When a talent problem isn’t talent
IN Partnership with
Holly Mickens of SitusAMC argues that most real estate finance firms don’t have a talent problem. They have a business challenge presenting itself as one, and the distinction matters
More
When a real estate lender, servicer, or investor calls Holly Mickens, they think they have a talent problem. More often than not, they don’t: they have a business challenge presenting itself as a talent issue.
“Clients often describe symptoms versus root causes,” says Mickens, senior managing director of strategic advisory solutions at SitusAMC. “When we work with clients, it’s really understanding their pain points and what they’re trying to solve for. I say I get my job right when I'm no longer a vendor – it’s really about clients leveraging me as a business partner.”
A market reset, a workforce rethink
The demand for that kind of partnership didn’t emerge in a vacuum. The rate cycle that began in 2022 reshaped the real estate finance industry’s relationship with its own workforce. As origination volumes collapsed and deal activity stalled, firms across the sector cut headcount aggressively.
SitusAMC is a leading independent provider of technology, strategic outsourcing, talent, and advisory solutions to the commercial and residential real estate finance industries. The company helps clients identify and capture opportunities in their real estate businesses through industry-leading services and innovative technologies that drive operational efficiency, increase business effectiveness, and improve market agility across the entire life cycle of their global real estate activity. For more information, visit www.situsamc.com.
Find out more
“It’s about access to capabilities rather than ownership of them. The greatest agility comes when organizations can pursue growth initiatives knowing they can procure the right talent to focus on the work”
Holly Mickens,
SitusAMC
Share
Published Oct 19, 2026
“Organizations that succeed won’t have the largest teams, but the most adaptable ones. There’s an art, a finesse, to knowing how to meet market demand as it shifts”
Holly Mickens,
SitusAMC
with hiring to suit it. Ultimately, access to expertise is more important than owning it and becomes a key competitive differentiator.
“Organizations that succeed won’t have the largest teams, but the most adaptable ones. Even in how I manage my own team, that’s what it’s all about. There’s an art, a finesse, to knowing how to meet market demand as it shifts,” she says.
The rebound, when it came, brought a new problem: the need to rebuild capacity fast, without repeating the overcommitment that made those cuts so painful.
The challenge now isn’t cost management, Mickens notes, although that always plays a role. Companies are tasked with balancing scalability with expertise and agility, an arguably much more difficult task. The question today is not how many people an organization needs, she says; it’s whether they have access to what they need when they need it.
“Clients want control, so it’s a quest to blend strong internal teams with scalable specialized talent. Workforce strategy is becoming more of a business strategy discussion: a real shift from headcount management to capability management,” she explains.
The roles that can’t wait
When clients come to SitusAMC, most often they’re after underwriting, diligence, servicing, valuation, or advisory support.
Source: SitusAMC
SitusAMC: Built for real estate finance
870,000+
unique loan review scopes completed in 2025
$29.8B+
in new originations supported in 2025
75%+
of all US securitization transactions supported in 2025
$2.4T+
in CRE assets and debt evaluated quarterly
20+
years as the leading residential mortgage diligence provider
“Most clients aren’t looking for more people necessarily; they’re looking for expertise and capacity,” Mickens says.
Clients are counting on Mickens’ team to provide that expertise and capacity. Because SitusAMC is entirely focused on real estate finance, its networks run deep. “It knows the talent, knows the clients, and understands precisely what they’re looking for,” Mickens says.
While things like leadership, client relationships, and strategic decision-making stay internal, specialized expertise and surge capacity are where flexible talent creates the advantage.
“It’s about access to capabilities rather than ownership of
them,” Mickens says. “The greatest agility comes when organizations can pursue growth initiatives knowing they can procure the right talent, and that talent can focus entirely on the work.”
SitusAMC also shoulders the governance and integration in what is a heavily regulated industry. It’s the starting point for a successful program, where external professionals are set up to operate as a natural extension of the organization they’re joining.
Mickens calls Day One onboarding and compliance alignment critical. Her team sets up internal controls, such as background checks and ongoing oversight with larger engagements, from the beginning of the relationship. Accountability is a nonnegotiable throughout.
“When we bring in talent, we’re not just putting a body in a seat,” she states.
The workforce of the future requires a ‘true business partner’ mindset
Market uncertainty and tightening business demands still loom large over the industry, signaling that flexible workforce models aren’t just a trend. When people look at the future of workforce strategy, the org charts are at the back of the frame. It’s building pathways to on-demand expertise that’s sitting at the forefront, and the refocus is, by necessity, permanent.
“Organizations are increasingly viewing talent as an on-demand resource,” Mickens says, adding that her business is providing clients with workforce utilization they can ramp up and down with ease.
That lean in-house core supplemented by third-party specialist capacity will continue to grow as the dominant model, she predicts, as market dynamics evolve, and it’s increasingly challenging to keep up
That knack for meeting change is what SitusAMC is known for, along with what Mickens calls ‘a true business partner’ mindset. That kind of approach is built one relationship at a time. Even after a job is done, she’ll often have clients call her for help working through an issue. Mickens answers those calls every time and provides that same level of support to her own team members at SitusAMC.
Over her 12-and-a-half-year tenure at SitusAMC, she’s had the privilege of watching the talent she’s helped broker for clients rise: one from associate level underwriting to head of originations at a major bank. From being there for clients beyond the scope of each project, to the internal
relationships she nurtures, Mickens is invested in the success of her people.
“You really become a player-coach – on speed dial in both directions,” she says. “They lean into you for what you can provide on the business side and, as one client puts it, my wisdom, which is both gratifying and humbling. I’m very passionate about it.”
From contraction
to capacity challenge
$4.44T
$1.64T
$1.69T
~$2.0T
~$2.2T
US mortgage originations (in US$ trillions)
revised 2024 volume, reflecting MBA’s later incorporation of HMDA data
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
(est.)
2026
(forecast)
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
approximate 2023 volume, roughly 63% below the 2021 peak
Source: Mortgage Bankers Association. Originations figures reflect MBA estimates and forecasts available through 2026