18 Name James Symond Company Aussie Position CEO HQ Sydney, Australia Brokers 1,300 Staff 266 EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW The great Aussie dream In the crowded mortgage broker market, where everyone is basically selling exactly the same product, the only thing that sets you apart is your brand and what you stand for—and Aussies are flocking to Aussie. IMAGES PAUL HENDERSON-KELLY T he mortgage industry in Australia is big business. In fact, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the total value of mortgages in January 2016 was $1,466 billion. The Aussie dream of owning your own home is alive and well, and Aussie—the business—is making those dreams come true. CEO James Symond has been with Aussie right from the very beginning. “I started from day one, when I was 19 years of age,” James says. “I had a call from my uncle, [John Symond] who is also my godfather, who said, ‘Look, come and give me a hand for a week!’ “We were a start-up with a small handful of team members, and there was next to zero money to be had. My first job was literally sorting out the jumbled secondhand stationery I had bought from an auction house. It took me a couple of days to sort and place it all into the little spare boxes they gave us, to make sure that the team members didn’t think we couldn’t even afford new stationery. “That’s a small example of how we started from ground zero. While money was thin on the ground, we did have a big man with a big vision—which was John—who stood on his fruit box and screamed loudly, and he made sense. His simple message of ‘We’ll save you!’ got through to the mums and dads out there.” As featured in The CEO Magazine For more info visit theceomagazine.com REVVING UP THE RANGE ROVER SPORT SVR • MAN VS WINE:NEW-WAVE REDS CUSTOMER DATA SIZING THINGS UP BACK TO NATURE IN PORT STEPHENS URBAN RENEWAL Game-changing developments THE GOOD GUYS' MICHAEL FORD ASSA ABLOY’S DAVID OLIVER ALTUS TRAFFIC’S JEFF DOYLE BLUECHILLI’S SEBASTIEN ECKERSLEY-MASLIN TOP JUICE’S BARRY BARBER SYDNEY TRAIN’S HOWARD COLLINS CULTURAL TRAVEL Japan’s Kii Peninsula Lessons from Mr & Mrs Smith A luxurious escape in the Hunter Valley HOME BASE James Symond from Aussie walks the talk
Transcript
18
Name James SymondCompany Aussie
Position CEOHQ Sydney, Australia
Brokers 1,300Staff 266
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW
The great Aussie dream
In the crowded mortgage broker market, where everyone is basically selling exactly the same product, the only thing that sets you apart is your brand and what you stand for—and Aussies are flocking to Aussie.
IMAGES PAUL HENDERSON-KELLY
The mortgage industry in Australia is big business. In fact, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the total value of mortgages in January 2016 was $1,466 billion. The Aussie dream of owning your own home is alive and well, and Aussie—the business—is making those dreams come true. CEO James Symond
has been with Aussie right from the very beginning. “I started from day one, when I was 19 years of age,” James says. “I had a call from my uncle, [ John Symond] who is also my godfather, who said, ‘Look, come and give me a hand for a week!’
“We were a start-up with a small handful of team members, and there was next to zero money to be had. My first job was literally sorting out the jumbled secondhand stationery I had bought from an auction house. It took me a couple of days to sort and place it all into the little spare boxes they gave us, to make sure that the team members didn’t think we couldn’t even afford new stationery.
“That’s a small example of how we started from ground zero. While money was thin on the ground, we did have a big man with a big vision—which was John—who stood on his fruit box and screamed loudly, and he made sense. His simple message of ‘We’ll save you!’ got through to the mums and dads out there.”
As featured in The CEO MagazineFor more info visit theceomagazine.com
REVVING UP THE RANGE ROVER SPORT SVR • MAN VS WINE: NEW-WAVE REDS
24 years later, James is still with the business and can’t see it being any other way. “This business is in my blood,” he says. “I grew up in this business. I know Aussie back to front and I love it. I don’t confuse business with pleasure—what I do is a way of life, and it’s something I am very proud of. John and I have an extremely strong relationship, and I was very fortunate to start working with him from such a young age. Aussie is a trusted household name that has arguably changed the industry. It’s remarkable looking back at footage where the Prime Minister of Australia stood up in Parliament many years ago and said, if it wasn’t for Aussie Home Loans, every mum and dad would be paying more on their mortgage. They are incredibly proud moments to look back on. We were disrupters before we even knew what a disrupter was! It’s cool today, but 24 years ago we didn’t know what it was.”
Ironically, for a business that began so far ahead of the curve, there has been little pressure to embrace the rapid
advances of the digital age, although James does make it his mission to know about most new advancements in the mortgage industry. “Each year, I go somewhere in the world to see what is happening and to make sure that Aussie is meeting its vision of being the best home loan provider on the planet. I think that Aussie is leading from a digital marketing point of view.
“From a customer relationship point of view, we are investing in systems and processes that will enable us to have a closer relationship with our customers.
“From a sales point of view, it’s interesting that today I don’t know a mortgage broker on the planet that completely fulfils this service online where customers can choose their lender and see it through to settlement. Do I believe that it’s a part of the industry that’s worth keeping an eye on? Absolutely. However, the industry is still a way off coming up with any material end-to-end digital solution for mortgage broking—which makes my investment in the sales people, my investment in more stores, and my investment in ways to get more quality face-to-face interaction with consumers even more important.
“This business deals with people like the average mum and dad, who are making the biggest purchase of their lifetime, so they want the confidence
“They are incredibly proud moments to look back on. We were disrupters before we even knew what a disrupter was! It’s cool today, but 24 years ago we didn’t know what it was.” - James Symond
“At Suncorp Bank, we see aggregators and brokers as strategic business partners. Aussie is a like-minded partner who is similarly committed to delivering value to our customers. Our partnership focuses on providing a superior customer experience, and—at its heart—ensures responsible lending.” - Steven Degetto, Head of Intermediaries, Suncorp Bank
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW
Loans and Deposit products are provided by Suncorp-Metway Ltd ABN 66 010 831 722, Australian Credit Licence 229882 AFSL 229882 (‘Suncorp Bank’). BSUNO0076 01/03/2016
We’re proud to be the first bank outside the Big Four to win Money magazine’s Bank of the Year. More proof that we’re the genuine alternative for you and your clients.
We’ve always said we’re the
alternative.GENUINE
Now the experts agree.
Call your Business Development Manager or 1300 308 973businesspartners.suncorp.com.au
22
of seeing someone face to face. Change is the one constant in life and this will too, however we are not seeing that it will change in any meaning ful way for some time. We are in an unusual business—we are in one of the last industries today where a customer calls up and says, ‘Hi. My name is Mr or Mrs Smith. Could I have someone come to my home to guide me through my home loan options?’ I believe even the Amway sales person is online these days! We are one of the last bastions of business where customers invite you into their living room to ask for your advice, and we have over 170,000 new customers contacting us each year. That is gold.”
When James took over as CEO, the contact centre was run by a third-party provider, which was the first thing he wanted to change. He could see that customer contact was far too important to leave to someone else and that the business needed to be closer to its customers. He also felt that he personally wanted to be closer to his customers, so he set up a customer service centre internally—a stone’s throw from his office. James believes that it’s the culture of ensuring a great customer experience that drives success at Aussie, and also what helps it to stand out in a crowded market.
“The good news,” he says, “is that mortgage broking is a very accepted industry—between 50 and 55 per cent of new mortgages in Australia are facilitated by a mortgage broker. But the bad news is that because it’s very accepted, and everyone uses a broker, being a mortgage broker alone is not enough. Everyone pretty much has the same lenders on their panel and works with the same credit criteria, so it’s the service proposition and the positive perception of the brand that has got to be the difference. For us at Aussie, it’s really trying to ensure this business has an absolutely tireless focus on making
customers happy. It sounds a little clichéd and a little soft, but home loans and mortgages are about as competitive as you get. Ultimately, the brand that you work with and the service that you provide is what really sets you apart.
“We have a relentless passion for the consumer, and as the CEO I am trying to drive that further and harder than ever
before. The main goal I have is to inspire and ignite passion throughout the team, and I need to make sure we have the right culture to do so. Aussie has always had a very strong culture, and for me it’s about igniting that even further—for me, culture drives results. There’s an old saying that ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’, and I am really onboard with that. To me, that’s spot on.
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW
James believes that it’s the culture of ensuring a great customer experience that drives success at Aussie, and also what helps it to stand out in a crowded market
Except for Macquarie Bank Limited (Australian Credit Licence (ACL) 237502) ABN 46 008 583 542 (MBL), any Macquarie entity referred to on this page is not an authorised deposit-taking institution for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959 (Cth). That entity’s obligations do not represent deposits or other liabilities of MBL. MBL does not guarantee or otherwise provide assurance in respect of the obligations of that entity, unless noted otherwise. MACQ0062
At Macquarie we know mortgage products, pricing and processes can be complicated. That’s why Macquarie Bank Mortgages are all about focusing on untangling all the tiny details so we can make the
biggest difference when it comes to better serving brokers. To find out more, simply visit macquarie.com/au/advisers/solutions/mortgages, or give our business development managers a call.
Beautifully uncomplicatedMacquarie Bank Mortgages
2524
“My job as the chief cheerleader of Aussie is to make sure we have a business that’s attracting and retaining the very best people out there: the very best people at head office; the very best people to run and own our stores; the very best mobile brokers; and the very best independent brokers who want to operate businesses through our wholesale aggregation channel, National Mortgage Brokers.”
James thinks that in order to achieve that, he needs to offer more than just commission, more than just a career—he needs to present them with a company and a brand that has a purpose, and again that comes back to culture. “We are working very, very hard to make sure Aussie stands for not only a great, well-paying career, but a great environment to work in, great peers to learn from, and great training programs and events.”
In fact, Aussie has been the industry’s largest trainer of mortgage brokers for the past 24 years, an achievement for which it’s won many accolades. James had driven Aussie’s distribution strategy and growth for many years and could see an opportunity to accelerate growth by focusing on diversification of distribution and, rather than simply increasing the sales force, layering it. “About 11 or 12 years ago, I saw the opportunity to leverage our brand and roll out a retail distribution channel,” James explains. “We could attract and retain the right operators who wanted to own and grow a business, and at the same time service consumers who wanted the assurance and confidence that the people they are dealing with today are the people who would still be there tomorrow. Having that streetfront presence has turbocharged our business, and that retail channel has become key to our success. There
will be 200 Aussie stores open by July this year.
“We take butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers and we train them to be professional, accredited mortgage brokers. We have strict criteria about which types of people come onboard, but we do take people who haven’t been in the industry before. We make sure they are match fit to get out there and work under the Aussie brand and service the consumer’s needs.
“In terms of the franchise business and stores, we prefer an industry background; however, it’s not necessary. We have a number of franchisees who don’t, but they do have a background in customer service, in running a business, or in franchising. They just need to demonstrate an edge to convince us that they are a sustainable, long-term proposition.”
With a customer base that’s continually growing, and new franchises opening all the time, it could be conceivable that Aussie’s growth will eventually slow down, but James says that’s far from the case. “As far as Aussie is concerned, it is all about growth. If you look at what we are doing, we are investing heavily in new software platforms, new customer experience initiatives, and new environments for the head-office team. I keep banging on about culture; however, it’s the river that runs through the business, and our passionate culture is the driver for all of this growth.
“Collectively, our group settles a couple of billion dollars per month in mortgages—which is great. However, Aussie only has around 10 per cent of the mortgage broking market share. We have a household brand that everyone knows, and we sell the vast majority of mortgage products from most lenders in the country, so really there is no reason why I shouldn’t be looking at that 10 per
cent market share over the next five years and doing everything I can to double it. For me it’s about growth, growth, and more growth. Our goal is to sustainably increase the number of stores to 300 within the next four to five years, growing the number of Aussie mortgage brokers, making them more productive, and creating raving fans as far as our customers are concerned.”
James works with tireless dedication to reach these goals. He’s the first to admit to failing at the whole work–life balance idea, and he’s often up sending emails at two or three in the morning. However, he does make time for a bit of charity. “We have always been a family, and a business, that has done the right thing and given back where we can in both time and money,” he says.
This year, he was particularly excited about supporting OzHarvest—a cause led by Ronni Kahn that rescues surplus food destined for landfill from top restaurants, supermarkets, and cafés, and turns it into dishes to feed the homeless, and says that it was the ‘homeless’ and ‘hungry’ equation in particular that really resonated well with him. “To be honest, I have been good at writing out cheques—and have signed many over the years in support of some very deserving groups; but getting involved in OzHarvest’s annual CEO CookOff recently was the first time I took myself out of my comfort zone. I said to myself: Don’t just write the cheque—go and raise some money, ask your friends for contributions, and in doing that you are explaining the idea behind OzHarvest and explaining the plight of some of these people who are so disadvantaged.”
He found the fundraising part smooth sailing, smashing previous records by raising over A$112,000 for the charity. However, the cook-off wasn’t so easy. “On the night, you are cooking for 1,000
homeless and disadvantaged people,” he says. “I am a professional eater, not a professional chef ! But you get to serve and talk to the people—and they have been through tough stuff. We had hard times in the early days of Aussie, but we never saw a pinch of what some of these people have seen or experienced. There was a lady who has been homeless since she was 16, and she’s now 70. It’s a different world. I do believe that if you can help, you should. I can and I should; Aussie can and it should. It’s as simple as that. The world has been kind to us, and we should be as kind back wherever and whenever we can.”
In fact, James was so moved by the experience that Aussie has since become a national Major Partner with OzHarvest. The agreement includes a substantial cash donation to support the charity, as well as programs for Aussie’s more than 1,500 mortgage brokers and team members to get behind the cause, giving everyone in the business a chance to give back.
“We have a household brand that everyone knows, and we sell the vast majority of mortgage products from most lenders in the country, so really there is no reason why I shouldn’t be looking at that 10 per cent market share over the next five years and doing everything I can to double it.” - James Symond
“Our relationship with Aussie is a true partnership and of enormous value to us. We have a collaborative working relationship, and can always expect a high level of business acumen from Aussie’s experienced leadership team.” - Glenn Gibson, Head of Sales, AMP Bank
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW
Ronni Khan with James Symond | Jon Bader Photography
Getty Images for OzHarvest
Information correct as at 14 March 2016 and subject to change without notice. Approval is subject to AMP Bank guidelines. Credit provider is AMP Bank Limited, Australian credit licence 234517.
OR A NEW DEVELOPMENT
We have home loans to help you get the job done. Building your own real estate empire? Or working on the perfect family home? AMP Bank has a range of solutions to help you reach your property goal. Whether you want to borrow for a new family home or to extend your investment portfolio or use the equity in your home to do renovations, we have a range of variable rate loans, fixed rates loans and lines of credit that can be combined to suit your needs. Want options for your property plan? Talk to AMP Bank on 13 30 30.
