Comments Roll on Employee Appreciation Blog

Eleanor Hardy was working the front desk of her office when staff specialist Bonnie Turner said someone had written something nice about her on the employee appreciation blog, "Whom do you appreciate at Duke, and why?"

"She didn't tell me she had written it," said Hardy, an administrative assistant for Employee Occupational Health and Wellness (EOHW). "She kept it a surprise."

In the blog entry, Turner wrote, "I truly and whole heartedly appreciate my supervisor, Eleanor Hardy. She's not just a supervisor, but a team player. She knows how to turn your gray skies to blue with a funny comment, or a hug and a smile. She's all about getting the work done, but with a sense of humor, which makes the working atmosphere great. Hats off to her!"

Hardy was speechless when she read the entry.

"In all the 30 years that I have worked at Duke nobody has ever done that kind of thing to say thanks to me," she said. "I tell you, it made my day."

Duke launched the employee appreciation blog in May as part of Duke's Employee Appreciation celebration. Employees from across the university and health system -- from parking to payroll, clinical labs to credit union -- have been praised on the blog by their colleagues. Read the comments and post yours over the next several months at http://www.hr.duke.edu/appreciation

"We know that words of appreciation from colleagues are very important for employees," said Monica Pallett, manager of Staff and Family Programs. "There is a wide body of workplace research now that shows that both giving and receiving appreciation have a measurable and positive impact upon how people view and perform their work."

Jason Howard, human resources manager for Molecular Genetics and Microbiology in the School of Medicine, was among the first employees to use the blog.

"I felt this was a good opportunity to remind everyone that there are people behind the scenes that do a lot of work for us that we don't think about, and we certainly don't usually call them up just to say, ‘hi, you are doing a great job, bye,' " he said.

Ten days later, the people Howard thanked responded in kind:

"We would like to thank Jason Howard for being so thoughtful in thanking Payroll, Human Resources, and Visa Services," wrote Karen Silverberg, Lois Yelverton and Cindy Day. "We know when we are thinking through some of the most difficult issues and believe we have a solution, we love to run our thoughts by Jason. You add to the creativity and strength of our team. Thanks for all you do WITH us!"