It’s the time that matters, right? How can an associate truly understand a company without giving them time, and time is what most don’t give these days. With nine years under his belt at Heartland Bank, Mike Beitman is the type of associate that Heartland seeks out, and the bank commits daily to supporting a culture that entices these associates to look to ten, fifteen and even twenty years of service.
This is accomplished through quality and excellence. “It’s hard to articulate but I know it when I see it. When you’ve been here for nine years, you see people come and go but start to recognize those that have the ‘Heartland’ values. I don’t think quality and excellence is necessarily about production numbers or other similar measurable metrics. Rather, it’s the intangible things - being a part of the team and bringing value over and above numbers,” shared Mike. “We truly care about our clients and do what’s right. It sounds super cliché, but it’s true.”
Mike has spent his career at Heartland trying to do the right thing not only for the client, but for his teammates and himself. Mike shared, “When I first started as a mortgage loan processor, we were still using all paper files. A lot of time was spent tracking down missed signatures or initials on the roughly 30-document disclosure package for a mortgage. Not wanting to spend large chunks of my day sorting through ‘sign here’ stickers and stuffing envelopes, I discovered Encompass (our loan system) could handle all this via email with electronic signatures and a few button clicks. The tools were there, we just needed someone to figure out how to do it and set it up. So, I did. This started my path to where I am now, focusing my time on maximizing the benefits and capabilities of our technology. After setting up eDisclosures, I’ve worked to convert the inches-thick, all-paper mortgage files to virtually all paperless, re-worked our application-to-close and approval process, and consolidated almost 40 fee templates into one master template that updates dynamically.”
None of this happened for Mike as a result of normal job promotions and/or identification of career goals. Actually, he took the lead himself. “Take initiative. Even if the motivation behind it seems small. My motivation behind setting up eDisclosures years ago wasn’t out of some noble sense of efficiency and process improvement. I thought stuffing envelopes full of disclosures was boring. I didn’t want to do it. I thought spending hours stacking hundreds of sheets of paper in a certain order for the paper file before filing it away bordered on cruel and unusual. I saw a way to do these needed, but less than intellectually stimulating, processes a different way, ran with it, and then they were done in minutes and other things could be focused on. That initial thought of ‘How can I not have to do this thing?’ was the catalyst for a career path that previously didn’t exist at Heartland. Which – excellent segway award please – brings me to my next piece of advice, just because a certain job role doesn’t exist here, that doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t. I’ve been here for nine years. Many (maybe most?) of the job titles I see now didn’t exist or weren’t even an idea when I started. Some of that is natural growth and expansion, sure. But I’d argue that a lot of it was people stepping up, taking the initiative to become the go-to expert at something and turning that into advancement.”
As Heartland’s mortgage systems administrator, Mike is responsible for a mix of support, project management and operations duties. According to Matt Booms, director of mortgage banking, “Mike is an integral part of the Mortgage team; the projects he leads drive efficiency, profitability and improve our client experience. We could not be prouder to have Mike on the team. His critical thinking and expertise make a difference every day.”
Interestingly enough, Mike stumbled upon both a career in the banking industry while in Toledo for a few years after college and later a position at Heartland Bank and was happy that this new path would bring him back to the Columbus area. This is where he wanted to build his family, and he and his wife now have a two-year-old daughter and a newborn son. “I like to be outside and love a good hike. Capitol Reef in Utah has been my favorite spot so far. We have a greenhouse and garden beds in our backyard. I’m a bit of a music nerd, I can fumble my way around a guitar or piano and would rarely turn down an afternoon of crate digging for vinyls. I like cooking and also like to think I’m pretty good at it.”
If you’d appreciate workmates like Mike, check out Heartland Bank’s career pages for more information on benefits, current openings and the workplace environment. A new career path might just change your life too!