About a four hour-drive from Kansas City is St. Louis where StLouis magazine is featuring in its January issue 60 companies that are great places to work.

Helping those companies to earn that honor are the perks they give their employees, some of which business leaders in Kansas City might want to consider for 2011.

Here’s a sampling of the perks that cover the vast range offered by the 60 companies:

• ARCO Construction Company — Paid sabbaticals after every five years with the company
• Armstrong Teasdale — Women’s career-coaching program
• Bryan Cave — Backup day-care/elder-care services
• Build-A-Bear Workshop — Health Insurance for part-time employees
• Boeing — Continuing education tuition support
• Centene Corporation — Dry-cleaning pick-up/delivery; on-site car washes and oil changes
• HOK — Paid paternity leave
• LarsonAllen — Development coaches for employees
• Maritz — Health fair
• Monsanto — Lactation rooms
• Nestle Purina PetCare Company — On-site tailor
• Ralcorp Holdings — New jobs listed internally first
• Scottrade — Matches charitable contributions made by employees
• Sense Corp. — Work-at-home Fridays
• Thompson Coburn — Domestic-partner benefits
• Vector Communications — Eight paid hours per month to volunteer

For companies that lack the funds needed to support the types of programs listed above, they can offer perks, such as:

• Contests
• Rewards
• Opportunities for advancement
• Opportunities for socializing with co-workers

Here are some of the employee perks offered by some other best places to work companies.