Mallol Arquitectos, founded four decades ago, is the biggest architecture firm in Panama and Central America. The company and its 140 talented employees are well known for their professional tradition, experience in projects at any scale, and culture of innovation.
Life Before Scoro
Using various tools – from Deltek Vision to Teamwork – the business experienced the negative impact of technology silos firsthand. Information was accumulated on different platforms, it was not synchronized, and in the end, had no real value for the company.
Without one system of record in place, Mallol faced the constant challenge of standardizing and ensuring the accuracy of the data in use.
“We realized how much time was wasted on manual work for data visualization. We spent 5-6 hours generating reports for weekly meetings, but now it's done in minutes with Scoro.” – Monica Fernandez, COO
While acknowledging the impact the challenges had on the business, Mallol was determined to find ways to:
- Track and optimize time spent and resources allocated on projects;
- Improve general forecasting and performance tracking;
- Generate real-time insights for smarter decision-making;
- Focus more on productivity and really scale as a company.
Why Scoro?
After trialing different solutions, Scoro was chosen as the best fit for their business needs, combining all the necessary features into one end-to-end digital workspace:
- A wide and complete array of options to customize the platform to Mallol’s needs;
- Granularity regarding user permissions and roles;
- Advanced pipeline and sales management to gain more commercial muscle;
- Real-time customizable dashboards that align perfectly with Mallol’s own metrics and strategic planning.
The WFH Onboarding Challenge
Mallol started their Scoro onboarding process on the verge of the Covid-19 pandemic. With Panama put into one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, the real challenge was taking the new information and implementing it in Mallol’s newly found remote work environment. Monica Fernandez adds: “We did not want to delay the implementation, as working remotely showed us how much we needed Scoro.”
Having to onboard everyone in the company over Zoom played a critical role in the process. “People were eager to learn the platform, and they saw the benefit. However, despite all the support materials that were available to ensure the team had the right tools to get to know the software, introducing the essential accountability factor was more challenging to do remotely,” Monica Fernandez explains.
“One of the biggest challenges was cleaning our own data and the whole process around it – making sure the information before adding it to Scoro was correct. It took long hours to get done.” – Monica Fernandez, COO at Mallol
In the end, it took about six to seven months until things started to shift and Mallol began to see visible changes. “It was proof to the team that even though there was a pandemic, the company was still moving forward despite the hard times,” Monica Fernandez sums up the process.
Life After Scoro
With everything 99.9% updated and always available in Scoro, processes within the company have become more agile and faster. Teams are no longer fragmented and bottlenecks are managed in a more understandable way, with the company’s objectives and end goals in mind.
“It’s like cleaning your house and seeing the end result come together. Understanding that the data is really in one place and that it’s all correct – creating this ultimate truth is a great positive.“ – Monica Fernandez, COO at Mallol
Data-Based Decision Making
2021 was the first year Mallol ever set up accountable goals based on real data. “In the past, we always had strategic goals, but no real KPIs that we’d monitor to see if our actions were getting us closer to where we wanted to be,” Monica Fernandez explains the previous processes.
Saying goodbye to relying on scattered spreadsheets, and instead, incorporating data into a workflow that’s connected to Scoro, has been a real game-changer for Mallol in giving them a clearer perspective on how the company is doing, despite the difficult times.
Streamlined Workflows and Processes
After so many years in the industry, informal processes and workflows existed within the company, but they were never really mapped out.
“The switch to Scoro helped us realize the gaps we had in our workflows and documentation, which we initially believed to be complete.” – Monica Fernandez, COO
Thanks to Scoro, Mallol has now officially standardized processes and made them simpler, less bureaucratic, and understandable for everyone in the company. “We mapped out the process of how we handle projects and deliver them to our customers. It has enabled us to pursue higher quality in every single thing we do in the company. From sales and finances to project management and accountability.”
Adding Accountability To Creativity
“A creative environment isn’t necessarily very accountable, but Scoro has shown us the upside of that and given people the tools they did not have before”, Monica Fernandez explains. It has enabled Mallol to have better leaders that are empowered not just in terms of performance but are also more driven and keen to keep their promises. By doing that, Scoro has helped to strengthen the teams and paved the way for team growth and development.
Building On Workplace Happiness
Thanks to everyone at Mallol using the same digital workspace – seeing the same information and thus, speaking the same language – people in the company feel more united and integrated.
“We are very proud of the work we do at Mallol. Scoro has helped to enhance our day-to-day activities and empowered us to see the work we put into it throughout the whole journey.” – Monica Fernandez, COO at Mallol
With enhanced time management and better processes in place, the teams at Mallol have improved their productivity and cross-team collaboration.
“Scoro helped us create these bridges between creative, analytical, and finance people – something we weren’t doing before. It really has had a positive impact on our culture.” – Monica Fernandez, COO at Mallol
In terms of work-life balance, Scoro has created greater awareness of how much people at Mallol are working, at what hours, and what that time is spent on – providing an essential layer of information, helping Mallol take better care of their teams and ensure they avoid burnout.
The Future Is Structured
In addition to creating a new business development unit to strengthen Mallol’s position in their main markets, the focus for 2022 will be on improving their operations – finding better ways how to handle Mallol’s team structure and metrics.
“Thanks to Scoro we realized some teams have the potential to scale and take on more ambitious projects.” – Monica Fernandez, COO at Mallol
Now that all the necessary data and workflows are centralized and in one place, Mallol is also planning to apply for an ISO certification.
Scoro To Empower Mallol’s End-Users
Monica Fernandez continues: “Scoro has really become the backbone of our company, helping us get our operations and metrics streamlined and create an environment where we add value to our end-users. Our people are the most important part of this puzzle. We’re really happy they can become better professionals, more agile, and, in the end, have more time to do what they love, in a better way – which is to design.”
When asked to describe Scoro in three words, Monica Fernandez concludes: “Clever, friendly and organized.”
About Scoro
Scoro is an award-winning end-to-end work management software loved by agencies, consultancies, and professional service firms around the world. With Scoro, you can manage your entire workflow all in one place, from the first hello to the final invoice.