Recruiting expert Rick Glass finds that acquisitions, mergers and organic expansion are creating challenges for employers and executive talent alike
November 28, 2016 – Sacramento, CA – With mortgage origination volume up and the industry experiencing substantial consolidation, lending executives face an increasingly competitive environment in acquiring key industry talent, according to recruiting expert Rick Glass, of Sacramento, California-based Rick Glass Executive Search. Glass, a 20-year search veteran who has placed hundreds of executives in the mortgage industry, finds the market for top talent especially competitive in the mortgage-centric markets like Dallas, Southern California, and the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area.
“Since the big banks started reducing their presence in mortgages, non-bank lenders have been picking up the slack by competing for former bank mortgage customers and new markets,” said Glass. “In order to compete successfully, C-level executives must hire leaders with the ability to identify, engage and develop origination talent in a progressively competitive ecosystem.” The market, the strategies and the tactics are changing, Glass noted, and management has to be prepared to address these changes, not only in recruiting, but in career management and long term incentive options. “Elite performers want to understand their own career paths as they go through the recruiting process, but all parties in the industry must be prepared with career management and retention strategies, whether hiring or being hired,” Glass said. “Unlike previous generations, careers are far less likely to be linear in nature and good people will expect to work for many companies over the years, thus amplifying the need for improved retention planning.”
Glass spoke at MBA’s Annual Accounting & Financial Management Conference in San Diego in November, in a session entitled, “Recruitment and Career Building Strategies” on November 16th. He and Peter J. Taglia, CMB, CPA, senior vice president of FTN Financial Capital Assets Corporation, covered five key topics, including:
- Typical skills and backgrounds of senior mortgage finance professionals
- Paths to advancement and recruitment, including cross training
- Expectations for compensation and benefits
- Areas of greatest demand and specific credentials sought
- Role of diversity in the workplace
“The growth in the market to pre-crisis levels and the downsizing and aging of the workforce mean tremendous opportunities for mortgage professionals at all levels in the years ahead,” Glass said. “Fortune favors the prepared, and it is essential that industry leaders appreciate and understand the fine points of acquiring and retaining the best talent, as well as managing their own careers over the long term.”
About Rick Glass
Rick Glass is the principal of Rick Glass Executive Search, based in the Sacramento, California area. He is a leading expert in executive search for the mortgage industry and has over 20 years of experience in solving talent acquisition needs for industry leaders, placing hundreds of highly qualified senior executives into management positions with lenders, servicers, investors and vendors. His focus on C-level and senior executive searches in the mortgage industry, combined with a 96 percent placement rate and a 96 percent retention rate, distinguish Rick among his peers. For more information, visit www.RickGlassExecutiveSearch.com.