Los Angeles, CA, June 03, 2024 – SYZYGY now offers human resources in addition to its accounting and CFO-level consulting services. SYZYGY, a trusted partner in the creative advertising production industry, developed its new human resources department to meet the demand for scalable, flexible, and production-savvy HR services. Led by Melissa Pezzello as Head of Client HR, these new offerings further SYZYGY’s commitment to being the back-office engine of productivity that enables companies to grow in inspiring, innovative ways.
The structure of SYZYGY’s HR services echoes the approach that has made their accounting and financial support offering so successful: expert, no-nonsense, reasonably priced, and tailored to the needs of each company as it moves through its life cycle. SYZYGY can develop an overall HR strategy for production entities that’s user-friendly and adaptable, with an emphasis on prioritizing people and company culture. These specialized services include recruiting, professional development, compliance, benefits, engagement, and day-to-day HR support. Because HR services can be far-reaching and complex, SYZYGY has developed bespoke plans that fit the needs of each company and benefit its unique roster of employees.
Leading this charge is Melissa Pezzello, SYZYGY’s newly appointed Head of Client HR. Pezzello is passionate about helping creative small businesses and startups build and maintain HR programs that align with their values and resources. Hailing from the East Coast, her career began at Handel Architects in Manhattan, where she got her first shot at HR projects. During her time there, she revamped the company’s policies and benefits package to comply with NYS and NYC labor laws, revitalized Handel’s recruiting and onboarding process, and scaled the team to double its size in less than a year while retaining key employees.
Pezzello later moved to Los Angeles to pursue her master’s degree in Human Resources at USC while working at advertising and marketing agency Consumer Acquisition. There, she developed Consumer Acquisition’s HR programs from 0-1, including global recruiting and performance management, while leading the HR due diligence before and after the global marketing agency Brainlabs acquired the company. Pezzello was then recruited to Beacons AI as the tech company’s first HR hire, and her innate drive to develop HR programs once again created positive change for the entire workplace.
“Saying yes to this opportunity was very exciting,” says Pezzello of her new venture with SYZYGY. “Many production companies don’t realize that they need HR support regardless of their size. HR is essential to the overall health of every business, which is something we care deeply about at SYZYGY. I’m excited to provide expert and industry relevant HR services to SYZYGY’s current clients and expand our efforts to better serve the rest of the industry.”
Tyler Burr, Co-Founder and COO of SYZYGY, adds, “Production has always been a talent industry, but if the last couple of years have taught us anything, it’s that production and operational talent is just as critical as creative talent in this industry. We love working with owners and MDs who understand their companies as small businesses and prioritize building a backbone that can support strategic growth. HR is a natural extension of the back-office services we’re already providing our clients, and is becoming an increasingly critical function for the production industry, particularly in California and New York. Melissa represents a magical mixture of extensive knowledge and a practical understanding of the way things work in production, making her the perfect fit to lead this offering. And, of course, she passes the vibe check.”
Syzygy: the nearly straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies (such as the sun, moon, and earth during a solar or lunar eclipse) in a gravitational system.
The year 2020 brought a slew of new challenges for production companies to contend with. In addition to the existing chaos of production, business owners across the advertising industry needed to adapt – and fast – to the new reality of the world.
The role of an accounting department needed to shift too. The ordinary course of business had changed seemingly overnight as companies had to make decisions in real time that would affect their trajectories: Should we continue with plans to open a new office? How long can we operate if production doesn’t pick back up? Can we seize this moment to make and train new hires?
Slow, retrospective accounting was no longer relevant.
The industry needed a new approach to accounting, grounded in honesty and partnership, with an eye toward operational strategy. SYZYGY was born to address the changing concerns of owners and MDs in the advertising industry by offering a collaborative, process-oriented service. Our rigorous reporting is tailored to the unique business needs and concerns of our clients, in a language they actually speak. We believe that financials are the key to understanding your business and planning for its future.
With clear, concise, and timely financial information, we can help propel your business toward its goals, whatever they may be.