By Chuck McKitrick<\/b><\/p>\n
The vision for our company has always been to help put Canadians into homes, and to help others achieve their financial freedom. While the world has changed a lot amid the recent pandemic, that vision has remained the same \u2014 we just deliver on it very differently. <\/p>\n
Even before the spread of COVID-19 forced many organizations to close and for staff to work from home, at Alta West Capital, we had been working on an initiative that, without knowing it at the time, helped prepare us for the disruption that was to come. <\/p>\n
About two years ago, for example, we realized that growing our business to work with bigger banks and REITs would mean developing an IT plan that would meet the most stringent cybersecurity standards. We began looking at all the ways we managed data, and how using technologies from Salesforce and others could help us comply with industry regulations. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s always difficult to transition from old business processes and technologies to new ones. Looking back, I liken our operational leadership to Noah building the Ark. No one could imagine the flood that was to come. It was as if Noah was putting the last spike in the Ark \u2014 we were just getting to where we needed to be \u2014 and the rain started to fall. Or, in our case, the Coronavirus outbreak began. <\/p>\n
We had already been renting space on third-party servers, but that wasn\u2019t enough to ensure we could work from anywhere without fear of being attacked by ransomware or other security threats. Our Salesforce partner helped us find a local IT team with offices across Canada that fit the bill. Because of this, we have been able to move away from manual, time-consuming tasks to providing our team with increased visibility across our business.<\/p>\n
All the underwriting we used to do, for instance, had been done on spreadsheets. Every single deal would be a new spreadsheet that was built out over a period of years. There were members of our team that would have little visibility into important information, and we couldn\u2019t conduct the kind of analysis we wanted to do from one year to the next. <\/p>\n
Using Salesforce means everyone can now see everything, from what\u2019s in the pipeline to closing ratios. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s great for our company because, as the CEO, I can monitor what\u2019s going on across different streams of the business. It means I\u2019m not going to micro-manage anybody, but I can set up the appropriate levels of communication. That might be as simple as, \u2018This is the target, this is when we\u2019re going to achieve it, and this is your responsibility in it.\u201d <\/p>\n
With this foundation in place, we have been able to quickly transition from working in a regular office, to one that\u2019s tailor-made for a distributed workforce. <\/p>\n
Alta West Capital\u2019s key customers and stakeholders include mortgage professionals, investors, and of course, borrowers. The one thing they all have in common is the need for seamless and proactive communication from our team. <\/p>\n
While we moved quickly to put up critical information for investors and borrowers on our website, we also took additional measures. This included designating some staff to call every borrower to make sure they have all the information they needed on deferral plans and answers to other common questions. <\/p>\n
At the same time, we were able to put a 7,000-person call list of broker contacts into Salesforce and provided Lightning dialers for our staff. As we made contact, the workflows we were able to set up within Salesforce were critical. They allow us to get a notification, for example, every time a commitment letter is issued. <\/p>\n
Instead of information scattered everywhere, everyone has the access they need and the right people get information they can act on. <\/p>\n
As a result of all this, we\u2019re on track to have one of our best months ever. Where many of our competitors have reduced headcount or closed their doors entirely, we\u2019ve been able to avoid layoffs. <\/p>\n
I\u2019ve also come to recognize that there\u2019s a real difference in being able to pop by someone\u2019s desk when you\u2019re on the way to a boardroom and leading them entirely via technology. That\u2019s why, on a day-to-day basis, we\u2019ve assigned managers to go through everyone on the team to check in and see how they\u2019re doing. Some are having difficulties, and others are thriving. It can really go either way, and it\u2019s not always as you\u2019d expect of specific individuals, either. I\u2019ve never given as much encouragement as I do now. <\/p>\n
This is the new normal for us. However the present situation plays out \u2014 whether it takes one week or months \u2014 our business will be irrevocably changed. But many of the changes are for the better. We have become a more well-run group than we ever were.<\/p>\n