The Plato Group: 7 Companies Excelling in Social Interactions and Company Culture Right Now

    MIAMI, FL, April 23, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Plato Group looks at research into happiness and how it has earned the title of "ultimate productivity booster". Happy people tend to work better with others, fix problems instead of complaining about them, have more energy, are more creative, optimistic, motivated, and healthy (i.e., they take fewer sick days), worry less about making mistakes (and then actually make fewer mistakes), learn faster, and make better decisions. Creating a company culture that enhances the working day of employees improves the quality of social interactions within the business.

About The Plato Group: http://www.theplatogrp.com/#about-us

The Plato Group take a look at a few companies that excel by building a strong foundation of social interaction into their operation.

1. SoundCloud: Eric Wahlforss, co-founder and CTO, describes SoundCloud's organization as "flat", rejecting the traditional top-down management style. Self-managed teams collaborate by deciding together what they need to do, and assign projects amongst themselves. To further encourage a collaborative mind-set, the company hosts 'We Hack' events and fuels a culture of continuous learning.

2. Lookout: Apart from weekly poker games and movie nights, monthly happy hours and waffles on Wednesdays, the Lookout team engages in a weekly all-hands meeting, including "Ask the Executives Anything," to encourage open communication across all departments.

3. Twitch: This video broadcasting platform for gamers aims to make a lasting impact on entertainment and socialization, and their internal culture speaks to that. In between programming and brainstorming systems design, Twitch employees regularly take breaks to play video games together.

4. ModCloth: ModCloth derives its workplace culture from five key components: autonomy, mastery, purpose, agility and fun. Potlucks, clothing exchange racks and group exercise rooms encourage plenty of social interaction among ModCloth employees, cultivating an environment in which "everyone's contributions are valued and encouraged."

5. Disqus: With daily catered lunches, Disqus employees have plenty of opportunities to gather around the table together. The company also designed its office as a casual environment, complete with board games, foosball and gaming consoles, which inspires collaborative thinking and exploration of new ways of doing things -- one of the company's core beliefs.

6. Shopify: the Company's CEO, Tobi Lutke, found himself wanting to share all the cool prototypes and projects he developed during the weekend while his team was out of the office. He released an internal platform where he and all employees can share their successes with one another, called UNICORN.

The platform improves collaboration by breaking down internal silos; employees can send "smoke signals" via UNICORN if they need help with a task, and within minutes other employees see the message and come to the rescue. To further team support, Lutke also gives each employee a cash allowance they can use to reward other employees for accomplishments.

7. Zappos: Behind the Zappos innovation lies a myriad of perks that encourage a social environment, including smoothie and cappuccino bars, fitness challenges and weekly mandatory fun. Their co-worker bonus program, with which employees can give a $50 bonus to colleagues who "wow" them monthly, is just another way Zappos shows other companies how to build a company culture centred around teamwork and community.

The Plato Group is a leading Miami based sales and marketing firm that specializes in event marketing and product promotions. Through face to face customer interactions the firm help their clients to gain a better understanding of the wide range of needs of their target consumers. By taking the time to reach out to and listen to consumers, the firm are able to boost their client's customer acquisition, retention and overall ROI, providing them with the foundations from which to substantially grow their businesses and achieve market longevity.

The Plato Group specializes in a personalized form of marketing that is designed to generate quality leads and deliver a high ROI for their clients.

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