Duke Realty Reviews

Pros

Concern for employees and their families. Very friendly even the top bosses are open to talking with all employees. Very diverse and very concerned about customer service. Customer service at Duke Realty means other business and even other associates. Very good place to work.

Cons

Every place has its ups and downs, sometimes some of the employees do not get along with others but top personnel tries to work with keeping it to a minimum.

Advice to Senior Management

Would like to see some money put in the budget to allow some employees the ability to go to training conferences.

Pros

Industry leader, will recover strongly from the recession, offices nationwide allow for a wide network of contacts, many product types due to aquisitions

Cons

Cold corporate culture, no 401k match (as of this writing), no company provided BBerry (as of this writing), low tech

Advice to Senior Management

Don’t make a PMs second-guess management's opinion of their work. Open and frequent communication, where employees are clear on where they stand, will help them feel more secure and willing to work together.

Pros

When I was first hired at Duke, it was a breath of fresh air from my previous employer. The atmosphere was younger & I felt that Duke was going to take on the world. I also noticed that people tend to stay at Duke once they are hired. Over the past 3 years, Duke expanded into several new markets and gained a more national profile. New markets meant new challenges. We have more buildings and more opportunities.

In my time at Duke, I have reported to many people and, for the most part, none of my bosses have micro managed my performance.

Cons

We can say we are all working toward the same goal, but in reality, we feel we are working for the best interests of those with the biggest titles and those on commissions.

Advice to Senior Management

Lead by example. Walk the walk. In a similar bad year, Tom Hefner put his bonus back into the bonus pool.

Pros

1. Strong business model - it's a reit run by accountants. They are not risk averse, but prudent in the manner in which they employ capital. Management seems to take a longer term view, than some of the other firms in the same competitive set.
2.Senior management is talented, sincere, and equitable - from the top down, the organization is run by good people. It is a very collaborative organization. Management is open and honest.
3.Great working environment - good work life balance. Good group of people to work with. For the most part, everyone does their job (well). Advancement, etc is predominantly distributed in a manner that rewards those that are deserving. The level of office politics is much lower than other places.

Cons

Many functional areas lack a definitive career path. There is room for advancement and growth, it's not as delineated as at some other firms.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue with the listed positives. Continue to address the career path issue.

Pros

Duke is really good company to work at for several reasons. 1.) Community involvement. They promote and encourage employees to get involved in the community they work or live in. Each employee gets 2 paid days off for community service and the company will match donations up to $1,000.

Cons

One of the downsides Duke has it seems there are employees in postions they don't deserve to be in. Need to take the good 'ol boy network down and promote based upon merrit.

Advice to Senior Management

Doing a good job in my tenure and need to fight through the downturn in the economy.