HousingWire recently chatted with Homepoint Chief Experience Officer Ginger Wilcox about the company’s rebrand and hiring surge in the middle of a global pandemic. Wilcox explains how Homepoint is redefining the home buying and homeownership experience moving forward.
HousingWire: Ginger, it’s quite the turnaround to join a company and architect a massive company rebrand within your first 10 months on the job. How has that experience been?
Ginger Wilcox: There’s no question that it has been like drinking from a firehose ever since I joined Homepoint, but it has truly been a rewarding journey so far – with so many talented people. Homepoint presented an opportunity that is so attractive from a marketing perspective and has made it easy to attract top talent. It’s still such a young company, only five years old, but has already grown to be a Top 15 lender in the country. There’s a lot of runway there for continued elevation of the Homepoint brand from a customer experience standpoint, as well.
HW: You mentioned Homepoint being an attractive destination for marketing talent. We noted that you’ve hired nearly 30 people this year – while in the midst of a pandemic. How did that impact the process of growing your team?
GW: Fortunately, nearly 40% of Homepoint associates were already working remotely before the pandemic, so we already had the structure in place to support remote working and collaboration. That’s a major benefit for us, as we’re able to recruit and hire talented people from anywhere in the country, as opposed to fixating over a pool of candidates in one specific metro region.
Our Customer Experience and Marketing team has associates working remotely from seven different states, and I can’t say enough about the high level of professionalism, teamwork and innovation that the group collectively brings to the table. There’s no limit to how impactful this team can be as it pertains to supporting Homepoint’s overall company objectives.
HW: Rebrands are always an exciting time for a company, and often serve a greater purpose. Why was rebranding so important to Homepoint?
GW: The rebrand ultimately reflects our commitment to redefining the home buying and homeownership experience moving forward. From a timing perspective, we thought it was a great way to commemorate the milestones that Homepoint has achieved during its first five years, while also establishing a new, exciting identity for the goals we want to accomplish moving forward.
Looking at the mortgage industry, there is so much that can be done to put the focus back on people and relationships – as opposed to commoditized transactional relationships – and we want to be a leader in that shift of perception.
A mortgage is so much more meaningful than a signed document or the key to a house – it’s a crucial element of broader financial security and well-being. We’re going to be at the forefront of making people the focal point of the mortgage business, whether that’s our associates, our customers, or our correspondent and broker partners.
HW: You mentioned having a relationship focus and looking through a customer lens as part of the rebrand. Is that difficult to do as a lender that solely does third-party originations?
GW: Not at all. The bottom line is that, regardless of whether a mortgage lender funds a loan through its broker or correspondent partners, or works with a customer directly, that customer’s experience is the top priority. The customer relationship is what it’s all about.
Our job at Homepoint is to use our systems, products, technology and platforms to create a personalized environment where every customer feels prioritized – not just during the loan origination process, but throughout the entire life of their loan. We service over 300,000 customers, and providing great service is a 52-weeks-a-year mindset.
We’re doing more than sending monthly statements – we’re providing real value to create healthy, happy homeowners who get maximum value from their home and enjoy the same VIP-level treatment in Year 11 of their mortgage as they did on the day we closed their loan.
Home Point Financial Corporation d/b/a Homepoint. Home Point Financial Corporation does not conduct business under the name, “Homepoint” in IL, KY, LA, MD, NY, or WY. In these states, the company conducts business under the full legal name, Home Point Financial Corporation.
