Signs Of A Collaborative Company Culture

I stopped asking “What’s the culture like?” in job interviews. Not because culture doesn't matter. It determines everything about your work life. But that question gets you nowhere. Most hiring managers say the same thing: “Collaborative” “Innovative” “Like family” Vague, unhelpful responses. You need questions that reveal the truth. Specific examples. Actual proof. These 12 questions expose what it's really like to work there: ✅ "What surprised new hires in their first 3 months?" ↳ Watch for long pauses or vague answers. ✅ "Give me an example of someone who grew here?" ↳ They should name names, not speak generally. ✅ "What employee feedback became real changes?" ↳ No examples means your voice won't matter. ✅ "How do you celebrate wins here?" ↳ Only sales celebrations is a red flag. ✅ "How do you encourage different viewpoints?" ↳ Buzzwords without action reveal fake inclusivity. ✅ "What does development look like here?" ↳ Ask for dollar amounts, not just promises. ✅ "How does info flow between leaders and teams?" ↳ One-way communication kills engagement. ✅ "When did values guide a tough decision?" ↳ Can't answer? Values are just wall decorations. ✅ "What's changed since you started here?" ↳ Nothing changing means you'll get bored fast. ✅ "How can I understand how people think here?" ↳ Being unprepared shows they don't think about culture. ✅ "What happens when someone makes a mistake?" ↳ Fear-based responses reveal toxic environments. ✅ "What would your team say about you?" ↳ Discomfort here signals trust issues. The best companies don't have perfect answers. They have leaders who lean forward when you ask. Who get excited sharing specific stories. Who name actual people and real situations. Who admit what they're still figuring out. The worst companies? They recite mission statements. They dodge specifics. They get defensive. Remember: You're not just interviewing for a job. You're interviewing for the next 2,000 hours of your life. Ask the hard questions. You deserve real answers. P.S. What question would you add? Reshare ♻️ to help someone in your network. And give me a follow for more posts like this.

I don’t want to hear about how great your culture is. 🚩 Instead, tell me: 👉 The last time your CEO ate lunch with a team other than his own 👉 Your policy around flexible working 👉 The average percentage increase of your annual raises 👉 The different ways your executive team solicits feedback from staff (and how they act on it) 👉 Actions you are taking to ensure your teams don’t get overworked and burnt out 👉 The last time a major change was made based on an employee suggestion 👉 How you invest in leadership development and creating career pathways 👉 The percentage of open roles filled with internal hires 👉 Your latest innovation focused on improving life for your employees 👉 How you reward high performers (with stuff other than “more work”) 👉 How you support working parents and elderly caregivers 👉 How you treat employees who voluntarily resign (on good terms) for a better opportunity 👉 The budget you provide teams to invest in professional development and team building 👉 Your voluntary turnover rate 👉 The last time you invested in a team offsite It’s one thing to SAY you have a great culture. It’s another to invest in the decisions, leaders, and partnerships necessary to actually CULTIVATE a great culture. 💚 Your turn: what other “green flags” signal a truly strong culture from your experience? 👇👇 #PeopleFirst #Culture #HR #Teams

How can you tell what the *true* culture is during an interview process? First, don’t get distracted by: 🚫 Free food 🚫 Happy hours 🚫 Ping pong tables 🚫 Swag Those things can be great, sure, but they’re not culture (they're perks). What you want to learn is how people are treated and how they feel day-to-day. That's culture. How do you do this? ⭐ Talk to as many people as you can during the interview/offer process (manager, peers, direct reports, skip level leaders). ⭐ Find current/previous employees on LinkedIn and reach out for a chat. ⭐ Do your research and come to every conversation prepared with intentional questions. Intentional questions? Yep! Like this: ➡️ Do employees feel heard? ❓ How often are employees asked for feedback and how do you share the results? (are they being transparent about the challenges or pretending they don't exist?) ❓ What are 2-3 changes your company made after the most recent round of employee feedback? (is feedback going in a black hole, or is the company actively trying to improve?) ➡️ Does the hiring manager understand and trust their team? ❓ What’s the superpower of each person on your team? (if they struggle to answer, run!) ❓ Tell me about a time someone on your team was struggling with a task/project and how you handled it. (listen for their desire/willingness to coach vs tell) ➡️ Is the company investing in continued learning / career growth for their people? ❓ How many people were promoted into leadership positions this year and how many were hired? (this will tell you a lot about how the company thinks about their employees; sometimes external hires are necessary, but it shouldn't be every time) ❓ How is the company investing in continued development of their people? (they should be able to give you examples of programs / ways they're fostering development) ➡️ How often are people leaving and why?  ❓ What’s the current voluntary turnover % and how does it compare to last year? (one of the best ways to know what's actually going on at a company is to see voluntary turnover numbers; if it's high, run!) ❓ What are the trends you’re seeing in employee departures? (they'll hopefully be honest AND tell you what they're doing to prevent more) What are some other methods/questions you've used to learn a company's true culture?