It's important to hear from the candidate in their own words how they feel about the job and what excites them about the opportunity.  Are they in it for the “me” experience or the “we”? (Photo: Shutterstock)

For more than 100 consecutive months, U.S. employers have added jobs across industries. This leaves many companies in a battle to attract and retain top talent. As employers seek to differentiate themselves, many are still using the same mix of tools for enticing new hires: salary, title, vacation, retirement, benefits, etc. But there's an additional tool that some companies have developed as a potent secret weapon — culture.

Culture is the collective personality of your organization. It's the way people feel about the organization and what it feels like to work there. With all this talk of feelings, it can be tempting to dismiss it as an example of millennial or Gen Z coddling, but creating a great culture isn't a happy accident, nor can it happen overnight. Once an organization cracks the code, it can drive major return on investment by attracting high producing talent, reducing turnover and in turn, prevent the costly “brain drain” that happens any time a talented employee walks out the door.

Related: 10 top companies for culture in 2018