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A brokerage owner has outlined the various benefits of undertaking inclusive practices for the broking industry.
On the back of the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia’s (MFAA) recent Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) event in Sydney, franchise owner and mortgage broker at Resolve Finance Derrimut, Victoria, Niti Bhargava, has highlighted further now DEI can benefit a broking business.
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Speaking to The Adviser, Bhargava said that brokers who create an inclusive environment in their business could gain a “competitive advantage”.
“We have to be very creative, specifically now that [brokers hold around] 72 per cent of market share. There will be a point where we will be competing with each other and not just with the banks,” Bhargava said.
Bhargava stated that through better cultural understanding, brokers will be able to make better informed decisions with clients from different walks of life.
She said: “If you have a husband and wife sitting in front of you and the wife is in a hijab, you have to respect that as their cultural belief. If you’re shown to be insensitive or not understanding, that can break [a potential] deal you have with those clients.
“Nowadays, acquiring a new client is expensive. When you do acquire a client, you have to bring you[r] ‘A’ game, because not only are they your client, but [it’s] their network of friends, family, schoolmates, and everyone around them becoming your advocates and customers as well.
“Brokerages should also be accepting all sort of different people with open arms when it comes to hiring staff, it just opens up a bigger talent pool for you.”
Bhargava further told The Adviser that there are many tools that brokers can utilise to practically integrate diversity and inclusion into their businesses.
“For example, the MFAA’s inaugural DEI event has made it so brokers can get involved and see what industry bodies are trying to convey. Participation in these events is really important,” Bhargava said.
“Apart from industry, there’s so much happening in local areas.
“Whenever I entered a new community, I thought how could this community be a good advocate for my business? I got involved in more cultural events and I found that it actually supported my business and my brand in a big way.
“We live in a global world now. The world is becoming a smaller place and it’s really important for individuals and businesses to embrace each other’s differences whether it be cultural, age, or generational.”
During the DEI event earlier in May, MFAA CEO Anja Pannek told The Adviser that the event aimed to showcase the importance of “promoting diversity, equity and inclusion” along with the “great initiatives occurring within [the broking] industry”.
[RELATED: ‘Our industry should represent the community it serves’: MFAA]
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