PPP Operations Transition & Program Management

PPP Operations Transition & Program Management

Challenge

Transitioned operational responsibilities for the Paycheck Protection Program from an external vendor to an internal team under compressed timelines. The initiative required simultaneously:

• Managing the transfer of institutional knowledge and processes
• Executing ongoing program objectives (new funding round processing)
• Maintaining continuous forgiveness application processing for existing loans
• Completing the entire transition within a 30-day window once originations stabilized

The program served thousands of small business clients with strict regulatory SLAs and zero tolerance for service disruption during the transition.

Solution

Implemented a phased knowledge transfer strategy utilizing embedded learning and cascading training:

Phase 1: Embedded Learning - Selected 5 high-performing team members to embed directly with the vendor team, shadowing assigned partners and processing live applications to gain hands-on experience and serve as future team leads.

Phase 2: Parallel Operations - Assigned remaining team members to support ongoing funding operations while the embedded group gained expertise in forgiveness processes.

Phase 3: Knowledge Transfer - Conducted comprehensive training sessions to orient the broader team on forgiveness procedures as origination volumes decreased.

Phase 4: Mentored Transition - Paired remaining team members with experienced internal team leads for accelerated onboarding, then organized teams under the newly trained leads for ongoing operations.

This approach ensured continuous service delivery while building internal expertise through mentorship and hands-on learning.

Technology Stack

• nCino - Core loan origination and servicing platform
• Microsoft Teams - Cross-functional collaboration and communication
• Microsoft SharePoint - Document management and process documentation

Results & Impact

• Seamless transition with zero service disruption to 20,000+ loan portfolio
• Maintained regulatory compliance with all SLA requirements throughout transition
• End-to-end process ownership including client outreach, application processing, SBA coordination, customer service, and internal support
• Successfully processed forgiveness for the majority of the portfolio prior to major M&A completion
• Built internal capability eliminating ongoing vendor dependency and associated costs
• Demonstrated crisis leadership managing high-stakes transition under regulatory pressure

Program Value: Successfully transitioned multi-million-dollar federal program operations while maintaining regulatory compliance and client service standards.