In the last session on Monday at the ASI Power Summit, Jason Lauritsen – director of the Best Places to Work program at Quantum Workplace – explained why it's critical in today's employee-driven workplace to creatively and consistently motivate and ‎incentivize staffers. "Because the economy is better,” he said, “there's a fight for top talent because employees know they can leave a job for one where they're treated better anytime."

But Lauritsen cautioned that cash isn't always king when motivating your team. "In research that we've done, money always comes in at the bottom five as a reason why employees stay, and work hard, at a job,” Lauritsen said. “The big reasons are that they're appreciated and listened to and that they trust management."‎

When asked about perks like those of high-profile companies like Google, with its nap rooms, free gourmet food and foosball tables, Lauritsen admitted that while perks are nice, what really keeps employees at a company – and makes them such strong advocates for the business – is being treated with respect, good communication and a sense of community within the group.

And the numbers bear out Lauritsen’s point: he noted that according to Quantum's research, companies that actively engage its teams have 40% revenue growth over three years, as opposed to 24% growth for companies with no formal engagement plan.