Cohesive culture, happy customers

MAKING CONNECTIONS: Province Mortgage Associates CEO, President and Executive Director David Currie, center, makes a point of creating a work culture that values employees, who in turn value the firm's customers. Operations Manager Glenn Tourtellot is at left. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
MAKING CONNECTIONS: Province Mortgage Associates CEO, President and Executive Director David Currie, center, makes a point of creating a work culture that values employees, who in turn value the firm's customers. Operations Manager Glenn Tourtellot is at left. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Recognized as one of the Best Places to Work by Providence Business News seven times within the past eight years, Province Mortgage Associates Inc. knows what it’s about and what its customers expect.

“We’ve always stayed true to who we were and are,” President, Executive Director and CEO David Currie said. “We could’ve gotten a lot bigger, but not without losing sight of who we are. ”

Who they are is a trusted residential and commercial mortgage broker and lender that stays true to its small-company origins. That is possible, said Currie, because “we hire like-minded people. Do that, and it’s contagious. You grow with the right people with the same moral compass.”

Province Director of Corporate Relations Donald Wilson said when the company started in 2005, “We were just a tiny company in a sea of mortgage lenders.”

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The company decided to differentiate itself by staying small, focusing on the client experience and quite literally being cohesively principled. Province Mortgage quickly created a list of principles that all employees must adhere to, including the creed that they are all reflections of one another “in and out of office.”

Not all of those who sell mortgages always have a vested interest in the success of the homebuyer, Wilson said. Because of its client-focused philosophy, Province, on the other hand, calls its lenders “mortgage advisers” and operates more like a close-knit family.

“As a fully delegated lender, [this] company can personally guide the client from origination and approval to underwriting and closing,” Wilson said.

He proudly notes that 100 percent of Province’s business is from referrals, and the vast majority of the customer-satisfaction surveys are answered with positive feedback.

“We get around 30 surveys back per month, all with positive comments,” he said. “The main reason they give, it’s always the service. Our closing costs are reasonable. Our rates are competitive. But it’s always the service. That’s why our clients actively refer others to us.”

Province itself reaches out into the community, and in unique ways. In 2013, the company started an internal Accountability Coaching Boot Camp designed to teach better daily work habits. This boot camp has been extended into a free community outreach and training program for Realtors and other professionals with sessions held across Massachusetts, Rhode Island and even Connecticut.

The challenges the company has overcome, Wilson said, include adjusting to the federal Dodd-Frank regulations in 2011 and the Truth in Lending Integrated Disclosure Regulations in 2015. These regulatory changes made it easier for consumers but created tremendous pressure for mortgage companies to comply. “Province is humbled and proud to share that we thrived!” Wilson said. “Our leadership has stayed way ahead of these changes while proactively feeding this information to our entire team.”

Another challenge came in the form of a loss that hit too close to home at Province.

In 2013, Operations Manager Chris Amaral was diagnosed with cancer and died one year later. The company organized the First Annual Chris Amaral Memorial Mini-Golf Tournament in his memory. The Sept. 17, 2016, event at Mulligan Island Golf and Entertainment in Cranston raised $10,000 for The Tomorrow Fund, which aids children and their families dealing with cancer.

The loss and planning of the memorial event symbolizes the staff’s family-like closeness in handling any future challenges that come its way. •

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