Finding the Right People: Why Values Trump Skills in Mortgage Broker Recruitment

I'm a mortgage broker , business owner and a coaching mentor to brokers and business owners across the industry . I create this podcast to help self-employed brokers like you grow their business with confidence , clarity and purpose . Before we get into the podcast , please don't forget to subscribe , leave a review , share it with other mortgage brokers .

Your support helps us reach more brokers who are dealing with the same challenges that you are day in , day out . So in this episode , I want to talk about why panic recruiting rarely works out the mindset you need when you're bringing someone new into your business , and why you'll never find another version of yourself . So stop trying . So let's just get into the

podcast . Recruitment is . It's a tough one to get right . The thing is with as a broker , as a business owner , you could . You might have recruited before . You might have recruited administration support into business . You might have recruited brokers before .

But the thing is , if you know that you want to grow your business and you know that you want to be recruiting brokers , you should never , ever stop looking for that right broker to join your business .

So , because one of the biggest points I want to talk about today is when you're recruiting or looking to recruit just to plug a gap , or maybe someone left unexpectedly or the workload became too much , you know that recruiting in a rush can cause you so much more harm than it can cause good . So that's why you should never , ever stop recruiting .

If growing your business is important to you , you should never , ever stop being aware of other brokers , knowing your competition , knowing that the good people out there that you would , who share your values and share what you're trying to create , you should never stop looking for those people , because there's never a right time to recruit in your business .

You should always be looking to recruit . But this episode really is not just about that . This episode is about just a reminder to slow down when you're recruiting , trust your gut when you're recruiting and to recruit with purpose . Your gut when you're recruiting and to recruit with purpose . So my first point is don't panic , buy .

I've learned this mistake and it costs business owners so much time and so much effort and so much energy . When you do panic , buy , when someone leaves your business or you hit capacity and you've got too many leads coming in , it's easy to go out .

It's easy to go into like firefighting mode and put a recruitment ad out there on LinkedIn or speak to recruitment advisor just to get someone in quickly , just to keep everything going .

But if you do recruit in haste , you could end up spending more time fixing mistakes and managing misalignment or , even worse , undoing reputation damage caused by someone who doesn't share your standards . Short-term relief can lead to long-term headaches . You're building a business for long term , not just plugging holes in a sinking ship .

You always need to remind yourself when you're recruiting that you will never find another you . One of the biggest mistakes I see mortgage broker business owners making is , when they're looking to recruit , is expecting the new recruit to be a clone of themselves . So let me just be clear with that .

You're never going to find someone with your experience , your passion , your mindset , your exact way of doing things , and that's all right , that is okay . What you're looking for is someone who can compliment you , not copy you . If you're trying to mould someone into your image , you're always going to be disappointed .

Instead , look for someone who brings value and coachability to and alignment with yourself . And when you are looking to recruit , and especially if this is the first time , you need to be asking yourself do you have the time to onboard them properly ? And this is a huge one .

If you're looking to recruit someone , you need to ask yourself honestly do I actually have time to show them how I want things to be done ? If you don't , you'll end up with confusion , mistakes and then sometimes resentment on both sides of the fence . Recruitment doesn't stop after day one . It's your job to lead , to guide and support the person you bring in .

So , before you recruit , build time into your diary , build time into your schedule for proper onboarding , mentoring and feedback . That investment now will pay off massively later

. And when you are looking at that recruit , you need to look at are they aligned with your values ? Skills can be taught , but values can't . If someone doesn't share your values , how you treat clients , how you handle complaints and your work ethic , then it doesn't matter how good they are on advising or mortgages .

Misalignment in values always leads to friction and during the recruitment process . Ask them about how they handle challenges , what matters to them in a business , how do they define success . These questions will reveal far more than the CV , because the CV is just a piece of paper .

You need to be asking these kind of questions to lift that person to life and see , actually , is that true alignment there with you which then leads on to trusting your gut ? This might sound a bit woolly or a bit fluffy , but actually it's not . Your instinct is one of the best recruitment tools that you have . If something doesn't feel right .

If the candidate says all the right things but something just doesn't feel right . If the candidate says all the right things but something just doesn't fit right , trust that it's easy to ignore that niggling dab because you're desperate to fill a role .

But that little voice is usually right and better to wait than to bring in the wrong person when you're looking at the right person . Be cautious if all that they care about is commission splits , because , yes , commission matters absolutely . It's part of the deal and part of what's important .

But if it's , the first thing that a candidate asks you about is about the splits and the second thing and the third thing about all about the commission splits . This is a real red flag because guess what , like the minute that another firm offers them five percent more , then they'll be gone . You don't want people who are just coming in chasing the pound .

You want team members . You want people in your business who buy into your vision , your culture and your way of working . Someone driven only by commission is rarely . They're just never loyal in the long run . So you know what your values are . Do you know what the recruits values are too ? You need to flip this over . Don't just share your values .

Ask them about theirs . What drives them ? What do they look for in a business ? What kind of culture and environment do they thrive in ? And when you know their values , you can assess the alignment honestly .

If those values don't fit with your business , it's better to know now , not in six months time , because you've wasted so much time , so much effort and so much money . I just want to share an experience I had recently with a business owner that I work with who recruited quickly after our advisor left .

The new recruit had a great CV , they've got a great background and they hit the ground running , but within two months there were complaints and compliance issues and poor communication . And why was that ? Because they didn't share the business owner's client first approach .

They were just focused on volume , not value , and the business owner had to let them go , which cost them time , money and a massive amount of stress . So what was the lesson with that ? It's about taking your time , trusting your gut and recruit with values first . So what to take from today's podcast ? Well , the first thing is don't

rush to recruit . Take your time , interview thoroughly , know what you're looking for , not just on paper but in attitude and values , and then prepare before they start . Have a plan , create time to train and onboard them . Set expectations early . That initial investment will help them succeed and save you so much stress .

So , just to recap , we've talked today about why you should never panic recruit and why you'll never find another you and that is OK and why values , gut instinct and alignment matter far more than any CV or any commission split .

So if this episode gave you clarity around recruitment strategy , please subscribe , please leave a review , share it with other brokers or business owners in your network . Next week's episode , we've got jonathan needham back onto the podcast .

He was on the podcast a few weeks ago , but I want to get jonathan back onto the podcast to talk about something that we're looking to do that will help self people who are looking to go self-employed as a mortgage broker and existing self-employed mortgage broker . So you do want to listen . Listen out to that next week . So thanks

for listening . Thanks for tuning into this week's Mortgage Broker Broadcast . Keep leading with purpose , build with intention and remember the right recruit can transform your business , but the wrong one can cost you far more .

And if you are thinking about becoming a self-employed mortgage broker or launching your own brand and business , or just ready to take your business to the next level , go to my website , craigskeltoncouk . Book a discovery call or just simply get in touch . Let's have a chat about how I can help you to achieve your goals .

And remember , please don't forget to run your own race .