Testimonial from Heinrich Beate, Board Member at HEINRICH GmbH Agentur für Kommunikation (GPRA)
Website: www.heinrich-kommunikation.de

We are CMS certified because…
… this quality management system fits the demands of agencies. We are the fourth GPRA member agency to be certified according to CMS III shortly before the first lockdown in 2020. The timing could not have been better. We were perfectly prepared to move all our staff to the home office immediately. Whether goals, competencies, processes, methodology or digital communication: thanks to CMS III, everything was regulated and the quality of the output was assured.

Why do agencies need an international quality label like CMS at all?
When choosing an agency, companies look for personality, conceptual strength and creativity. However, professional agency and quality management should also be important decision-making criteria for the successful awarding of contracts. We can prove this to our clients with the certificate. CMS III provides new convincing arguments.

What did the certification of your agency bring in concrete terms?
The preparations for the certification according to CMS III have already brought us significant progress in terms of organisation and content. We wanted to prove that this quality management system also works for an owner-managed agency of small to medium size. We have succeeded. CMS provides a measurable framework, but leaves a lot of room for the individual agency DNA.

Why do you recommend other colleagues to tackle CMS certification for their agency? 
A CMS III certification challenges every agency and means real work for the management and team in advance. All relevant processes are scrutinised and checked for functionality, relevance as well as practicality and future viability. The gain is enormous and is called: clarity. The clearer the goal and the processes, the better the output and the higher the economic success. Therefore, we strongly recommend all colleagues to take this step.

How does the CMS label help you in acquisition?
The consulting services of agencies must be measured according to objectively comprehensible standards. Clients are therefore looking for suitable criteria. Unfortunately, CMS III is not yet satisfactorily known. Therefore, in every conversation with new and existing clients, we explain in detail our attitude to quality and innovation, CMS III and our certification. This gives us security and a good feeling that we are talking to the right partners.

What influence does a label have on the effect internally – on your employees? 
Our team was committed both in the run-up to and during the audit. It was a source of pride for everyone to be awarded the certificate. Especially the examination of daily work processes with regard to relevance and optimisation potential was meaningful and motivating.

What are your wishes for the further development of the CMS? What is missing today? 
Before CMS III is further developed, we as a communications industry should first use the potential of the present system and bring it into the mainstream. The more agencies are certified nationally and internationally according to CMS III, the better known the label will become and the significance of consulting quality will increase overall. Whether and how this works is up to us agencies.