We talk a lot about how our overarching purpose is to help Grow Happiness. Certainly, that extends to our customers and clients, but it starts with our employees. We’re good at what we do; 98% customer satisfaction means a lot of happy homeowners. But we believe it also means a lot of happy workers — happiness is contagious, after all.

As an entity, it’s easy for us to talk about why we think our employees love working for TMS. But it means much more to us — and to you — to hear it from them directly.

This October, Mortgage Professional America (MPA) sent out a survey asking companies to submit their information as part of a nationwide competition to win a Top Mortgage Workplace Award. To be considered, we submitted a two-part survey, one part completed by the employer and the other by employees. To qualify, 10% of our employees had to voluntarily submit survey responses. We ended up with 129 responses, with an average individual score of 88.66% (for reference, the overall average in our category was about 80%).

Of the many eligible companies in the 500+ employee category, TMS was named among the Top 5 as a Top Mortgage Workplace!

As we celebrate this award and look to build upon our success, we find ourselves thinking back over the core values that set TMS apart. They are what make us who we are. We adopted them in the very beginning, and, especially in a time of success, we know how important it is to recommit ourselves to them all over again.

People Matter

Our first — and most overarching — Core Value is that people matter. Our team is what propels us to success, and allows us to convert our visions into realities. To that end, it’s absolutely integral to invest in them, imbuing them with extensive skillsets and creating a fun, yet challenging work atmosphere. Through this combination, we foster a culture of achievement, longevity and excellence.

Likewise, by making ample space for social responsibility and philanthropy, we maintain a focus on the human impact of our work more broadly. Over time, our team members develop trust in their mission and pride in the work they do, knowing their work has impact far beyond the established confines of the job.

Inspiring Leadership

Culture is established from the top down. The best leaders lead by example, not by mandate. For this reason, we ensure that our leaders are sources of both inspiration and accountability. Through clearly defined goals and expectations, our management have the capacity to encourage creativity and to keep our employees focused on results. Of course, our customers’ satisfaction is integral to TMS’s success, and therefore to our employees’ happiness. Our leaders are able to comprehend, articulate, and deliver on this promise.

Talk is cheap; actions are the only truth. What you do says infinitely more about you than what you say. Our leaders model TMS’s vision, creating a culture of high performance, transparency, and accountability.

Strength of Character

Just as an NBA team suffers when its all-star is a ball-hog, businesses suffer when their employees start thinking selfishly. We believe that a committed, team-oriented outlook is the central component of personal character. We also know that employees are much more likely to think selflessly when they believe more in the organization’s success than their own personal success. Creating an environment that is conducive to personal character is a holistic exercise — again, top-down, not bottom-up.

We are committed to recruiting values-driven people who demonstrate character both when someone’s watching and when no one is. Personal integrity, strong work ethic, transparency, and commitment to success are the central components we seek in prospective TMS team members.

Rock Solid Service

Knowing who we are, who we want to be, and how to make it happen, all that’s left is execution. Our chief objective is to build a raving fanbase through consistent service, quality products and accessibility. We seek to build relationships in an industry that has not always been relationship-driven. We educate our employees, so that they, in turn, can educate our customers. Every step of the way, we extend respect to our employees, showing them that we believe in their abilities to fulfill their fullest potential.

Ultimately, with our Core Values firing on all cylinders, we set ourselves apart. We develop original approaches to business, and we know how to articulate our visions. We find the right people to help realize those visions, and we create a team-oriented atmosphere that allows each individual member to take pride in their work. When it comes time for customer service, our staff knows the roadmap like the backs of their hands: Happiness is the destination, and creative, disciplined, people-first service is the way there.

Looking Forward

Without a doubt, we were gunning for the top spot, and aspired to a score of 100%. But what this award tells us is that our efforts to help Grow Happiness with TMS have been successful. We are enormously gratified to be recognized by the MPA as a Top Mortgage Workplace finalist, extremely grateful to our 129 employees who responded to the survey, and indebted to all of our employees, each of whom makes TMS such a special place to work.

Wanna work here? If you think you’ve got what it takes to become Pink Unicornified, check out the open jobs on our careers page.