In today’s job market, the best talent deserves more than just money to stay motivated every day.
To stay at the top, forward-thinking employers add intrinsic value to their highest paying jobs with new initiatives. Top Applicant is taking an in-depth look at ways some top employers are adding benefits beyond a paycheck to support their employees!
Incentivizing Elevation: Bank of America Case Study
When we consider what top earners are really looking for, we find they need more than just more money to truly feel fulfilled. That’s why one of our favorite employers is implementing strategies that prioritize professional development and personal fulfillment. Here are some ways Bank of America adds value to their top positions!
Training and Development
To keep top talent interested in their work, add regular opportunities for learning and growth. Bank of America’s “The Academy” offers a comprehensive approach to employee development, including specialized onboarding, education, and professional growth opportunities.
They provide various leadership development programs, including programs focused on supporting the advancement of diverse talent.
Recognition
“It’s how we focus on being a company that people are proud to work for, where they feel cared for and are given the opportunity to achieve their personal and professional goals.”
Bank of America offers upskilling to their employees, because when people feel recognized for their efforts, they tend to think fondly of their company. In 2025, the JUST Intelligence platform ranked Bank of America the Best Overall company for workers!
Benefits
Today, top earners need a holistic benefits package beyond just a paycheck to keep employees motivated. All of Bank of America’s employees expect financial, physical and emotional wellness benefits.
In addition to personalizing their benefits package to suit employee needs, Bank of America offers guidance from financial advisors and specialists. This adds intrinsic value to their highest paying jobs by empowering their employees’ futures.
What Really Matters to Top Earners: Herzog Case Study
The core tenant that ties every employee development track forward is understanding. Our next featured business highlights forward momentum to add value to a career in the transportation industry.
Herzog, a leading rail contractor, is also leading the way in employee development with 3 key elements of a successful career beyond competitive pay.
Forward Momentum
By focusing on the forward momentum of team members at every level, employees can feel supported as they take on additional responsibilities that come with their highest paying jobs.
That momentum powers their technicians, engineers, and managers to shape the future of North America’s most important transportation infrastructure. Herzog’s career tracks foster a supportive culture by offering clear paths to advancement in every stage of life.
Skill Refinement
To reach the top of any trade, like the rail industry, knowledge is the most valuable asset. As employees look to level up their career, Herzog’s management discusses the goals of their staff to hone the skills they need for their future.
Fulfillment
Herzog’s FAST approach to career development starts with family. That’s because their network of employees isn’t viewed as just a collective of co-workers—they’re partners that support each other on and off the clock.
With equal focus on professional development and personal fulfillment, employees can experience life-changing growth!
“Without a doubt, I am better off in life for having met and worked with the people that I do.”
-Nathan Thompson, West Regional Field Manager
True fulfillment comes from more than just money in today’s job market. Excelling in life off the clock is just as important as earning a living. Learn more about how to foster career development with this related read:
Fostering Career Opportunities Within Your Organization
The Impact of Your Investment
In any business, you need tangible evidence to support decisions before implementing any changes. As the world’s top companies strive to lead their industries, investing in the real needs of their people drives success forward.
To help your HR office make the case for investing in people beyond a paycheck, let’s take a look at real metrics on both sides of the employee/employer relationship.
The Impact for Your Company
Departments can start these conversations by taking into account what’s at stake as they make the investment in their employees. ROI matters on both sides of this equation, because both employees and their employers have time and money on the line.
These are the main benefits of budgeting both time and money for the future of any organization.
Productivity
In 2023, a study by McKinsey and Company colleagues found that worker attrition and disengagement cost median S&P 500 companies between 228 and 355 million dollars annually due to lost productivity. That’s over 1.1 billion dollars in lost revenue per company in just 5 years. Even if you’re not on the S&P 500, replacing the highest paying jobs in your company is expensive!
Culture
Great things happen when employees feel that the values and culture of a company align with their lives. According to Gallup, although only 20% of the nation’s employees feel aligned with their company culture, connected employees come with huge benefits.
4X Engagement at Work
62% Lower Likelihood of Burnout
43% Lower Chance of Looking for Another Job
Initiatives that focus on helping employees feel supported and valued means you can have more than 20% of your team engaged with your mission. Key goals of these programs center on empowering employees’ unique strengths to facilitate personal and professional growth.
Profitability
The Association for Talent Development (ATD) provides valuable evidence to support investing in employee development and training programs. In a recent study, they found that employers who offer professional and personal development enjoy a 24% higher profit margin, as well as higher revenue per employee.
xAdditionally, employee turnover is 46% lower at companies that invest in development and training. Higher margins and lower turnover are a proven recipe for success in any industry.
The Impact for Your People
On the other side of the equation, adding intrinsic value from your lowest to highest paying jobs comes with benefits that go beyond the bottom line. To make the most out of these exceptional positions, companies need to focus on 3 essential needs when investing in their team.
Satisfaction
The term ”behavior spillover” describes how experiences or behaviors can influence or extend into other parts of life. Using this hypothesis, employers can clearly understand the relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction.
When employees feel supported and empowered on the clock, they are more likely to feel the same in their time off as well! By balancing a healthy relationship between work and life, people at every level perform their best as they drive growth.
Expertise
Retaining top talent through competitive wages and benefits adds value that you can’t assign a dollar amount to. Our featured companies emphasize the importance of this through their mentorship structure.
Both Bank of America and Herzog elevate their employees from within to grow the organizational and industry expertise of their team. With The Academy and FAST career tracks, employees have clear opportunities to increase their value year over year.
Well-being
Considerate companies also have employees with increased physical, emotional, and financial well-being. As we look into the impact of support initiatives set forth by our featured companies, employee well-being is a common denominator. When they see beyond their bottom line, companies can make decisions that achieve ROI that affects every aspect of their employees’ lives!
Top 3 Takeaways
There’s a lot to unpack for how to serve employees beyond just offering the highest paying jobs in your market. As we wrap up this deep dive into the real value that career builders get out of good work, walk away understanding these 3 major things.
High Earners Are Worth the Investment
It’s much more expensive to hire an outside employee than move an existing one into a higher position. By building a plan with employees that is equally beneficial to the company, organizations stand to save thousands year over year. Reinvesting those savings right back into your workforce helps grow your business organically.
Inspiration Elevates
Teams that enjoy a supportive, inspiring culture feel more motivated to do their best and are less likely to look elsewhere for career advancement. With a more thought out path to growth, employees develop a relationship that provides benefits beyond a paycheck. Focusing on the real needs of your people can empower innovation, culture, and productivity in every facet of a business.
Morals = Money
The top earners in our employment landscape prioritize personal values just as much as professional development. Because of this, we’ve seen a rise in benefits that promote work-life balance, holistic wellness, and planning for the future. To retain and support your highest performers, we highly recommend building a growth plan that focuses equally on financial and personal gains.
Top Employers Hire Here
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