WASHINGTON, DC-With apologies to Charles Dickens, it was the best of times and the worst of times when John Cannon joined Freddie Mac in February as senior vice president of production and sales. It was the best of times because Freddie Mac’s multifamily division was in the midst of closing a banner quarter—$5.7 billion, for an 88% increase over the previous year’s quarter. It was the worst of times for quite obvious reasons—the uncertainty of the GSE’s future. Indeed, one of Cannon’s chief goals upon joining has been to stem the flow of outgoing personnel.

Cannon declined to discuss specific retention tactics with us, or for that matter, exactly how many people are actually leaving. He was very voluble, however, on the GSE’s plans to push forward in the multifamily space—an industry in which he is well steeped. Before joining Freddie, Cannon was executive vice president with Berkadia Commercial Mortgage. Prior to that, he was at Capmark Finance and GMAC Commercial Mortgage. GlobeSt.com caught up with Cannon three months after he joined to see how he settled in.

GlobeSt: Since joining in February, you likely have some goals established for the division. Can you discuss?

Cannon: As a matter of fact, I wrote my goals on a grease board in my office when I first joined, and I look at them every day. It says people, process, communication.

Regarding “people,” retention is a huge focus for us. We are definitely experiencing higher-than-normal turnover.

My goal for “process” is to improve cycle time in terms of quoting and rate locking loans. We have established a process improvement committee to come up with ideas along those lines and already have process improvements underway. They allow us to work a little smarter in terms of underwriting and moving loans through the system. We don’t want our customers negatively impacted when it comes to slow processing—right now with rates as low as they are right now, everyone wants to lock in ASAP.

And finally  there's “communication.” We need to improve our level of communication with key constituents, not the least of which are employees. We want to be as transparent as we can about the future of multifamily. We also want to increase communication with sellers about products and processes.

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GlobeSt.com: What changes has the production and sales division undergone in the last year in response to the economy?

Cannon: There have been some changes, but not necessarily in response to the economy, unless you consider we have had to staff up due to attrition and also the increased loan volume, which naturally happens when rates drop. We’ve had some changes in personnel and staffing, with new faces such as myself coming in. There has been a lot of shifting in seats of familiar faces—people that have been promoted or changed roles within the division.

GlobeSt.com: What are some of the new demands of your users as the economy improves?

Cannon: Speed. Again, that has to do with the benchmark 10-year Treasury, which as you know is at a 10-year low.

GlobeSt.com: As you met with lenders, can you tell me what they most would like to see Freddie Mac change? Or put another way, if they were to list the number one thing they would change about Freddie Mac, what do you think it would be?

Cannon: With every single person I talk to, it's the same question: what are you doing to retain your people? It is a refrain I hear over and over again. I think our customers get it that people in this unit—production and sales—are guys that do all the heavy lifting and have produced unbelievable results.

The biggest business risk we face right now is losing those people. So providing clarity on the GSEs would really help right now.

GlobeSt.com: Since joining, what has surprised you the most about the position?

Cannon: Before I joined, people warned me it would be a highly bureaucratic job. And yes, I have seen that, but it hasn’t been that bad.

But I think my most pleasant surprise has been the collegial atmosphere within Freddie. There are a bunch of nice, friendly, smart, hardworking individuals—I love coming to work every day.

GlobeSt.com: You’ve touched on this theme throughout our conversation so I guess the question won’t surprise you. But why on earth did you join Freddie Mac at this juncture, when its future is so uncertain?

Cannon: I am confident about the future of this division and there is no reason why we can’t continue our mission, no reason we can’t continue that well into foreseeable future, possibly with private capital. I joined because I love putting together deals and this place has a tremendous level of volume. 

But even if you set all that aside, the question becomes, what about the future? That is cloudy yes, but sometimes in life you have to take a stand, and say "I think the future will improve and people will recognize and reward the job that people have done here in the multifamily division."