Top Companies Still Hiring — Better.com
Today’s Top Companies *Still* Hiring article showcases Better.com. Like each company featured here, not only are they still actively hiring but they have not undergone any layoffs.
A number of key players at Better.com willingly contributed to the creation of this article, all of whom were very proud to share their company’s story. Thank you to Taina Oquendo (Director of Corporate Recruiting), Arthur Matuszewski (VP of Talent), Ian Robert (Growth Strategy) and Tanya Hayre (Head Of Public Relations) for providing such thoughtful and candid insight into your organization. To see which roles Better.com is hiring for, please visit their Careers Page. They have openings in a number of locations including New York City, Irvine, Oakland, and Charlotte. To learn how they’re navigating COVID-19 and why they’re an all around wonderful place to work, just keep scrolling!
The mortgage lending space isn’t an industry that many people would assume to be particularly active during a pandemic, however you’ve seen an increase of about 200% in mortgage demand. Better.com’s customers are still comfortably and actively turning to you during this time. Why and how has that been the case?
It’s truly because of our online platform and technology. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, mortgage interest rates have dropped significantly. More homeowners are refinancing, and are increasingly looking to the internet to conduct their transactions as they are sheltering in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As an online mortgage lender, Better.com has a competitive advantage over brick and mortar lenders .Customers are able to upload and eSign documents, get loan estimates in seconds and a pre-approval letter within minutes.
As a result, and as you mentioned, we have seen a 200% increase in demand since COVID-19 began and we have funded $1.4B in loans in April and $1B in loans in March.
In fact, as a result of the demand, we’re looking to hire 1,000 employees, with a focus on laid-off hospitality workers to our current headcount of 2,000 across 6 offices.
With unemployment at an all-time high, Better.com is in a unique position of being able to hire. You have been focusing additional energy on hiring laid-off hospitality workers. Why is that?
We’ve grown 350% over the last year and have hired 1,300+ in the last 11 months. As a fast-growing company, it’s important to find employees that embody our mission-driven culture so we look beyond the traditional resume when hiring. The Coronavirus pandemic has unfortunately caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs, with workers in the hospitality industry being hit especially hard and we believe those in hospitality embody all of the traits we need to scale.
We believe hospitality workers understand the importance of creating meaningful experiences and we aim to bring that spirit to our customers. Hospitality workers also have the characteristics that we look for in our employees: hustle, grit, customer-orientation, stress tolerance, adaptability, flexibility and diverse capabilities and backgrounds. We feel fortunate to be in a position to hire, and we feel it’s our obligation to hire those in our communities that need it the most.
Prospective job seekers should check out our open roles at better.com/hospitality.
What has Better.com been doing to keep employees engaged and feeling supported during this time?
Given the volume of demand our business is seeing, it’s crucial to us that our employees maintain a work-life balance and we’re prioritizing wellness. With this in mind, we rolled out a free virtual therapy and professional development program where employees may book sessions with licensed therapists on a weekly basis. These confidential sessions provide additional opportunities for Better.com team members to receive tips and strategies for professional growth — while working remote — from an independent third party.
This has certainly been a very challenging time to be working, and with that in mind we have been diligent in providing very clear communication — one might say almost over-communication! We send detailed weekly emails to all employees with the latest developments including projected return dates, what updated WFH benefits/changes we’re rolling out to employees, and a reminder to look out for yourself — that we’re all experiencing this together.
In addition, while all employees were given a $500 stipend to furnish a WFH setup, those with children got an additional $250 to use if they wanted to buy learning tools, games, low cost technology, etc., for their family members. Better.com has 2,000+ employees across 6 offices and many of its employees have young children, so we also launched a virtual child care program via Zoom called “Better Birds.” Better Birds has a weekly schedule packed with activities from 9–6pm, with everything from arts and crafts to a magic show from an employee who is a part-time magician. We also offer flex work arrangements for parents with young children (adapting hours, type of work, etc). Interestingly, WFH has correlated with a rise in productivity.
In summary, we believe that in order to develop an effective company culture, people must be at the center. Happy, supported people are productive; and productivity leads to revenue. Therefore, Better.com will continue to adapt to ensure our employees feel supported and empowered. Rather than resisting change, we welcome it with an open mind.
COVID-19 has shed new light on pre-existing inefficiencies within the mortgage lending space. Better.com has used this as an opportunity to quicker enact new efficiencies that will positively impact this industry moving forward. Could you share a bit more about how you’re doing that?
It’s worth noting that digitizing an antiquated process is already in our DNA. We have always tried to build a no handshake [digital-only] business, while a big part of the rest of the industry is predicated on handshakes. While Coronavirus has had a tremendous impact on every area of our lives, it may just be the forcing factor in the long-awaited digital revolution in the real estate transaction. Prior, it has stubbornly remained analog, relying on brick and mortar meetings for every aspect from open houses, to faxing documents to get a mortgage, to then closing on the home with in-person closings, notaries and appraisals. As none of these elements allow for social distancing, the industry has been pushed to operate digitally. Real estate agents are doing Facetime tours of listings and we’re seeing eclosings and virtual notaries.
COVID has proven that now is a time to double down on helping our customers through a means that is tried, true and relevant. We are making these materials more available than ever before, including increasing automation, and removing friction and educating customers through a mortgage news blog that helps borrowers understand the changes happening within interest rates and mortgaging.
Post-Covid, we anticipate the digitization of the industry will be the new norm — similar to the way we order groceries through Instacart or diapers on Amazon.
Better.com managed to repurpose many employees’ roles during these newly necessary remote times. An example is you’ve trained numerous folks from reception to now help on the sales front. From an outside perspective, that’s a steep shift. How have you managed to successfully enact these internal changes?
We were creative in repurposing folks like reception to help on the sales front or having office maintenance help with mail services. This tests the resiliency of our business. If we’re going to hire people externally, we should also be hiring internally. Proactively problem solving, being customer facing: these are aspects of reception’s roles already and so we’re now training them on the sales skills themselves in order to bridge the gap. Our sales team has stepped up in a big way to assist with these training sessions. It also gives the reception team insight into the stress salespeople face. This is providing a unique opportunity for our people and our company to continue to grow and evolve.
Beyond that, it has further encouraged how our recruitment team already thinks about hiring. We focus so much energy on abilities and behaviors rather than whether a candidate has done this direct linear thing before. Company-wide, we are always looking for hustle and grit, no job above or below you, and evidence of being in it for the mission. Collaboration and teamwork are essential as well because this business relies on people being able to work cross-functionally. Finally, we are always looking for people who are entrepreneurial because they tend to be fast thinkers, creative problem solvers, and owners of their work.
Given that these common traits exist cross-departmentally, we’ve been able to repurpose employees more seamlessly.
Recent events aside, why is your company such a wonderful place to work?
We believe the perks — free lunch, unlimited PTO — are exciting at first, but ultimately, what keeps people happy and motivated is when they not only have an understanding of the company vision, but also an opportunity to help change, shape and develop the work we’re doing. Therefore, one of the most crucial components of our business is a culture of innovation, where everyone is tasked with being an innovator and all ideas are welcome, regardless of your rank or department. Not everyone in an organization has access to the same information, so it makes sense to seek input on problems (not just solutions) from a diverse group. Each of us is tasked with finding solutions to better the homeownership journey, from start to finish.
In knowing the end mission, we’re challenged to create new business lines that support said mission. For example, one of our employees became licensed to sell title insurance, which has brought in nearly a million dollars in additional revenue over the last year. We have an online portal in which anyone at the company can submit an idea to senior leaders, sending it into our product development process. All ideas are reviewed with equal merit, regardless of whether the CEO or intern submitted them. We also have an internal channel that uses AI to determine who you LEAST interact with, then pairing them together to go out for coffee and brainstorm new company ideas. As a result, people have met and collaborated on new ideas that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Another example: a sales executive had coffee with the CTO in which they ideated a product that was put on the fast track for development.
In speaking with you, it was clear that you are particularly proud of the ways in which your employees embody Better.com’s values and intrinsic goals. Is there someone you could spotlight who further demonstrates this?
Sathi Roy is our Director of Refinance Sales here at Better.com, and she really embodies all of the qualities we look for in a Better.com employee. Sathi joined Better in February 2016 — where she was one of the first 30 people to join the company. As she would say,
“At a time where we didn’t have a cool website, we didn’t have a solid brand identity, and we didn’t have a lot of automation. Everything was completely manual and done similarly to other traditional banks. It was really cool to join at this time when the sales team was just 4 of us and we had to learn everything as we went. It was a hard transition coming into this new industry.”
Sathi had originally applied to a different position, but our CEO & Founder — Vishal Garg — saw unique potential in her and recommended that she apply for the ‘growth associate’ role instead. This evolved into a Loan Consultant role in which she spent her first 1.5 years. She eventually became a team lead where she started helping with onboarding and training. About 2.5 years ago, she took over as Director of Refinance Sales, where she currently runs the best refinance team in the country. All of the loan consultants who are on her team for at least one year become noted as a part of the top 50 in the country. It’s extremely rewarding to work alongside such hardworking people who truly believe in Better’s mission.
Sathi has dedicated a lot of time and effort into guiding Better’s mission. She truly bought into the process and was pushed to maximize her potential. She evolved from an individual contributor into someone who is now helping coach others into becoming exceptional leaders like herself. Her growth is directly correlated to Better’s growth: without people like Sathi joining early on, Better.com would have never gone from 100 people to over 2,000 globally. Yet, the same values that brought Sathi to Better haven’t really changed. As she said,
“More management, structure, brand iterations and compliance regulation comes with the territory of working for a startup that is growing exponentially. I’m really glad I stayed through all the changes because ultimately our mission and vision never changed and that is what’s most important. It’s rare to be a part of a company where everyone genuinely is driven by the mission. Everyone you speak to here is just as passionate as the one you previously spoke to. When you bring together a group of ambitious and determined individuals who are all aligned in the same exact way, the synergy you feel is undeniable.”
If your tech company is actively hiring, you have not experienced layoffs, and you’re interested in being featured, please fill out this Google Form. I’ll reach out directly.
