Progress Minnesota: Pam Sartell

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When Pam Sartell bought out her employer in 2005, she aimed to remold the small business into the type of company where she wanted to work. Over time she added numerous benefits for the Sartell Group’s 20 employees, including a fully stocked lunchroom and space for power naps. Employees enjoy spending 10 percent of their work time in the Creativity Lab, where they can focus on projects that interest them.

Sartell also transformed the business from providing technology staff augmentation to software development and consulting. The Sartell Group operates with a hybrid model, offering clients everything from creating or revamping software systems to training and troubleshooting. Growing 20 percent year over year, the Sartell Group landed on Inc. magazine’s 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in the country in 2011.

“Last year I also increased my bottom line by 492 percent and increased my employee benefits by more than 50 percent,” says Sartell, president of the certified woman-owned firm. “By building a team environment and having employees who want to come and work and embrace what we do here, it brought it all right down to the bottom line. If you take care of your employees, they will reap the benefits for you.”

A growth area for the Sartell Group is its partnership with Teradata to provide a case management system for states collecting from delinquent or underpaying taxpayers. The tool allows states to more easily tap into data about potentially noncompliant taxpayers; one state has used the software to collect $200 million in a five-year period. Four other states now use the firm’s software for this purpose.

“We try to help customers improve their efficiency or reuse something they already have with better tools,” says Sartell, adding that clients praise her company’s customer service. “We have repeat customers and people who appreciate what we do. I think that’s why we continue to grow.”

Title: president of the Sartell Group

Location: Minneapolis Education: B.A., business administration, St. Cloud State University

Proudest moments in career: seeing joy on employees’ face after the Sartell Group moved into its new office in 2010, and being named to top software companies on Inc. magazine’s 5000 list

Family: husband, Forrest Sartell; three sons

Website: www.sartellgroup.com