No one starts a new job without some reservations or concerns. These concerns can be put to rest or they can fester and grow. It is up to you. You have invested many hours into recruiting this person. You need to make the first day a day of orientation and a great day for them.

Here are the keys to the first day for a new loan officer:

• Schedule no appointments that day
• Be there to greet them
• Schedule a lunch in the office. Have everyone meet the new employee
• Have them spend 10-15 minutes with employees of different departments
• If key departments are located elsewhere, visit the main or regional office or make introductions to key personnel over the phone
• Put together an orientation package
• Hold an orientation session

It is tough to completely standardize how and when orientation might be held. Large companies may fly in new employees one time per month and hold a formal orientation over two to three days. For a small company, there may be no traveling and the session may be less formal.

All or part of the orientation can be held online. It eliminates the need for travel and the new employee can start the orientation immediately. However, it eliminates the personal touch of meeting corporate employees and hearing their viewpoint personally.

Items to go over in the orientation session include:

• General company policies, including work hours, meeting schedules, fee schedules
• Resources: who to see to get what, such as a laptop, business cards, email address, etc.
• Setting up a company computer, access to company forms, and loan origination software
• Training on software and program guidelines
• Organizational charts
• What decisions must be made quickly, such as setting up a website or social media
• Make sure they understand the compensation plan, pay and reimbursement policies
• Go over benefits and make sure they submit the forms in a timely manner
• Go over marketing polices, what marketing resources are provided, and if there is a CRM provided, training on using the program

There should also be an “onboarding” form that keeps track of all tasks that must take place for the new employee. This may be anything from a Word document to an Excel spreadsheet. The orientation package contains the resources an employee might need to do their job, but typically will spend the next few months gathering on their own.

Here are a few components of an orientation package:

• A 'welcome to the company' informational memo
• Company background, annual reports, articles
• Company/local division mission statement
• Rosters and organizational charts
• Program and/or investor guidelines matrix
• Vendor approval list with phone numbers
• Required forms, such as disclosures, reports, and a sample application package
• Company and Human Resources policies
• Marketing materials and resources

Sound like a lot of work? It is, especially to keep the package up-to-date. This is why an orientation package should be developed and updated by one person within a branch, region or company. Much of the information should be readily available. It is just a matter of organizing the material.

An origination package will save a new employee from having to scratch and claw or learn the information by osmosis over their first few months.

Dave Hershman is Senior VP of Sales of Weichert Financial and the top author in the mortgage industry. Dave has published seven books, as well as hundreds of articles and is the founder of the OriginationPro Marketing System and Mortgage School – the online choice for expert mortgage learning and marketing content. His site is www.OriginationPro.com and he can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..