Currently, and like most businesses, our team finds itself in the most difficult working environment ever seen in the UK. During this very busy period, which offers both challenge and opportunity, our brokers have undertaken more elements of the administration process.

Previously, our hiring policy for administrators was that we would readily take somebody with little experience and train them in house while sponsoring them to study the CeMap, providing the platform for them to become an established broker. This has proved a successful model. For example, Carmen Green joined six years ago with no industry experience and is now CeMap qualified and a well-established and experienced broker.

Costly method

However, this has also been a costly method, with some staff joining and not managing to reach the required standard, and others absorbing the training and completing the sponsored CeMap qualification, only to leave once they were truly able to aid in growing the business.

These experiences have led us to be very mindful of the ambitions and personal circumstances of those who join us. Potential hires must show they are in no rush to progress to the role of broker until they have spent a solid amount of time gaining experience as an administrator, or have been a broker in the past and are seeking a more flexible and supportive role.

Precious resources

In the environment of the pandemic where businesses are working at full stretch, the resources of in-house training become more precious. Therefore it is good practice to look for those with industry experience who do not need extensive base-level training. This approach results in increasingly experienced candidates.

Our most recent hire, Emily Teo, is a perfect example of this and is a template of the type of person we now seek for vacancies. Emily was a broker in the past; most importantly, she knows what support to look for in an administrator. She is also CeMap qualified, meaning she is very knowledgeable about the mortgage process and compliance.

Emily has proved to us the difference that finding the right people can make to the office environment and she has set the bar very high for our future recruitment policy.

As a business, the challenge is finding candidates who match these tougher criteria, while remembering that we are all people first.

Agreeing clear pathways, we can achieve our aims and ambitions together.

Rachel Lummis, owner, Xpress Mortgages