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Generous employee benefits and creative perks have taken center stage in todays war for talent. With unemployment low and some industries having trouble filling key positions, companies are looking for any recruiting edge they can get. Recruiting talent is not the same thing as retaining it, however. Enticing extras might get top talent in the door, but it is culture and values that motivate them to stay.

Leading researchers at Wharton recently weighed in on the efficacy of various benefits and perks in attracting and holding on to high-performing employees.All agree that aligning these offerings with company culture is critical.

As someone who works with executives on cultivating a healthy organizational culture, I see value (and values) as the common thread.

Offer real value to employees

While amenities like a gourmet snack station or onsite services like dry cleaning might catch an applicants attention, MetLifes most recent Employee Benefit Trends Study reminds us that salary, workplace culture, and benefits like health insurance and paid leave are the top priorities for employees. Additional perks should complement but not replace these core benefits.

Flexible or even unlimited vacation time is an increasingly popular offering, especially at high-tech companies. Yet extra time off means little if employees do not feel free to use it. In general, workers are earning more paid time off but leaving well over a quarter of that time unused. Once again, benefits and culture have to work hand-in-hand.

Are benefits like unlimited vacations and paid sabbaticals worth the investment? When it comes to your top performers, Whartons Iwan Barankay says yes. Typically, the top one percent of a company generates 15% to 20% of value-added, he says, so anything they can do to attract and retain these people is fair game.

Express shared values

Perks are most effective when they align with culture, says Whartons Sigal Barsade. A ping-pong table at a company not known for fun might come across as an empty gesture. When Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard adopted the slogan Let my people go surfing and allowed employees to surf whenever they wanted to, it meant something. Enjoying the outdoors was at the heart of the companys brand and philosophy.

Similarly, Barsade points out, a benefit like a pet bereavement day will be more meaningful at an organization where compassion is embraced as a core value. Done right, she says, such extras serve a practical and behavioral purpose, and a symbolic and cultural purpose.

Demonstrate that employees are valued

Although we traditionally do not think of the quality of the work experience itself as a benefit, perhaps we should. The MetLife benefits study suggests it is the right combination of tangible benefits and the total employee experience that creates the trust that keeps employees motivated and engaged. Todays employees are looking for an employer that recognizes and supports them as whole individuals, not just as workers.

One way business leaders can demonstrate that commitment is by investing in their employees personal and professional development through training, mentoring, and coaching. At a recent Wharton MBA event, Vice Dean, Peggy Bishop Lane shared that the school provides executive coaching to their MBA students to set them up for success as future leaders. Forward-looking companies will increasingly view such one-on-one support as an integral part of their HR policy.

We can no longer afford to compartmentalize benefits and the employee experience. Both contribute to shaping organizational culture, and we need to integrate them and other intangibles into a single holistic vision.

"A lot of times leaders and managers tend to overlook some of the little things they can do to make people feel valued, says Whartons Nancy Rothbard, whether its perks or treating people with respect and asking them how they are doing.

Gallups State of the American Workplace report agrees: Engagement is not an event, an incentive program or a fun perk. Engagement is about building relationships and about shaping an environment that allows employees to thrive. A workplace culture that recognizes and supports employees as whole individuals benefits employers and their bottom line as well.

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If You Want To Improve Employee Engagement, Benefits Need To Have ValueAnd Reflect Values - Forbes