Despite being rivals at various points in their careers, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates shared many commonalities. “They’re obviously very driven and they’re very talented,” says SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk in an interview with Autobild.tv. Yet what really helped them build such successful companies, says Musk, was their ability to attract top talent and earn employee loyalty. “The ability to attract and motivate great people is critical to the success of a company, because a company is just a group of people that are assembled to create a product or service,” Musk explains, noting that people sometimes forget this “elementary truth.”

“If you’re able to get great people to join the company and work together towards a common goal,” he says, “then you will end up with a great product.” Musk adds that a great product attracts buyers, and the more buyers you have, the more successful your company will be. As simple as this concept may seem, it’s still challenging to find and hire top talent, which is why more companies are employing various tactics beyond standard compensation to attract new hires. Over the years, these incentives have become increasingly extravagant, with perks like pet-friendly offices and catered lunches becoming more common, particularly in the tech sector where there’s already a . At their Redmond, Washington, campus, Microsoft employees have access to an organic spa and receive benefits like pet insurance and a free shuttle to and from work. Meanwhile, Apple employees receive discounts on company products and have access to an onsite wellness center at their Cupertino, California, headquarters. As indulgent as these benefits may seem, the results speak for themselves. Both Microsoft and Apple consistently where job seekers want to work. However, companies must provide more than free perks in order to engage and retain top performers. According to organizational experts, employees who feel like they’re contributing toward a shared vision for the company are much more productive and driven than their counterparts. During Microsoft's early years, for example, all employees were awarded stock options, which created “Microsoft millionaires” when the company went public in 1986. (The company has since eliminated this program.)