Every year, billions of dollars are lost due to ineffective processes, system inefficiencies, and manual mistakes. As the mortgage industry shifts more and more toward modern, cloud-native technologies, one buzzword continues to stand out among the rest: automation.

While automation can certainly help refine antiquated processes, it is important to set clear goals for your automation objectives and lay a proper foundation for long-term success. Let’s look at the key automation implementation best practices, as well as what to avoid when creating a conversion plan.

Determine and clearly define your automation goals

It is important to define internal objectives before putting an automation plan in place. What are the organizational drivers moving you to automate your process(es), and how will you measure the result(s)?

Automation goals typically include, but are not limited to:

• Cost reduction
• Operational risk reduction
• Cycle time reduction
• Data quality improvement
• Process transformation
• Customer experience optimization

Detailing the end result for each objective can help support any decision-making that may be necessary as you look to further strategize and refine these plans.

Evaluate existing processes and other key considerations

Typically, the number one pitfall a mortgage lender can make occurs when the attempt is made to automate an already broken process. For that reason, it is imperative to begin by reviewing the existing process in detail.

Take the time to look at each step within your current process under a microscope, to determine its applicability to your overall goal as well as what adjustments should be made. Also consider any steps that may present a higher risk and perhaps, should not be automated. While this level of detail may be tedious, it is an important area of focus in the big picture.

Here’s a handful of additional considerations to keep in mind:

• If automating multiple processes, focus on one process at a time.
• Also pay attention to upstream/downstream impacts to deliver the full value of automation and maximize ROI.
• When possible, leverage an experienced and knowledgeable project lead to oversee the plan creation and own other business changes that may be required.
• When possible, leverage an experienced and knowledgeable technology vendor with a proven track record and customer-centric approach.

Is technology the answer?

In some cases, technology alone can solve many automation challenges. But it is critical to look at the team and infrastructure behind the technology you deploy. Without an intimate knowledge and thorough understanding of the pain points your organization is looking to solve, as well as the infrastructure to support constant and consistent innovation, technology could potentially constrain or obstruct internal processes.

Remember, not all modern technology is created equal.

Polly’s vertically integrated capital markets solution was built in the cloud, for the cloud. Using modern, cloud-native technologies and a high-performance infrastructure, Polly’s solutions deliver the most advanced security, near-infinite scalability, and access to the most sophisticated data science and machine learning tools available.

Whether your mortgage operation is a community bank, large credit union, top 25 independent mortgage company, or a mortgage broker, our system is built to accommodate your unique business processes. By democratizing the mortgage market – the experience, workflow automation, the ability to dynamically manage and optimize margins, reporting dashboards, and more – Polly enables all lenders to compete with the same efficiency and automation tools as top 10 lenders.

Achieving automation success

Automated solutions are intended to alleviate time-consuming tasks, eliminate data capture errors and redundancy, as well as associated risk and costs – while simultaneously improving data quality and cycle times. In an industry that is in constant flux, it is important to put the right automation processes in place as soon as possible, and using the right technology and vendor can support lenders in their journey to process transformation, effective automation, and a true future-state mortgage operation.

For more information on how Polly is partnering with lenders to automate holistically, visit https://polly.io/.