Head to head: How have you adapted to change amid COVID-19?

Brokers are having to adjust to new technology and virtual meetings to keep their businesses on top of changes

By MPA

22 Jun 2020

Tony Imbruglia
Director
My Mortgage Professionals

“Thinking I was going to have a lot of time on my hands (which it turns out I don’t), I wanted to completely re-engineer my business processes during lockdown. My website has been rewritten; I wanted visitors to be able to contact me easily, so I added an online booking system, a Zoom link and a login link to my client portals. The booking system checks my availability and integrates with my Outlook account. Outlook has some great features that I have implemented, like sending client emails directly to my CRM. I have also subscribed to a service that records and transcribes phone calls, which I upload to my client notes, and I’m using DocuSign to deliver various forms. These technologies have streamlined my business and e ciencies. I now feel more in control of my time.”

Kelly Cameron
Director
Get Real Finance

“Since COVID-19 hit we have bought laptops for all staff at Get Real Finance and learned how to Zoom, transfer calls and all work remotely. We talk our clients through loan docs, and we only do face-to face sign-ups when required. We have fl exible working arrangements for staff who are homeschooling. We renovated the o ce – repainting, recarpeting and fi xing our cabling. We also hired out-of-work clients to scan, name and fi le 3,800 old fi les, so that we are 100% electronic in readiness to move to cloud-based storage, as we want to off shore our processing soon. And to spread some love, we hired an out-of-work chef to make and deliver 170 handmade food care packs to clients in fi nancial hardship.”

Vishal Gupta
Director
Unique Finance Services

“We have always operated in an online tools and cloud-based environment, so changing to off site working was somewhat risk-free. Once the lockdown was imposed, we put in place our ‘non-face-to-face operations’ mode and ceased to have clients coming to our o ce. We also implemented a daily virtual touch-base with the team to ensure we maintained productivity, engagement and morale. The overload of COVID-19 updates on lender policy changes was overwhelming, but we adapted to a new way of doing business, as most of our processes were taking longer to complete than usual – like ID verifi cation, additional questions asked to verify clients’ circumstances due to COVID-19, and extra time taken to update, inform and educate clients on the market and changes to our processes.”

Preparing for a post-COVID future

Now is the time to look after your mental wellbeing and review your business, says PLAN Australia CEO Anja Pannek. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, brokers can work to future-proof their businesses by maintaining a strong connection with customers and re ecting on their processes and strategies. While technology has long been an important part of running a brokerage, Pannek says it is even more integral now. “Many of these tools have been available for years, but brokers are embracing them now more than ever before,” she says. “My advice to brokers is to continue to embrace technology and look for ways to leverage the systems available to continue to build a more e cient and streamlined business.”