Well-known broker Mhairi MacLeod has revealed why she chose to outsource her brokerage’s back-office operations and the advantages it provides.
MacLeod (pictured), who made the 2021 Mortgage Global 100 list and won Australian Broker of the Year at the 2020 Australian Mortgage Awards, ran a webinar on outsourcing on Tuesday.
The Astute Ability Finance Group principal said she met with Bula Outsourcing to find a hassle free, workable staff solution for onboarding her new team members, and running other back-office duties.
MacLeod said these tasks were becoming a roadblock to the growth of her Central Coast broking business and it forced her to think outside the box.
“The onboarding process is slick as my team knows the process well and my staff has a thorough understanding of our industry and what we are working with,” she said.
MacLeod recently returned from visiting her staff in Fiji and in the webinar revealed how outsourcing to Fiji helped grow her business, lowered labour costs, and took the drama out of the recruitment challenges brokers face.
“It's just about understanding how it all works and what that would look like within your business,” she said. “In the webinar we had a large audience with brokers looking at outsourcing either short or long term.”
MacLeod said she received lots of positive feedback from brokers who attended the webinar and three brokers signed up to Bula Outsourcing shortly after the session.
“For brokers not having to be bogged down with payroll, taxes and HR, it takes a lot of back-end pressure off them so they can get out there and write more business,” she said.
MacLeod said outsourcing could be a great ready-made solution.
“My staff have a good understanding of the back end of my business, and they can use portals and systems. They really are a high-calibre team,” she said.
MacLeod said the Fijian staff understood compliance, were great on the telephone, worked the same hours as her onshore team, and provided Astute Ability with a cost-effective solution.
For brokers who were considering outsourcing, MacLeod said they should conduct their own research and find out what is important to their business.
“You can build strong relationships with them and treat them as part of your team and use them for many different resources. For me, having peace of mind with HR and payroll is key,” she said.
“Ultimately, outsourcing is something busy brokers should look at to take some pressure off.”
