By Chris Uldricks
In financial services sector, speed, accuracy and trust are non-negotiable. But achieving these imperatives at scale – especially in today’s climate of margin pressure and digital acceleration – requires reimagining how teams are built and managed.
American Financial Network, Inc., is one of the fastest-growing mortgage bankers in the U.S., serving over 100,000 customers; 1 in every 300 home loans in the U.S. is managed through our platform, and we have approximately 2,000 employees worldwide. A big part of our growth story is a transformative talent strategy known as dedicated global staffing.
From Conventional to Competitive: Building for Scale
When we needed to triple our operational capacity, we turned to Emapta, a dedicated staffing partner with deep expertise in building high-performance global teams. In less than nine months, we were able to grow our offshore team rapidly. Starting with just three team members, we were able to quickly expand to over 100. Today, we have more than 150 offshore team members working in key areas, such as compliance, accounting, IT and human resources.
With this new global workforce, we have been able to achieve a 300% increase in loan processing volume, with higher customer satisfaction due to faster turnaround.
But the success story isn’t just in the numbers, it’s in the fact that we were able to do this with improved internal alignment and consistency across teams. And it’s a testimonial to “offshoring 2.0” – the power of a new dedicated staffing model that delivers the best of both worlds: the flexibility and cost-efficiency of offshore support, combined with the transparency, cultural alignment and control of an in-house team.
Dedicated Staffing is Ideal for Fintech
Unlike traditional outsourcing, the dedicated staffing model allows businesses to hand-select talent, maintain direct oversight of performance and team dynamics, and scale on demand – all without the operational burden of managing infrastructure, HR, compliance or IT.
Dedicated staffing is a workforce model where offshore professionals are fully integrated into the company’s daily operations, systems and culture. They aren’t freelancers or part of a Business Process Outsourcing shop – they’re true team members.
This approach is gaining traction in fintech for three reasons:
- It scales fast without sacrificing quality;
- It mitigates operational risk through talent diversification; and,
- It ensures compliance and control that is essential in heavily regulated environments.
For AFN, this meant hiring specialists in areas such as quality assurance, compliance, appraisal, accounting, and other back-office roles, all managed within a secure, compliant infrastructure provided by Emapta. This approach translated into around-the-clock productivity, improved planning cycles and the ability to absorb surges in loan volume without missing a beat or compromising the customer experience.
Culture Is the Catalyst
What truly differentiated this initiative was our insistence on cultural alignment. Offshore team members weren’t selected solely for skills. Candidates were fully vetted to ensure they shared AFN’s service standards, values and work ethic.
This emphasis on culture transformed what may have been a cost-saving tactic into a long-term strategic differentiator. Our offshore teams became fully engaged, loyal contributors bringing the same sense of ownership as their U.S. counterparts.
As one of our team members in the Philippines said: “At AFN, I don’t feel like I’m working for a company overseas. I feel like I’m part of a mission.”
Lessons Learned for Fintech Leaders
For fintech leaders navigating fast growth, evolving customer demands and tight margins, there’s a powerful takeaway: how you build your teams is just as critical as the product you deliver.
Here are three key lessons from our experience that every fintech executive should consider when rethinking their workforce strategy for scale and sustainability:
- Think Beyond Gig Workers and BPO Models: Many fintech companies rely on short-term contractors or traditional outsourcing for operational support. Issues of churn, limited accountability and lack of integration can erode performance over time. Dedicated staffing solves this by offering both stability and strategic alignment.
- Embrace the Onshore-Offshore Hybrid: A modern workforce isn’t just about location, it’s about orchestration. With embedded offshore teams, we increased our operational capacity without adding workforce complexity or compliance risk. This creates a future-ready model for organizations looking to scale without “breaking” infrastructure.
- Use Talent as a Growth Lever: Fintechs are often laser-focused on product, funding and user acquisition. However, talent strategy remains the growth multiplier. Our experience shows that operational performance and employee fit can be engineered globally, not just locally.
The Future of Fintech Staffing Is Hybrid, Human and Intentional
Your ability to grow is directly tied to how well you scale your talent not just your technology. By investing in a smart, culturally-aligned and globally distributed team, we were able to build something bigger than mere capacity – we built global fortitude and resilience.
As fintech continues to evolve at breakneck speed, the firms that will thrive are those that treat talent acquisition as strategy, not simply logistics. And with that strategy, dedicated staffing can be the competitive edge that sets businesses apart in a crowded field.
About the Author
Chris Uldricks is the Corporate Liaison for offshore operations at American Financial Network, Inc.
“American Financial Network, Inc. is not acting as a financial advisor or consultant.”
