In the ever-evolving world of mortgage servicing, delivering an exceptional customer experience at every stage of the customer’s journey is a crucial differentiator.
Having spent my career focused on transforming and maintaining an outstanding customer experience specific to our industry, I’ve learned that creating a customer-focused team isn’t achieved through policy, technology, or even training. That’s because, more than anything else, it’s a matter of culture.
At Sagent, we understand that to truly transform the customer experience, leaders throughout the organization must act as culture ambassadors, equipped with the tools and shared priorities to drive innovation and enhance the customer’s experience. I’d like to share some of the strategies enabling us to execute with excellence as we build the future of servicing for our industry.
1. Empowering teams with an agile culture
Agility in mortgage servicing is what allows teams the freedom and ability to adapt quickly to changes and meet customer needs efficiently. Empowerment through a culture of positive coaching and development delivers outstanding outcomes, and fostering a positive company culture is key to achieving these results.
At Sagent, we have integrated agility into our mindset, mission, vision, and values (Relentless, Relevant, Reliable) to streamline workflows and foster a culture of continuous improvement— a strategy that we’re always fine-tuning.
One may ask, how does a culture with a focus on agile methodology truly enhance the customer experience?
Here are three reasons to help explain:
Anticipating change with rapid response: It provides the ability to quickly address customer concerns and implement feedback (in real time), ensuring a more responsive service experience.
Collaboration and transparency: Promotes cross-functional collaboration and transparency, breaking down silos and enabling teams to work towards a common goal—superior customer satisfaction.
Iterative improvements: By adopting an iterative approach, we continually refine our processes and technology, ensuring that our services evolve with the needs of our customers.
2. Open communication to strengthen collaboration
Effective communication is the lifeline of all organizations. Consistently gathering and listening to customer feedback allows us to develop creative solutions to meet their needs, especially in a market that constantly changes and adapts to new rules and regulations. Without effective communication, how can we create better, faster, and more efficient tools for the customers we all serve? Within our industry—for both service providers and servicers—it’s important that we are always listening to the feedback received from customers and finding ways to help them overcome challenges.
Open communication isn’t just for external purposes. It’s a tool that should be heavily rooted within every organization among all teams, starting with leadership and flowing throughout the organization to reach our front lines and those engaging directly with the customer.
Facilitating and encouraging open communication can, and will, enhance internal processes, helping produce positive outcomes.
Here’s how it’s possible.
Fosters trust and transparency: Open communication builds a foundation of trust and transparency among team members, making it easier to share ideas, provide constructive feedback, and resolve conflicts effectively.
Encourages innovation and creativity: When team members feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and suggestions openly, it encourages an environment where innovative ideas and creative solutions can flourish, leading to more effective problem-solving and project outcomes.
Enhances team cohesion and alignment: Clear and open communication ensures that everyone is on the same page regarding goals, responsibilities, and expectations, which enhances team cohesion and alignment, ultimately leading to better collaboration and productivity.
3. Fostering a customer-centric culture
A customer-centric culture is beyond relevant and essential for delivering outstanding service.
Placing the customer at the center of everything you do, ensuring that their needs and preferences guide strategic decisions is exactly the type of tool needed to drive innovation for the industry at large.
My colleagues in Product, Engineering, and Customer Success are always seeking out ways to improve internal processes, ensuring that every decision and action is geared towards enhancing the customer experience. Each one of our leaders, along with their teams, always puts themselves in the customer’s shoes, asking the questions that the customer would want answered—and that’s how successful outcomes are achieved.
By always listening to customer feedback, ideas, and needs, we overcome challenges and push forward in our mission to lead the evolution in loan servicing by solving its most complex problems. It’s without question that having a customer-centric culture will fully enhance the customer experience. Here are a few reasons why.
Empowered employees: We empower our employees to make decisions that prioritize customer satisfaction, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability.
Continuous feedback loop: By actively seeking and acting on customer feedback, we create a dynamic feedback loop that drives ongoing improvements in our services.
Customer advocacy: We advocate for our customers by addressing their concerns promptly and effectively, building trust and long-term loyalty.
Transforming the customer experience in mortgage servicing requires a holistic approach that integrates agile methods, open communication, and a customer-centric culture.
At Sagent, we are committed to leveraging these leadership attributes to create a seamless, responsive, and personalized service experience for our customers. By doing so, we not only meet but exceed their expectations, setting a new standard for excellence, and a better future of mortgage servicing.