Best mortgage companies to work for in the US do one thing differently
Founded in 2002, the company went against the grain after the pandemic, keeping employees in the office while much of the industry moved to remote and hybrid work.
“We kind of zigged when a lot of people zagged,” said Ian Franz, director of culture at Veterans United Home Loans. Licensing rules limit which activities can happen outside a licensed facility, but Franz said the bigger factor was cultural: “The people being together is kind of the special sauce.”
He did not dress up the cost. “That does mean that sometimes we miss out on people, on talent, on opportunities.”
At that scale, listening runs through infrastructure. Nearly 2,000 employee-led small groups – book clubs, gaming groups, faith-based studies and outdoor adventure clubs, supported by dedicated PTO – have formed over the past three years, with a 75.9 percent participation rate.
“It’s hard to make friends as an adult,” Franz said. The Veterans United Foundation, now in its 15th year, lets employees pledge 1% of their paycheck, which the company matches in full, a structure that has generated more than $150 million in employee-driven giving, with grants decided by employee-led committees.
