The unsung heroes of mortgage broking

These are some of the finest people in our industry, yet they rarely get a mention outside of the business they support.

Over the years I’ve come to realise that one of the most common denominators in successful broking businesses is a passionate, competent admin assistant. These people have an ingrained knowledge of mortgage loan processing across numerous lenders and have built up excellent relationships with those business partners to the point where sometimes their know-how is what gets a loan application over the line.

This year at the Mortgage Choice National Conference we decided to formally recognise these important people by making them part of our annual Business Excellence Awards for the very first time.

Julie Kimber, a long-time admin assistant for Wendy Higgins in SA, won our inaugural administration assistant of the Year award. Julie has worked in the engine room of Wendy's franchise for over 10 years now, helping the business reach the heights it continues to surpass. I know Wendy personally credits much of her business success to Julie and the other admin staff who keep her back office running like clockwork.

These unsung heroes work tirelessly behind the scenes alongside loan writers, franchise managers, business owners and other colleagues to make the application to settlement process as smooth as possible for all parties, while keeping customers informed at each milestone. Many often perform other roles to fill out their already action packed day, taking multi-tasking to impressive levels.

Mortgage Choice will continue to recognise the role played by these industry stalwarts who in their own way provide the necessary infrastructure for brokers to take their businesses to new levels of growth and opportunity.

Michael Russell is CEO of Mortgage Choice