As I sit here in my levitating commander’s chair and write this post, I realized that we are amidst the holiday season. And it isn’t just one holiday, but many. That said, I want to start by saying as an alien personage living on your planet, I do not subscribe to or endorse any particular holiday, but for example purposes only, I’m focusing on one small part of your celebration called Christmas.
The part of this holiday that I want to focus on is teamwork. No, this is not a traditional thought process during the season nor are there any holiday carols about it, but it’s there, and it’s a great example of making things happen no matter how seemingly insurmountable the circumstances.
At Christmas time, there’s a huge commercial focus on a person you Earthlings refer to as Santa Claus. What this Santa Claus does is truly amazing—in one night, I’ve been told, he delivers gifts to homes across the planet. Pretty amazing, so much so that the question often arises, “How can one person do all of that in just one night?” The answer is, he can’t.
Now, before all of you Santa fans get your stockings in a twist, let me explain my answer. Yes, gifts are delivered all over the world on Christmas Eve, but Santa is but the face of the organization, a huge team who, together, make it all happen. Let’s see how this operations works by moving down the chain of command.
Santa is the big man. The head honcho. The connection. But even Santa depends on his team of flying reindeer to travel the Earth. This is the very reason why I refuse the take the spaceship out on December 24—they really should have reindeer crossing satellites deployed to keep disaster from happening.
Next in line are the elves. They are the lifeblood of the team. Their responsibilities are as vast as the Milky Way itself… taking care of the reindeer, sleigh maintenance, facilities upkeep, logistics, shipping and receiving (letters come in, gifts go out) and, most importantly, toy making, which includes ideation, development, construction, testing, quality control and packaging.
And let’s not forget about Mrs. Claus, who holds a big role within the team as well. She is the primary liaison between Santa and the elves; she’s in charge of wardrobe; she’s a sounding board for Santa; she’s also his voice of reason. Some believe SHE may be the one in charge!
The team is not limited to North Pole inhabitants, however. You have toy and gift manufacturers assisting with inventory challenges. The department store Santas gather intelligence throughout the season and report back to the team. And then there are the parents, who not only provide additional intelligence and support from the trenches, but they also act as year-long human resources reps, taking care of the children by answering all of their holiday inquiries and upholding the spirit of the season and Santa himself.
Plus, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shoutout to my personal favorite member of the team, John McClane. Maintaining peace on Earth is no easy job. Only a diehard like John is truly capable of accomplishing it. We’ll consider him security detail.
So, what does all of this have to do with credit union mortgage lending? I’m so glad you asked.
As I said at the start, this post is about teamwork and overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges. I can’t think of another time in my 47 lunar year existence where challenges have been as unrelenting as they are these days. Yet, I’ve witnessed first-hand a genuine team effort in keeping mortgages moving, helping more members with homeownership and keeping their homes while dealing with financial hardship, and exceeding expectations. That team effort is what myCUmortgage delivers, working with you as our partners; and, our team has noticed (as you probably have, too) that YOUR teams are also exceeding expectations.
In my holiday example, we—myCUmortgage and our partner credit unions—are represented by the North Pole operations team, and your members are those anticipating gifts on Christmas morning. Our team looks a little different from Santa’s, but the end goal is the same.
We have loan originators at myCUmortgage and with our partner credit unions who are taking applications and providing expertise on the right mortgage loan for each member. We have processors and coordinators pulling all the details together. There are underwriters and closers who ensure everything is correct, properly packaged and ready to go. And, once those loans are closed, we have a comprehensive team of Servicing experts who help members with everything from making payments to escrow analysis to insurance claims, and they do this throughout the life of the loan.
Let’s not forget about all the “elves” who work behind the scenes to make sure all the above happens seamlessly. Technology and IT, quality control, compliance, secondary market, finance, business development, partner relations, marketing, training… the list goes on and on.
Outside of our walls, our extended team includes title companies, mortgage insurance providers, appraisers, technology tools and services providers… not to sound like a malfunctioning audio data diskette, but again, the list goes on and on.
Nothing great is ever accomplished without some level or form of teamwork. Everyone at myCUmortgage salutes our partner credit unions, your teams and your loyal members, and we thank you for being integral parts of our team. May your holiday season be joyous and the new year successful.
Go Team!