Building Brand Credibility through Process Management
With many teams transitioning to remote work over the past year, eyes have been opened to the importance of having a centralized location for process management. Too many workflows and processes were not documented even when teams were working together in person.
Q: What is process management?
A: Process management is the concept that each process your organization uses has a series of steps that are consistent, repeatable, and generally follow a common workflow. Your brand identity relies on cohesive process management so that clients have a consistent and positive experience working with you over time and across programs.
Your client's opinion of your brand is directly impacted by their experience with individual programs.
How are brand credibility and reliability impacted when team members appear to be working in silos?
Imagine an organization where the intake manager knows just the basic information needed during the inquiry phase. In the next room, loan officers keep their various processes and best practices in their head or jotted down on notebook sheets. In the front office, the underwriter knows what is required, but has little transparency into customer feedback and is always frustrated by bottlenecks in data collection. The list goes on! If this sounds like your team, it’s likely time for a revamp of your process management systems.
Imagine instead a process that is laid out clearly, with steps outlined for all stakeholders from the get-go. This includes applicants, loan officers, and organization executives.
Here’s feedback from real clients who are involved in a more transparent application process:
"This program allows a substantial volume of information and documents to be uploaded and tracked very easily."
“It’s like playing a kids puzzle. The process is already traced. All I have to do now is to place the right piece to its right slot. Easy."
“It keeps everything in one place and organized. The best part is the messages you can send and reply to for each submission.”
Centralized process management benefits your team internally, and provides a clear roadmap for your customer.
As you work with clients across different programs, they will have confidence knowing that their experience working with you will be a good one. Consider borrowers that enroll in technical assistance programs post-loan, or come back in a year for supplemental funding; they should be eager to connect with you again, assured that their experience will be positive.
Transparency is key in centralized process management. There’s no benefit to hiding parts of a process to share with clients until later in that process. A process rooted in transparency will increase satisfaction in the overall process for everyone involved.
Benefits of Centralized Process Management:
Saves Time: An employee no longer has to search around to find & remember steps. New employees are able to see the big picture of how an application flows through eligibility, underwriting, approval, and long-term next steps.
Allows for Process Improvement: There’s likely a step (or two) in your process that commonly slows down that process. How are you currently identifying those bottlenecks? With centralized process management, it’s easy to identify those places and equally easy to implement a change that still flows well with the process.
Eases Team Transitions: If a team member is on vacation or leaves their position permanently, a centralized process ensures that their clients & projects won’t get off track. Minimal effort is needed for a team member to jump in and take over for a few steps if the process is consistent and well documented each step of the way.
Promotes Collaboration: Team members will be more likely to jump in and share feedback if they have a structured place to do so, and visibility into how other team members are carrying out their tasks.
Work smarter, not harder! Capacity of team members is too often stretched thin. During busy seasons, especially those that come out of nowhere (hello COVID-19?), having centralized process management is essential to maintaining a happy and healthy team.
We'd love to share more about how Lenderfit has helped teams like yours build their brand reputation through consistent and reliable processes!