Help!! I Need A Vacation From My Vacation!! (Preparing for, and Returning from Time Out of the Office)

Written By: John Hoxsey
Certified Master Loan Processor (CMLP)

Isn’t the reason we go on vacation to reduce stress? Then why does it seem, that as a processor, it is more stressful to be out of the office than to never leave? The thought of coming back from a vacation to a pile of incomplete work, a full e-mail in-box, loan officers lined up at your door, and loans that are in desperate need of TLC, can be enough to make you lose it.

I recently had to go out of town for a few short days due to a family emergency. I had a day to prepare for my absence and fortunately I only had two loans trying to close while I was away.

My absence got me thinking about what I will do when I take a vacation for a week or more later this year. Chances are, if business keeps increasing, then there will really not be a convenient time for a break that lasts that long. Time off is essential to our well being. It helps us to gain perspective and can be a great tool for reevaluating our direction in life. Besides - Processors need vacations just like everyone else, if not more!!

So how do we leave and ensure we do not lose our vacation and return to a big fat mess? Honestly, I am not sure. This is the mortgage industry after all. We have to put out many fires on a daily basis and the reality of the situation is those things will continue to happen in our absence.

There are things we can do to minimize the damage. If we carefully prepare and communicate, we can leave a system in place that will allow our team to maintain forward progress in our absence. The following is my no-nonsense list that should help you prepare.

Leave Emergency Contact Information
The operative word here is “Emergency”. You are going on a vacation. This is not a time for you to be lugging along files and a laptop and calling Loan Officers every five minutes.

Update Your Voice Mail Message
Leave an absence greeting that lets your callers know you are out of the office and when you will be returning. If you are fortunate enough to have an assistant or a team that will help you while you are away, leave instructions for how to contact them.

Compose an Auto-Response Message for Your E-mail
It is important to leave the same information that you leave on your answering machine here. You will also want to check and make sure you will not reach your size limit for your in-box. A full mailbox will prevent you from being able to send or receive e-mails.

Alert your Team and Delegate Responsibilities
Delegate responsibilities to others during your absence, or take steps for implementation. If people have requested time-sensitive actions or information from you, be sure to respond before you leave. If you can’t provide the information, forward the mail to someone who can. Worst case scenario, if you are the only one who can do what you do, and you do not have any back-up, then everyone will just have to wait until you return. The world is not going to collapse if you are gone for a week. Everyone will survive.

Check in work files.
If you go on vacation with a file checked out, your team members can’t work on the most recent version of that file. Make sure to check all your files in before leaving the office. I scan copies of the entire file so the LO can have an exact replica of the file sitting in my office. This will give them easy access to information should an underwriter or closer need it.

Focus on the important files.
You can leave the ones that won’t be closing for a few weeks alone, and deal with them when you get back. Prioritize according to which files will be closing when you are gone. Get as much done on them before you leave, and than leave your back-up person, or, if necessary, the LO as much details as possible so that they can finish up.

Create a smooth landing.
Consider taking an extra day to get your sleep schedule back on track before returning to work. Get to the office earlier than everyone else, so that you can begin catching up. Keeps others' expectations low for your first two days back. Under-promise and over-deliver so that you don't have to disappoint your team.

Here are some interesting facts from CBC news:

(Complete Article can be found here: http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/09/03/missed_vacation20050903.html)

Statistics show one in four working people don't take all the time off they are entitled to - which is an average of 21 days annually.

The average employee gives up three vacation days a year.

Experts say workers are worried about job security and advancement.

Workers are increasingly avoiding taking off large blocks of time, in exchange for two- or three-day breaks.

The biggest fear people have is what's going to happen at work when they're not there.

Some employees align their vacations with their boss's. If their boss is not around, he's not going to be in contact with them but with nobody else either."

At least 30 per cent of employees who don't take all their time, say they're acting out of fear.

The same is true of women on maternity leave, leading mothers to return to work before they have to.

Benjamin Hunnicutt, a historian and professor at the University of Iowa, argues leisure time has become "trivialized" while work has been "elevated to the modern religion," a way for people to define themselves and find meaning in their lives. As a result, he says, time off can lead to a feeling of emptiness and boredom.

And there's stress both in preparing for time off, and in dealing with the work that piles up while they're away.
Americans are even more likely to leave vacation days on the table, with 31 per -cent of working Americans reporting they don't take all the days they're entitled to. The average American worker gets only 12 vacation days annually, and Americans are the most likely (at 35 per cent) of all nationalities surveyed to work more than 40 hours per week.

Ipsos-Reid surveyed workers in Canada, the United States, France, Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands.

· France is the leader in work-life balance. Each employed adult gets an average of 39 days vacation, and nearly half take at least one extended (3-4 week) vacation annually.

· Germans receive an average of 27 vacation days, and more than half report taking every day they get.

· In the Netherlands, workers get an average of 25 days, and 62 per cent report taking at least one two-week holiday.

· Workers in Great Britain report receiving the fewest vacation days of European workers surveyed, at 23 days. Forty per cent of British workers say they'd sacrifice a day's pay for an extra day off.

If you aren't excited about going back to work, take another week off and find a better job.

Remember - Your reputation is your business.

Happy Processing!!!

About the Writer. As one of NAMP's volunteer writers, John Hoxsey is currently a NAMP member in good standing and is a NAMP Certified Master Loan Processor (CMLP). If you would like to become a volunteer writer for NAMP, please email us at: blog@mortgageprocessor.org.