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.

So, how do you apply business parameters to something that feels the opposite of concrete? It starts in talent acquisition. After all, the personality of the organization is dependent on the persons that contribute to it. Here are some key pieces of hiring advice to build a great culture, one person at a time.

What is your organization's personality?

Determining the aspirational personality for your organization is key. If your organization was a person, what would they be like? Every workplace is different, so it requires a bit of soul searching, but once you figure out the overarching personal qualities that define your organization, you can better understand who will thrive in it. This will help make hiring for culture feel tangible, because you can apply them to each applicant and determine whether they meet the criteria.

For example, I'm always asking myself, “are they a Power person?” To match our corporate personality, that means looking for highly motivated candidates who are wired to thrive in a team setting. Because the company is committed to growing and trying new things, we also look for people who are adaptable and are excited by the prospect of being a lifelong learner. But remember, everyone and every organization has a different personality.

How do you interview for culture?

The traditional goals of hiring focus on finding the most experienced candidate within the salary parameters. When you commit to prioritizing culture, it changes what you listen for, and what qualities rise to the top.

All of a sudden a candidate with 70 percent of the desired experience, but who fully matches the spirit and personality of the company can vault to the top. Once they join a team of supportive colleagues who are willing to show them the ropes, and are all aligned on a shared set of goals, they can quickly close the skills gap.

It's also important to hear from the candidate in their own words how they feel about the job and what excites them about the opportunity. I'm actively listening to determine if they are in it for the “me” experience or the “we.”

What are the red flags to look out for?

Understanding your corporate personality also helps you identify what won't work. As hiring managers we must remain persistent and consistent in prioritizing culture, because it's very easy to mess up a high performing team by introducing someone who isn't a match, leading to lost productivity and stunted growth.

Important things to look for are too many first person pronouns (I, me, my). We of course want candidates to advocate for themselves in an interview setting, but too many references to individual versus collaborative achievements can be a red flag.

Also look for blame-shifting. Too many candidates fall into the trap of describing previous jobs, colleagues and managers negatively, or highlighting their perceived shortcomings. It's ok for them to talk about overcoming challenges, because that's a quality we're looking for, but to do so by blame-shifting could be an indicator of bad behavior that might carry over into a new opportunity.

How can you tell if it's working?

One of the clearest and best indicators of a positive culture that is reverberating across the organization is employee referral rates. Employees do not typically recommend their workplace to a friend or family member if they are not having a positive experience. Strong referrals increase the level of talent and creates efficiencies in the hiring process.

At Power Home Remodeling we made culture a top priority years ago, and among other tangible evidence, it's reflected in our referral rate. In 2018, a full 50 percent of our new hires were employee referrals. We also use other methods to measure for employee happiness and culture, from weekly happiness surveys to maintaining a 98 percent CEO approval score on Glassdoor.

Ultimately, creating a great culture has to be intentional, with cross functional buy-in at all levels of the company, but hiring managers have to be a foundational component of any successful strategy. And once it starts to work, you'll find that building a great culture is a self-fulfilling prophecy — the energy will start to feel different, tangible metrics will begin to reveal themselves, and it will only increase your desire to keep the positive momentum rolling.

Ilysa Raphael serves as the vice president of marketing of Power Home Remodeling, the nation's largest exterior home remodeler with 16 regional offices and more than 2,500 employees. She plays a key role in talent acquisition at Power–a nationally recognized great place to work–as a senior hiring manager. She joined the company in January 2008 and currently resides in the Greater Philadelphia Area.

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