Advanced Dashboards Will Help The Mortgage Industry Overcome Resistance To New Technology
Dashboards have become ubiquitous in many industries as a way to encapsulate vast amounts of data into consumable, usable information, particularly since people have become accustomed to digesting information in bite-size, actionable pieces. Companies use these executive summary tools internally to track performance metrics, provide project management updates, and manage action items and timelines. Externally, consumer-facing dashboards can be an efficient way to communicate with clients, visualize customer-specific information and prompt next steps. In the mortgage industry, advanced technology and data-informed automation are transforming the dynamics of mortgage lending for both loan officers and borrowers—and dashboards are increasingly an integral part of this transformation. Dashboards can distill vast content into user-friendly information that improves operations, workflow, marketing and borrower communications.
Also, dashboards, done right, have the potential of overcoming loan officer resistance to technology, which historically has slowed, and even doomed, the implementation of critical technology at some companies. A key challenge for LOs in adopting new technology is the perception that it’s too complicated and doesn’t provide them with flexibility to customize how they use it—something newer dashboards can deliver. For instance, our new dashboard is fully configurable, allowing LOs to decide what information they need to see and how they want to view it. They can adjust and move things around, all within customized lender guidelines. That’s one of the key value propositions of advanced dashboards as opposed to traditional software platforms that merely provided a queue of tasks to be done without the ability to customize how the information is presented and manipulated. These new features give LOs ownership over their domain to evaluate and interact with data in the way they deem appropriate.
Many LOs, for better or worse, have been reluctant to adopt technology that uses automated communications because they would rather be the primary communications conduits for borrowers. So, if there is a need for the borrower to provide new information, many LOs see this as an opportunity to connect with them to make the request. There are obvious challenges with this approach. For example, there isn’t consistency among all LOs in terms of how responsive, accurate and timely they are with their communications. These inconsistencies can contribute to lost business, increased compliance risk, or, at the very least, frustrated and dissatisfied borrowers. A succinct, user-friendly borrower dashboard eliminates these issues by providing timely, automated communications and action items for both the LO and the borrower.
Perhaps the most valuable benefit of mortgage dashboards is their ability to track progress and provide timely prompts for next steps required by both the lender and borrower. LOs have numerous borrowers at various stages of the application and closing process at any given time, and dashboards can provide specific next steps and action items they need to take. This removes the subjectivity and inconsistencies that can come with LOs making these decisions on their own. An advanced dashboard will flag activities that originators need to prioritize in a given day, and these “action needed” prompts improve efficiencies, reduce application-to-close timelines and improve the overall borrower experience. Especially in the early, pre-application phase, being able to respond quickly to prospective borrowers may mean the difference in winning or losing the application. As the application progresses, dashboards that provide real time and coordinated communications between the LO and borrower mean everyone is on the same page, at the same moment, regarding the loan status and open items that require attention.
In addition to improving the borrower loan experience, dashboards provide valuable LO performance metrics for management, increasing both accountability and productivity. Historically, lenders haven’t had the need—driven in part because they didn’t have the ability—to manage productivity the way mortgage servicers have. With new dashboard capabilities and features, that’s changing and giving managers invaluable data to manage their teams more effectively. Managers can see at a glance which LOs are performing, and to what level, as well as who isn’t making the grade. By automating next steps, pipeline management and prospecting activity, dashboards level the playing field and, as a result, identify weaker-performing LOs. Similarly, dashboards also improve compliance with features that force LOs to review specific information related to compliance before progressing to the next step in the origination process. This, too, helps with LO productivity and performance across the board.
By providing prompts for next steps that need attention and clarifying daily priorities via a dashboard, management can eliminate reliance on LOs making these decisions, giving them more time to be more productive. Dashboards can also deliver uniformity in terms of how and what information is presented to LOs as well as how loan activity is managed across geographic boundaries. For instance, if an LO is licensed in California, Oregon and Washington, but isn’t paying as much attention to Washington due to low volume, management can use the dashboard to track that activity and put measures in place to hold the LO more accountable. Our dashboard, for instance, tracks volume over time so that LOs and lenders can see trends in their closing and funding activity over the course of months and even years. Further improving productivity and competitive advantage, our dashboard presents users with national mortgage rate averages and information on how LTV and credit scores are affecting pricing in their market, allowing originators to evaluate how they stack up against the competition.
LOs and originators know all too well that in today’s lending environment every loan counts. As such, they are keen to find tools that will increase pull through, shorten turn times and provide an excellent borrower experience each and every time. LOs can be convinced to use the latest technology, but only if it can be done on their terms. Advanced dashboards are helping pave the way to increased technology adoption and a better mortgage loan experience for all concerned.
Jessica Evett, VP, Product and Software Development at Cloudvirga, a cloud-based, scalable platform that offers point of sale solutions in the Home Mortgage sector for Retail and Wholesale Lenders; including banks, credit unions and independent mortgage bankers and brokers. She can be reached at [email protected].
