Working as a contract employee can be dif­ficult. However, at Certes Financial Pros, man­agement goes out of its way to make contract employees feel like, well, employees.

"It is all about the special touches," said Sally Mainquist, CEO and president of the St. Louis Park-based company that specializes in placing financial professionals in companies with interim, project and permanent hiring needs.

Certes was founded in 1994 by chairwoman of the board Karen Oman, who had two small children at the time and decided it was time to "reduce" her work week to 40 hours. Today, the company has about 200 employees, evenly split between men and women, serving more than 400 companies throughout the Twin Cities.

Most staffers, about 65 percent, are certified public accountants. On average, they have about 15 years experience and more than four years tenure with Certes - a number nearly unheard of in the temporary staffing business.

"Our people are not just between jobs," Mainquist said. "They do this for a living."

To make that living attractive, Certes offers a variety of unique perks - a number that fo­cus on communications since most of Certes' employees seldom come into their offices. For instance, every day, each employee receives an e-mail from Certes, called Jumpstart News, that offers tidbits about what is happening with local or national companies. There also is a once-a-week profile on a contract employee filled with fun facts, to help people get to know each other. And there is a monthly newsletter, called The Buzz.

The company also regularly checks in with employees to see how things are going. Sometimes, managers also go on site to visit employees, and bring them a cheesecake.

Quarterly, Mainquist hosts a party at her home to give employees a chance to mingle. She also hosts more businesslike roundtables every quarter to give employees a chance to offer feedback. There also is an annual party to share the "state of the company," as well as celebrate firmwide successes.

"There is a real strong spirit of community in our company," said Dori Estrella, com­munications manager. "I think that is a spe­cial touch that people don't often get at other companies."

The special touches don't end at commu­nications. Certes recognizes employee anniversaries with giant cookies. If there is a new baby born to employees, they receive a mono­grammed blanket with its name, height and weight. And each employee and client gets a golden ruler, with the company's golden rule: "Treat others as you would want to be treated - works in business, too."

And then there are the slightly more elabo­rate perks, such as the various vacation homes in Florida, Utah, California and Gull Lake to which employees have free access as their schedules allow.

Under the umbrella of the more routine, the company offers competitive pay, with time­-and-a-half for working more than 40 hours; a 401(k) with company contributions for both full- and part-time employees; as well as com­prehensive medical, dental and vision insur­ance with access to flexible spending plans, life insurance and long-term care insurance.

There also is company-sponsored profes­sional education and networking through its Financial Executive Women Network and Nextworking, a networking group for young financial profession­als with less than 10 years experience.

Then, there are the free tickets for local events, from Twins games to Children's Theatre productions, and a referral bonus. This year, the com­pany also began offering $500 in educational assistance through its Golden Rule Award to the college-bound children of its employees.

About 15 percent of Certes employees take the summer off, and can take up to six months off without losing their benefits. A company survey taken every 18 months shows most are as busy as they want to be.

"The culture here is like none other," said Kris Larson, vice president of client services. "We all say this is the best job we ever had."