Brokers urged to address workflow inefficiencies

Speaking on Broker Daily’s latest Business Accelerator podcast episode, Broker Daily director Alex Whitlock and Broker Essentials director and broker coach Jason Back examined how productivity and efficiency are often misunderstood in the broking sector.

With brokers managing growing workloads and rising borrower expectations, the pair said many professionals mistakenly equate being busy with making meaningful progress in their business.

Instead, they said that productivity is ultimately determined by how effectively brokers structure their systems, processes, and use of time.

“Productivity is something that most of us think about a lot,” Whitlock said.

“I know that I’ll think about productivity in the businesses I’m in, and here’s the funny thing for me. Whenever we need to be more productive, I kind of go into this funny white out where I can’t actually nail it down to tangibles. I don’t know how to be more productive and also get other people to be more productive too. And what indeed is productivity?”

Back added: “Productivity, in simple terms, is total output divided by total input. It’s about what you produce. For our industry, it’s the settlements we produce.

“Efficiency is how well we do the things to get the output. I think this is the bit that brokers forget. There’s no point trying to be more productive if the way we’re currently working is fundamentally broken.”

Moving beyond the ‘busy broker’ mindset

Back and Whitlock noted that some brokers operate in a constant state of activity that creates the appearance of productivity without delivering strategic progress.

Administrative tasks, document chasing, and reactive workflows can quickly consume a broker’s day, leaving little time for higher-value activities such as client acquisition, relationship building, or business strategy.

“We can’t produce more if the way we’re trying to produce things doesn’t work anymore,” Back said.

“And as productivity has changed with the tech and tools we use today, customer expectations have changed as well. But when it comes to productivity, efficiency is so important because it creates the space to be more productive.”

Whitlock said brokers can also fall into the trap of continuing work simply because time has already been invested.

“I’ve embarked on many projects myself where I’ve got three-quarters of the way through and gone, why am I doing this? It all seemed like a good idea at the beginning,” Whitlock said.

“I’ve done an enormous amount of work, and I’ve wasted ground where being productive in the right areas is incredibly valuable.”

Understanding the productivity pyramid

Back explained that broker productivity often follows what he describes as a “productivity pyramid”, where businesses progress through different stages as their systems and processes mature.

At the base of the pyramid is activity, where many brokers spend the majority of their time handling administrative work, chasing documentation, and reacting to incoming tasks.

“It’s busy work, it’s chasing docs, it’s juggling tasks. But as I said before, it’s easy to confuse this momentum with progress,” Back said.

The next stage is efficiency, where brokers introduce systems, automation, and clearer processes to manage workflow and reduce administrative drag.

As businesses progress, the focus shifts to effectiveness, ensuring the right people are performing the right tasks. This includes clarifying roles, so brokers can concentrate on client relationships and sales, while support staff manage operational work.

At the top of the pyramid is impact, where brokers move beyond managing workload and begin designing their business for long-term growth.

“When you start to understand where your time goes, and your results start to reflect that, you really move into the impactful side of things. That’s where vision, leadership and growth start,” Back said.

4 steps to working smarter

To help brokers improve productivity, Back outlined four strategies focused on improving efficiency first.

The first step is conducting a time audit, which involves tracking how long common tasks take – from client meetings and document collection to loan applications and follow-ups – to understand how time is being spent.

This helps brokers identify workflow bottlenecks, determine realistic deal capacity, and pinpoint where improvements are needed.

The second step is what Back described as a “time shift”, where brokers structure their work around periods of peak focus.

Rather than approaching the day reactively, brokers can schedule deep, complex work when their energy levels are highest, while reserving lower-energy periods for administrative tasks.

The third strategy involves systemising processes by documenting workflows, creating standard operating procedures, and building repeatable processes that reduce reliance on memory or ad hoc decision making.

Finally, Back highlighted the growing role of automation and artificial intelligence in streamlining broker workflows. Tools that assist with lender comparisons, document management, and client communication can significantly reduce the time required to complete routine tasks.

He added: “Unproductivity is not through lack of desire or motivation. It’s pure technique. And this is where we’ve got to think about the tools that we use and how we approach our days.”

Related: Brokers see more professionals relocating to regional Australia]