Can money buy a loyal employee?

As the economy and general job market continues to progress upward we have seen another interesting trend - more money in an offer or counter offer is not always the most important component of a total package for candidates.  So what is impacting careers decisions if not the almighty dollar?

You might be surprised with the first answer to this question.  It is the ability to work from home.  Don't hear what I'm not saying.  This is NOT an employee requesting to work from home one or two days a week.  This is simply requesting the ability to have the resources available to do work from home when necessary.  Whether it be a sick day, an evening, a weekend, or simply a day where you can't be in the office until mid-day because of a doctor's appointment or children's activity after school.  With smartphones, wireless internet, laptops, and much more technology available this is a great way to allow your employees to get work done outside of the normal 8:00-5:00 work day.  It also shows great respect for someone that you trust they will get their work done if provided with the right resources.

The second answer is more predictable, but I will argue that it ties into the first in some ways.  It is asking for more vacation/PTO time in lieu of a raise or bonus.  Work/life balance is becoming increasingly more difficult in a world that demands it.  Speaking as a parent of three small children, it means a lot to be able to leave every Thursday in the summer at 3:30 to get to baseball practice in time to help coach.  Then if the employee has ability to connect at home as described above, I would argue that the individual will be motivated to log in from home later that evening to stay on top of work projects/deadlines.  While still needing the ability to have enough vacation days to set up a flex schedule like that.

The third answer is more abstract but could be the most powerful.  It is the sense of purpose or belonging.  I recently had a candidate interview with a client on multiple occasions.  After the first interview there was still interest, but a few questions and concerns as well, including the salary range for the role.  The candidate had the opportunity to meet one of the principals during the second interview and came out with a very different perspective.  Words like vision, strategy, long term, and passion were used to describe the energy of the interview.  I asked if the questions and concerns from the first interview remained, and the candidate said that even if they still existed it did not matter.  Purpose trumps money every time.

I could probably construct a list of 10-12 more items, but I really want to hear from you.  I read another article recently talking about how more money does not buy loyalty, but only rents it.  Would you agree?  What other items can trump money when trying to recruit or retain an employee?