HDMZ centralized client and employee onboarding, simplified operations and streamlined utilization with Accelo. Now, the leading full-service scientific communications agency is ready to double its size — and impact — with the smart platform as a partner.
What’s it like to manage a business without the appropriate back-end technology to actually run the business? Rebecca Angelos, Chief Operating Officer at HDMZ, knows all too well. More than 10 years ago, the agency had too many systems and not enough visibility.
“We had a talented team of go-getters from multiple backgrounds and disciplines, all using a lot of different systems to manage their workdays,” she explains. “There were clearly opportunities to improve our efficiency.”
Today, HDMZ has successfully optimized efficiency and visibility thanks to its decision to consolidate its various operational technology platforms. So, how did this evolution take place?
Rebecca first had to drill down into the specific problems a new platform would need to solve. Because of the disparate array of tools HDMZ was using, the team’s internal communications system wasn’t functioning optimally.
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At the same time, management faced challenges when determining where projects stood, making it harder than it should have been to keep internal and external clients informed on project status and business reporting. Additionally, employee training and onboarding were complicated because the agency had to keep track of a vast number of logins.
“When we were trying to get things done for high-value clients on tight deadlines, there were times when we could see the opportunities for an improved operational workflow,” Rebecca says.
The benefits of using Accelo were obvious to HDMZ when their paths initially crossed in 2013. Specifically, the advantages of replacing endless emails and calls with a single source of work history and a convenient client portal were enormous.
Accelo also demonstrated a willingness to work closely with HDMZ to customize elements of its dashboard and framework to accommodate the agency’s specific workflow needs.
It didn’t take long for HDMZ employees to appreciate these productivity features. The email capture functionality, in particular, had a positive impact on how HDMZ worked. Over time, turning to Accelo for client communication history has become second nature. And as the business has expanded its staff and services, and has gone increasingly more remote since the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to streamline communication has been fundamental.
“Nowadays, it would seem strange and against our company culture to rely on email for project tracking or file management,” says Emily Doherty, Director of Talent Management. “It took a while to get there, but now all of our employees understand how to use Accelo, and it’s so much more efficient.”
Emily’s team leads talent management and has recently started using Accelo to track employees’ time and availability, which generates useful insights about profitability. She’s thankful the business didn’t wait to implement an end-to-end digital solution until it was too big — a mistake she’s seen other agencies make.
Accelo also serves as HDMZ’s solution for seamlessly onboarding new employees. Emily varies platform training by role and uses in-house videos to simplify the process.
Rebecca summed up Accelo’s impact just a couple of years after the initial implementation: “It’s an all-encompassing system that does a lot of things well — the centerpiece to what we are trying to do."
Emily concurs and says this is still true in 2022. She goes on to state: “There are myriad ways to configure Accelo to meet our needs, and it’s super easy. Things get done, and they don’t get lost. Overall, it makes everyone’s job easier, which makes everyone happier.”
Emily attributes HDMZ’s incredibly low employee turnover to tools, such as Accelo, which embody this ease of use.
"It’s rare to find an agency in which burnout isn’t a byproduct of today’s post-pandemic workplace, but HDMZ has broken the stereotypical mold. For the efficiency of the business and the mental well-being of our employees, it’s much easier to use Accelo."
Moving forward, HDMZ has even bigger plans, aiming to double in size by 2026 and to be the most admired marketing communications agency for the life sciences and biotech. Accelo will be an important operational backbone in that effort, helping to make those ambitious goals a reality.
Ready to break the mold like HDMZ? Try Accelo for your agency.
