DS News - U.S. Bank

60 e makeup of the American workforce is changing. Multiple distinct generations are currently filling out the employee rosters of most American businesses: the Baby Boomers approaching retirement, Generation X already well into their career trajectories, and the Millennials still relatively early in their careers. Even companies that work hard to encourage a diversity of age groups must be prepared to refresh their rosters as boomers move into retirement. According to an April 2017 article by Accenture's Talent and Organization Blog for Financial Services, the baby boomer generation topped out at 45 percent of the workforce in 2005 but had dropped to 38 percent by 2010. Millennials made up only 25 percent of the workforce in 2005, but that number increased to 36 percent in 2010. By 2015, baby boomers were down to 31 percent and millennials up to 45 percent. e wheel keeps on turning. However, within the unique spectrum businesses that make up mortgage, housing, and the various financial services firms that support them, there's a common narrative that the workforce is aging up, but without enough new blood coming in behind to fill those gaps. Having run across this preconception often, DS News set out to test the validity of it. We spoke to a cross-spectrum of experts and professionals from various corners of the industry to try and determine if it's true that the world of mortgage is in dire need of fresh faces. And if so, what are these companies doing to try and bring in the next generation of mortgage and housing? TIME MARCHES ON Perry Hilzendeger, Head of Home Lending Retail at Wells Fargo, told DS News he had not necessarily seen this trend of an aging workforce within Wells Fargo. Hilzendeger says, "We strive to attract, develop, motivate, and retain the most talented people we can find, regardless of age—people who care about customers and each other, and who work together as partners across business units and functions." However, it makes sense that Wells Fargo—an organization that counted around 239,000 full- time employees as of March 2017, according to data from Statista.com—would, by virtue of its size, be better equipped to maintain a diverse workforce than some smaller organizations. Five Brothers Asset Management Solutions provides field services to mortgage servicers across the nation, with with a focus on default management and property preservation. Five Brothers President Nickalene Badalamenti- Kalas agrees that she has seen a general trend toward an aging workforce both in the company's internal employee pool and within the contractors who provide their field services. "We work diligently at retaining our older employees while attracting and hiring the next generation of our workforce," Badalamenti- Kalas says. "is involves talent assessments, filling talent gaps, and designing programs that maximize years of experience. e key in these programs is in transferring and retaining the knowledge base so that we can consistently deliver a superior client experience." "I have not seen a trend towards older workers. What I have seen, however, is a trend towards consolidation," says William L. Robinson, Jr., President, ATA National Title Group. Robinson explained that, within his sub-industry of title services, there are simply fewer independent companies providing those services than in the past. As that part C O V E R S T O R Y / D A V I D W H A R T O N FRESH FACES, NEW IDEAS

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