How Does Shaw Rank as an Employer?

The Durham Herald Sun reported on a survey of employment satisfaction done by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The brief article says that Duke is making strides to becoming a good place to work. Having been associated with Duke for some time, I can confess that they have had a long way to come; moreover, I will not believe this too seriously until I hear from a range of folks at various levels who work there.

I recently talked with a laundry worker who said that he was getting pressure to retire--I'm guessing it is to allow them to hire someone at a lower wage. Universities easily fall under the pejorative description of "the plantation." I've heard it used of Duke, and I've heard it used of Shaw.

So what did the article say about Duke as an employer?

Duke Ranks High as Employer
By Neil Offen, The Herald-Sun
Jul 7, 2009

DURHAM -- Despite tough economic times and some belt-tightening, Duke University remains a good place to work.

In fact, it remains one of the best colleges to work at in the nation, according to a new survey released Monday.

The Chronicle of Higher Education surveyed 41,000 employees -- administrators, faculty and staff members -- on 247 campuses across the country and ranked Duke as one of the top 10 large universities in the nation.

UNC Chapel Hill also was recognized in the Chronicle's second annual Great Colleges to Work for survey, receiving note in four categories: teaching environment, facilities and security, connection to institution and pride, and respect and appreciation.

Duke was cited for special recognition in 14 of the 26 categories evaluated, including

• Job satisfaction
• Healthy faculty-administration relationships
• Overall satisfaction with benefits
• Compensation and benefits
• Vacation or paid time off
• Work-life balance
• Confidence in senior leadership
• Internal communications

Last year, in the first survey done by the Chronicle, Duke was cited in only five categories.

"We're certainly thrilled with the recognition," said Kyle Cavanaugh, Duke's vice president of human resources. "Having an outside organization assess how we are doing on so many dimensions and finding out that we are one of the top places in America to work is gratifying. It reinforces the fundamental belief in the values Duke supports."

The Chronicle singled out the university particularly for the benefits it offers its employees. Maintaining those benefits during a recession has not been easy, Cavanaugh acknowledged.

"It's been incredibly challenging given the current economic environment," he said. "But compared to our peer institutions, Duke has been doing incredibly well these last six to eight months."

Unlike many other employers, including universities, Duke has not made significant changes to its benefits program during the economic downturn, and expects to continue most of its benefits through at least next year.

And while Duke had to suspend its pay-for-performance policy, under which employees and their supervisors set goals and evaluate their progress annually, the university this year did give a one-time raise of $1,000 to employees making under $50,000 while freezing the salaries of all other employees.

Cleo Proctor said she understands how fortunate she is to be working at Duke.

A histologic technician in the pathology department, Proctor has worked at Duke for eight years. Standing outside the medical school building on a muggy afternoon, she talked about how Duke is a good place to work -- "particularly given the present economy."

"Despite all the problems, they've kept things pretty much the same here," Proctor said. "When you consider what's happening in other places, that's good. And I also like the flexibility in my department."

While there's been belt-tightening, said Stephen Nowicki, the university's dean of undergraduate education, it's been gradual, not abrupt.

"It's far less than at Stanford and Harvard, where they've had to lay people off," said Nowicki, strolling across the quad in front of Duke Chapel. "Nobody has been laid off here. I think that's kept the morale up."

While pleased with the recognition, Cavanaugh said Duke still has much work to do.

"We want to be the premier employer in this area and in the nation," he said. "And that's incredibly challenging given the balancing act of trying to maintain morale and make the changes that need to be made. So far, though, we've hit a very good balance."

I can see some things in that list that Shaw needs to work on. When I can get access to the Chronicle, I will update the link or provide more information.

Mike Broadway