is still active in the nitty-gritty of the day in-day out reality of what the company does and is. They are open and receptive to feedback. They know their people and often engage with them. This is rare anymore, but it does exist. You know it exists if the turnover is low and when people land there they stay. The mission is not a clever catchy slogan but rather speaks to the reality of the company. This is only possible through a thoroughly engaged management team that is not lost in layers and layers of hierarchy. That is where the message gets blurred through the clutter of endless area, regional, and divisional management. The story becomes a sugar coated message to pass on to the next rank in order to appease the endless hierarchy. There are rare companies out there that the message is aligned and you do matter and from the loan assistant all the way to the President of the company. All parts of the organization generally see the same mission...has the same vision. It is genuine and real. From the office in New Jersey to the office in Kentucky everyone agrees the mission and vision are real. They are part of a family and they can make an impact in their organization. The mission was not bought and paid for to look enticing, but is the reality of the organization. If you are ever in that position where you really love the mission and vision of the company and are considering a move to, dig deep and do your research. Talk to the branch managers. Talk to loan officers. Talk to the support staff. Talk to the receptionist. The company that reflects the same from the receptionist all the way to the top with everyone in between has an aligned mission and vision. That is rare but it does exist. Read your companies mission statement today and ask yourself does it align with your reality or is it simply a feel good disconnected lie?