As the busiest time of year for brokers is well under way,
Australian Broker spoke with some brokerage owners to identify their hot tips behind hiring the best brokers for your business.
Jason Arnold, managing director of JAK Property Finance has recently hired a new commercial broker said a good tip is to build relationships with your existing networks – because you never know when they may want a change.
“When I wanted to hire an experienced commercial broker, I essentially targeted a strong commercial performer from within one of the major banks that I had direct experience with over a couple of years.
“Now I have been in touch with more potential candidates, of which two are within banks and two are current brokers within other firms. I make an effort to keep in touch over a coffee so I can monitor where they are at and discuss my business.”
When hiring new to industry brokers, Arnold says personality is a stand out for him. He has also recently hired a new junior credit analyst.
“My new credit analyst is about two years out of university. I was asked if I could have a coffee and career chat with this person, who ended up holding a personality that I thought would match the business from both from a cultural aspect and in terms of potential skill set,” he said.
Although, Arnold also says that you have to ensure you can see long-term potential when hiring any junior brokers, and have a solid career pathway mapped out for them if you are going to invest in training them.
“The idea for my junior credit analyst is to learn all aspects of the commercial and residential business with a three to five year goal to look at converting them into a commercial & residential mortgage broker.
“Moving forward, a good balance of junior credit analysts becoming originators combined with targeting key industry performers is my key strategy.”
Aaron Christie-David, owner manager of a
Mortgage Choice franchise in South Sydney is a former Commonwealth Bank marketing manager who recently had a career change and set up shop as a mortgage broker. He says don’t be afraid to think outside of the box when it comes to taking new people on board.
“Historically, brokers have come from a lending background but when I came through the induction program I met people from many other backgrounds such as human resources or teaching. I think there is a real shift to become a broker from people who have sales and marketing or relationship management backgrounds.
“If you are customer focused and good with people then you will do well in this business. The industry has welcomed me with open arms as a marketer and it has been fantastic to get the opportunity to be a broker.”
When hiring for his business, Christie-David says technical skills will come second.
“When I’m assessing potential employees, their personality is what is important for me. I don’t hire someone just for their skill set, but for their personality and willingness to learn. If they can fit in with the workplace culture and they are keen to hit the ground running, then they can learn and develop the skill set on the job. Even when I was hiring for marketing jobs at
CBA, I would focus on personality and drive. I think this is important for any workplace.”
