By Cindy Silva

Three months ago, the entire world of servicing changed in an instant as the COVID-19 pandemic led to millions of job losses and a mountain of forbearance requests. Before that, nobody could have imagined where we would be today. But even as businesses around the country begin to reopen, it’s clear COVID-19 will continue to impact our lives and our work for some time.

And yet, with every crisis, difficulty, or challenge, we know there are also opportunities to learn, grow, and improve. That applies to every company in our industry. It also applies to people, and I would argue, women in particular, especially those of us who have had to pull double duty by working from home and raising families. Which is why I believe the challenges we’ve faced over the past three months will undoubtedly lead to a greater opportunity to develop professionally and become leaders.

A Feeling of Déjà Vu

The Great Recession and the foreclosure crisis were still happening when I entered the mortgage servicing industry a decade ago. Starting my career in customer service, I clearly remember the emotional calls I had with upset borrowers; in fact, I can still hear them today. It was a very tense time. All I heard were complaints from borrowers who were facing foreclosure, many of whom felt they weren’t getting support. I wasn’t alone; it was happening at every mortgage servicer. Ten years later, I’m hearing those same voices, seeing the same emails, and experiencing the same uncertainty and desperation.

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