COACHING THE KNOWLEDGE WORKER

Say the word training in front of ten employees and there will be ten different visions of what that word means. Ask them to state what training means to them or what training they think they need and five out of ten will stare back blankly with no answer. Does it mean they are not engaged in the conversation? Or that they do not want training? Not at all! Many people can not conceptualize what exactly will help them get better at their jobs or become a better team member.

Enter the coach. The talk around the office is always “We are a team”. ”The Blue Team”. “The Red Team”. The Processing Team. The Funding Team. And yet many companies still have managers and supervisors. Active mortgage teams need leaders and coaches not managers and supervisors. A truly awesome winning team is lead into battle and coached to victory. So what has this to do with training?

Take a star basketball player for example. Early in life he doesn’t know a ball can go up from his hands and into the basket. Someone has to show him (training). Practicing the throw daily and perfecting the skill is up to the individual. Soon he becomes a very important part of a winning team….maybe even a superstar. But even a superstar can not see the errors he makes on the court – the slip up while passing, the lost moment that created the missed shot. His coach sees it. His coach tells him quickly, directly, clearly. If the problem isn’t corrected the coach arranges for the ballplayer to take additional training practice. The ball player can then continue to add value to the team and help it reach its end goal.

The teams in mortgage banking have a clear end goal - to get borrowers into the company’s products that are right for them so they will make their payments on time and refer other people to the mortgage company. To get to this end goal the team members play different positions. There are those who use knowledge to produce borrowers and those who use knowledge that will be the basis for the action of closing. Part of the “team” that can not go unnoticed is the technology that is used. Technical infrastructure to the mortgage banking team is like a good solid ball to the Knicks. It better bounce and it better not be square! Mortgage banking technology enables the capture, storage and delivery of the final loan product to those who need it when they need it. But this does not happen without the knowledge worker’s involvement.

One look at a collection of all the documents used in mortgage banking quickly tells the story of the unleashed knowledge that lies as much between documents as within documents. This unleashed knowledge is the direct result of the knowledge of the mortgage company’s employees. The cliché, garbage in garbage out, is not even close to being justifiable in this venue since that phrase is so readily applied to data entry errors. Errors on mortgage documents are a bit more involved than a data entry error and much more costly. It is well worth the time and money it takes to keep the mortgage employee trained, skillful and fully aware of the technology in use.

Coaching the Knowledge Worker

Technology influences are very real. But by itself, technology is only the enabling layer. Knowledge is the key to unlocking the data and information of the technology layer. Knowledge is the ability to turn information and data into effective action.

Coaching the knowledge worker requires skill and a solid understanding of the data itself. The coach must know what information is required, what it should look like, what purpose it has and how it is derived from technology’s enabling layer. Data, best described here, is a form of measurement, i.e. A 30 year loan, 8% interest rate, etc. Information is the statement of fact about the measurements. Example:

APR: Required by Truth in Lending Act to represent the percentage relationship of the total finance charge to the amount of the loan.

Basis Point: One-one hundredth of one percent. Used to describe the amount of change in yield in many debt instruments, including mortgages.

These statements tell about the effects of a particular action but they do not tell how to act in future, similar situations. Translating data and information into knowledge is conceptually an easy step, but in mortgaging, with its changing rules and borrower complexities it is in practice, very difficult. This is why mortgage training never ceases. There is always something new to learn and new ways to practice it. Keeping the training practices alive and readily usable in the workplace should be the focus of every mortgage coach.

A mortgage coach must be observant to catch mistakes when team members are weak, have the experience to give correcting tips and the dedication to lead in continuous training practice. At times it is quite easy to see when the ball gets dropped and a borrower funds elsewhere. It is just as hazardous, although not as immediately visible, to have all the disclosures on a particular loan product go out the door incorrectly. The coach has to have an eye on the data, the information and the output action all of the time, in every direction, on each team member. Not an easy task and one not to be taken lightly. While being watchful the coach must also mentor top workers to help them polish their skills and to learn to take on new ones. Every coach wants to work with the superstar to make the team stand out. But even the regular, average worker can be a superstar with a little coaching. Struggling or under-performing employees may take up the coach’s time. However, working through deficiencies and keeping those employees at training practice can reap huge rewards for the company as workers gain from such experience. Later they can apply the knowledge they lacked prior.

The output of the mortgage company’s economic activity is heavily dependent on the knowledge and talent of individuals. To exploit the knowledge advantage in the marketplace the company must develop internal, well coached teams and training practices that can not easily be imitated. Employees know when they are on a winning team. It looks and feels like a competitive group. It is a team of people dedicated to devising the general principles that, when applied, will expose the weakness of the competition eliminating them from the borrower’s consideration altogether. The winning team functions as “knowledge analysts”, driving toward extraction of the principles that make their team the best. Through superior coaching they are able to deliver the ‘silver bullets’ of their team’s features and benefits to the sales reps who use them to close even the most difficult prospect.

In summation, coaching people to achieve superior results is an ongoing activity. Training and practice never stop.

Client Tip ID: 6