Best. Company. Ever.
I defy anyone to find a company as employee-minded as the ad agency I work for, PlattForm Advertising. From humble beginnings, they have grown in to a behemoth agency … the 2nd largest in Kansas City. The owners and upper management have always treated me fairly … with a sense of consideration for my overall goofiness and unbridled vanity. Really, what more could you ask for in a company?
Oh wait, you could ask for a company that pays all of your health insurance, matches a whopping 8% of your 401K and willingly let’s you take Friday afternoons off during the summer. (And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.)
Yesterday, we had our annual company meeting. Normally, mandatory corporate get-togethers elicit immediate eye-rolls from their employees. Not at PlattForm. The afternoon started with casino mayhem … where the company raffled off a CAR to some random employee. Yes, a car. I didn’t win, but I COULD have.
Five years ago, I approached PForm with an idea of how we could do more philanthropic stuff in the community. Oh sure, we did the obligatory blood drive and occasional Xmas donations, but I thought we were capable of so much more. With a little creative finagling and, uh, zero budget, Team Phil was born. We had one goal … to help one charity a month. Now the company and employees typically help upwards of two, three, sometimes four different organizations a month. Not only does PlattForm embrace it, it’s now considered the norm.
This is a company that was started in the owners’ basement, mind you. And last year we had a stellar year despite a sluggish economy. We finally broke the elusive $100 million mark in revenue.
Oh, and did I mention the median age of employees is 25.75? They’ll hire grads right out of college and groom them to be model employees. That’s what they did with me … at the archaic age of 34. I wonder if they consider me to be the wise old sage in the company? Lord knows I’ve had to have a crap-ton more work done on my face to maintain my youthful appearance around these whippersnappers.
All in a day’s work, I guess.
