Skip to main content

Finding a Good Workplace Fit

Office for Institutional Equity workshops enhance respect in the workplace

Shirley McCauley attended the "Enhancing REspect in a Diverse Workplace" workshop

In 16 years, Shirley McCauley has had four different roles at Duke. Now a patient account associate for Duke University Health System, she's found a good fit.

"It's a really good group of people," McCauley said.

McCauley's working group spent a recent Monday morning pondering ways to foster its collegiality. The group, including the supervisor, took "Enhancing Respect in a Diverse Workplace," a workshop by the Office for Institutional Equity (OIE).

For McCauley, the workshop was a chance to discuss with her co-workers ways to acknowledge individuals' differences.

"I had thought about a lot of the issues, but I wasn't thinking that Duke itself was thinking about them," said McCauley, who is 41. "It's a big deal that they're paying attention to things like the importance of listening."

Since the fall of 2003, 1,735 employees have attended the Enhancing Respect training. The program, which aims to improve office culture and raise awareness of workplace interaction, was one of several programs developed as a result of the Women's Initiative.

When the Steering Committee for the Women's Initiative conducted focus groups with employees, women at every level at Duke said they felt a lack of respect from colleagues, managers and others. "The problems were not extreme enough to be categorized as harassment," said Polly Weiss, director of diversity and equity programs for OIE. "But women repeatedly described subtle ways in which they felt devalued in their work environment."

To address this, Duke examined ways to shift the underlying climate of the workplace. In addition to the OIE workshop, Duke enhanced the annual performance management process to expand professional development planning between employees and supervisors. Duke also began for the first time to include employee behaviors in the annual performance process. The behavioral standards of performance are consistent across Duke and foster accountability for customer service, diversity, teamwork, learning and creative problem-solving.

Linda McAbee, assistant vice president for Human Resources, said these changes are indicative of Duke's commitment to creating a respectful work climate.

"If absent a behavioral standard of performance, as long as you accomplish the results, the way in which you do it isn't important," McAbee said. "It doesn't build teamwork; you don't necessarily value inclusiveness in your performance. What we're saying is, at Duke in terms of our mission, values and work culture, these things matter."