December 1, 2025
The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville. We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.
Jamie interviews Denita Eckler, the Global Learning and Development Manager for Bullard, based in Lexington. Denita explained that what gets her blood pumping is employee appreciation and helping her team learn so they can become the best version of themselves. She stressed the philosophy of: when you take care of your team, your team takes care of you. Denita advised HR professionals to also appreciate themselves by practicing daily gratitude to ensure their “cup is full.” It’s similar to the need to put your own oxygen mask on, before helping others.
Jamie and Denita discussed how employee appreciation is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Companies often default to expensive gifts, like t-shirts or pizza parties, which rarely resonate or stick with employees six months later. What truly sticks and resonates are actually the ones that do not cost anything more than time, effort, and intentionality. Build it into everyday actions, focusing on recognition like, “I saw you”. Denita suggests being specific, such as, “Thank you for sending me that report at the time you told me you were going to send it”. Finally, Denita shared that while the knowledge base for HR (like SHRM certification) is important, the ultimate qualification for being an HR partner is simply caring about people and having empathy.
Finally, Denita leaves the following question for the next guest: What is the most creative way you have ever appreciated someone else?
To learn more, visit: Bullard.com
Denita Eckler, thanks for stopping by to speak with us.
That’s where we’ll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We’d love to hear from you.
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Need Help Supporting Your Company’s Recruiting and Staffing Goals?
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- Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com
- Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com
- Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com
We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!
By Jason Heflin
Jason Heflin is one of CrowdSouth’s owning Partners and brings years of marketing experience from his past lives as a corporate marketing manager, writer, and freelancer. He also plays the ukulele for fun, which is cool.