By:Beatriz Camacho, Strategic Growth Partner at TORQ, powered by Hammerhouse, LLC

Everyone has bad days on the job. And things like a long commute or your company getting acquired can make quitting or looking elsewhere seem mighty tempting. While acting on these temptations wasn’t much of an option a few years ago when many were thankful just to have a job, employees can now be more choosy when it comes to things like work environment and pay. A recent study by Indeed.com indicates that about 38% of employees will make 2013 the year they change companies.

Having been a recruiter for most my career, I’ve learned that you have to go beyond skill sets to find the right fit for both the potential employer and job seeker. There needs to be synergy when it comes to things like company culture and operational structure. In fact, there are many factors to examine when deciding whether or not a job is the right fit. If you’re a job seeker or you’re on the fence on whether or not you want to stick around at your current job, let me share with you six core job factors our company uses to help you make a well-thought-out decision. Do a quick list of pros and cons in each category, then identify the ones that are most crucial to your career growth. Read More >

Hammerhouse has released the results from our 3rd Annual Survey of Originator Opinions.  The annual survey asked originators for their opinions on critical issues facing the mortgage industry and impacting their performance of their jobs.  Of the significant sample of more than 350 active mortgage loan originators that responded, about 81 percent have been originating mortgage loans for more than 10 years. Read More >

Hammerhouse has completed our 3^rd Annual Mortgage Industry Survey.  Thank you to all who took the time to participate this year.  We are in the process of compiling results of more than 350 participant responses and will have them posted on April 22^nd.

Congratulations to Julie O. from Maryland the WINNER of our Custom iPad!

Hammerhouse strives to validate and affirm “why” and “what” is important to top producers and leaders in our business. This can be achieved through alignment with the Six Core Components (Leadership, Culture, Business, Operations, Technology & Geography). Model-Matching to production and organization can create a very strong, tenured, productive, and mutually beneficial relationship between both parties.

Thank you again for everyone’s input this year!

If you have not already participated in our Hammerhouse, 3rd Annual Mortgage Industry Survey for Mortgage Producers and Leaders, here is the link 2013 Hammerhouse Survey. One lucky participant will win you an iPad. Survey will be ending April 8, 2013 and your input will help validate what is important to professionals and best in class of the mortgage industry.

One of the biggest differences we see in those who CLOSE and those who DO NOT CLOSE is that some people are more competitive than others. Recruiting is a game, as is growing a referral based book of business and developing relationships with referral partners. There is a lot of competition out in the marketplace for talent, deals and new partners to get business from. The reference to being a ‘game’ is merely to point out the obvious; there are winners and losers in games. Which one are you?  Which one do you want to be? Read More >

Win an iPad. Participate in our 3^rd annual Mortgage industry survey for mortgage producers and leaders by clicking on this link. It contains 22 questions and takes less than 3 minutes. Your input will help validate what is important to the best of the best in the mortgage industry. Click Here

Effectively dealing with distraction is a lost art that many sales and business development professionals and leaders have not mastered or embraced. More often than not, during the execution of your well thought out plans obstacles develop that WILL hinder your ability to continue on your original course. From where we sit, we believe 80% or more of sales and business development include ‘Time Blocking’ or ‘Focus Hours’ as part of effective planning.  Invariably unplanned issues or events occur and create obstacles to the plan.  These obstacles are known as distractions. Distractions can surface at any point in your day, from the time you leave your home, to the time you finish your last task. Distractions can emerge and derail your focus until you are able to get back on course.  But instead of allowing the stress of distractions to sap your energy and reduce your effectiveness, learn to turn distractions into strengths and create more opportunity for yourself. Here are a few simple things to consider about distractions and how you can create Strength in this Weakness: Read More >

Hammerhouse, LLC has developed its annual comprehensive survey of loan officers covering the six key business components within the mortgage origination industry: Leadership, Culture, Business, Operations, Technology and Geography. All mortgage loan originators (bank, mortgage bank, correspondent or broker) are invited to complete the survey. Your answers are confidential and will not be shared except in aggregate analysis. Your participation is encouraged as we will use the results to educate the lenders within the industry regarding the perceptions of their most important personnel and to advocate for improvements that will benefit loan officers, leaders, lenders and consumers alike in 2013.

As a way to say thank you for your participation, Hammerhouse is raffling off a new 16GB IPad (a value of up to $500). If you choose to enter the raffle you will have the opportunity to enter your contact information at the end of the survey (again this information will remain confidential). Participating in the raffle and providing your information is completely optional. Only those who enter their information will be entered into the raffle. Entries must be made at the time the survey is taken and no later than April 8, 2013. We will be drawing, announcing and posting the raffle winner on our website April 15th, 2013.

More information coming soon!

Each and everyone receiving this email likely has or manages a pipeline of passive and active candidates they are recruiting, as well as, having their own way of communicating with these  recruits. With that in mind, can you clearly articulate what the ACTION step is between now and the next interaction with your candidate is? Communication during the recruiting process can be a detriment or an advantage when you get that shot at landing a top recruit. Consistent feedback that we hear from our candidates regarding other companies that are recruiting them are, for example, ‘I haven’t heard from them this week,’ OR ‘they said I should have something soon, but I haven’t heard anything.’ We use this to our advantage. Read More >

We at Hammerhouse are often approached by producers and production managers about how to validate and quantify a book of business. Specifically, we get asked: ‘HOW can I measure MY Business and whether or not it is Transferable?’ The real value of knowing the answer to this question is in understanding the sustainability of your business given the ebbs and flows of the rate environment as well as the impending  ascent of a predominantly purchase market. The bigger question is…is it you or your company that your current customers and referral partners are doing business with?  .Is your current book of business a result of a specific product, expertise in the market, marketing service agreement OR is it because of you (meaning the business would continue regardless of the business name on your card) In a market like this, most business is good business. But when the market invariably shifts, how can you prepare if  you are unsure about the State of the Union of your own business? Read More >

2012 was another excellent year for our industry. How were your year-end results relative to your goals? Every year your ‘crystal ball’ allows you to predict the future and depending on how good you are at honing in on the metrics, your crystal ball becomes more accurate over time. The question is: Do you have a business plan to INCREASE your bottom line through talent infilling and strategic growth initiatives in 2013?

This past year, Hammerhouse continued to make significant strides in innovating the way we help our clients execute talent infilling and expansion efforts on both a micro and a macro level. Our results have produced internal growth within our own team as well as a new division to support the non-sales needs of our clients while maintaining a 12-month rolling retention rate of 87% for people we have placed. Our clients’ average production per loan officer/team was also significantly above 2011 numbers. Read More >