Developing a recognition program

Developing a Recognition Program

I:Introduction and Essential ElementsII:Best Methods for Nominating and Selecting RecipientsIII:Approval and ImplementationIV:Basic Recognition Program TemplateV:Recognition Award Concepts and Ideas Introduction and Essential ElementsMotivating and recognizing employees is vital to the development of an effective and positive work environment. This resource is designed to make creating a recognition program easy. It will also guide you through the requirements of the Procurement Service Center (PSC) Procedural Statement: Recognition & Training. When creating a recognition program there is freedom to be creative within the guidelines provided, however it can sometimes be daunting to create and design a program from scratch. This guide provides a variety of recognition award ideas from which you can choose, as well as suggested methods for nominating and selecting recipients. To understand why creating a recognition program is important and how it can be an effective tool for motivation, we highly recommend reviewing the HR Guide to Motivating Employees prior to creating a recognition program. This guide provides a wealth of information to help you seek feedback from your employees in order to learn what motivates them. Effective motivation enhances the employees sense of accomplishment, contribution, involvement, and satisfaction. Rewards that facilitate this usually relate to the mission and values of the organization. The HR Guide to Motivating Employees can be found on the Human Resources website. Second, consider whether the program you envision requires a formal recognition program in accordance with the PSC Procedural Statement: Recognition and Training. In general, a formal recognition program is necessary if you intend to recognize employees with cash, cash-like awards, or some item of value. The program must be reviewed and approved by Human Resources and the Vice Chancellor/Provost of your division prior to spending university funds for awards, rewards, or prizes. The PSC Procedural Statement: Recognition & Training includes a Recognition Grid for the purpose of helping you determine when a program is necessary, as well as the criteria that must be outlined in the program and information on potential tax implications. The essential elements that must be contained in a recognition program are:1. The name of the recognition program: The program must have an official name; this is primarily for tracking purposes so the Procurement Center can refer to the program when the recognition reporting form is used for university expenditure.2. The recognition category: These categories are listed in the PSC Procedural Statement: Recognition & Training and the appropriate category must be referred to in your program: a. Merit (e.g. meritorious performance) The Merit category provides recognition for excellence, providing exemplary customer service, a quality deserving praise or approval, or demonstrated ability or achievement. Most recognition programs will fall under this category. The other categories are very specific. Merit is broad and as such provides the most freedom to be creative which is why it is the most commonly used category for recognition programs.b. Length of Service Length of Service recognition is given to employees (including retirees), associates, or other individuals who have achieved benchmark anniversaries in their years of service to the university. Five years is the minimum length of service that can be recognized, and recognition may not take place more frequently than every five years. c. Safety The Safety category provides recognition for acts intended to prevent adverse effects related to danger, risk, or injury. Only people in front line positions are eligible for safety awards. Please refer to the procedural statement to determine if employees in your department would qualify under this category.d. Participation Participation awards are given to employees, associates, or other individuals because of their involvement in a university activity. Examples include: Receiving a door prize for attending a university event Receiving an award, reward, or prize for completing a university survey

3. A description of who is eligible to receive the recognition award: A recognition program is necessary to recognize affiliates of the university, such as employees or students, as well as those with no affiliation to the university. Describing who is eligible will require some detail, for example if students, which types of students: graduate, undergraduate, and/or student employees? If employees, which employee groups: classified, exempt professional, and/or faculty? Keep in mind there must be more than one person eligible to receive an award to meet PSC requirements for a recognition program.4. A clear and distinct description of the recognition award criteria: Clearly defining the award criteria requires the most thought and effort. The recognition award ideas provided in this guide can be a great place to start as you define the measures (criterion) for an award. The basic question you must answer is, what must someone do to receive an award? In the section on nominating and selecting recipients below, there is more information about why it is important to clearly understand the behavior, attitude, or performance youre seeking to recognize and encourage in your employees. Ultimately, each awards criteria should be explicit enough that employees know what must be accomplished to earn such recognition and so that its clear that the final recipient is someone who has met the criteria necessary to be recognized. 5. An explanation of the selection method: How will the award recipient be determined? The selection method should be as detailed as necessary, so that anyone would understand the process being used and it should be as fair and unbiased as possible. Guidance containing strategies to determine who will receive an award can be found in the Nominating and Selecting Award Recipients section of this document.6. Description of the Award: Describe the award(s) to be given, for example cash, gift cards, administrative leave, etc. Several types of awards and combinations of awards can be used, and it can be more motivating to employees if the awards are tailored to their individual interests. Once you identify the award(s) to be given, corresponding information about the individual award amounts or ranges, as well as the total programs aggregate cost limits or ranges, must be included in the document.7. Approval: Once youve developed a program that includes the essential elements outlined above, the program must be reviewed and approved by the Director of Employment Services and the appropriate Officer. Human Resources requires that a draft program document be submitted for review prior to formal submission of a program for approval. This initial review will ensure the recognition program meets all of the requirements of the procedural statement and allow for feedback if any elements are missing. This process expedites the approval process by allowing HR to provide feedback and obtain appropriate Officer review prior to the submission of a signed document. Even with the essential elements outlined above, there is a lot of freedom to be as creative as possible when developing a recognition program to motivate and recognize employees in your department. However, having many options can also make it difficult to know where to begin. In the appendix of this document, 22 recognition award concepts and ideas are provided to help you get started. These can be modified and altered to fit the needs of your department. Included in the next section is a description of the best methods for nominating and selecting recipients. The nomination and selection process is a required element of a recognition program, so several methods will be discussed. To speak with someone concerning recognition programs, please contact the Employment Services front desk at 303-492-6475. If you have questions about costs associated with a recognition program or tax implications, please call the Procurement Service Center at 303-837-2160.

Best Methods for Nominating and Selecting RecipientsOnce youve identified the behavior and/or performance to be recognized, you must determine how employees will be selected for the award. One key to success is to clearly communicate the criteria for recognition in advance so that those who meet the criteria, embody that behavior, or have outstanding performance in that arena, are those who receive the recognition. Below are some ideas on how to nominate and select those employees who best fit the award criteria, starting with more formal recognition.Formal recognition tends to consist of an event where nominations may be read and final recipients are recognized in front of their peers and managers. The event need not be extravagant and it may be as simple as a unit or department meeting. What defines this type of recognition is that it is formally given and the recipient publically recognized. Nominations: Who will be considered?There are a variety of ways to nominate an individual, team, or unit for consideration of an award, as long as the nominators clearly understand the criteria necessary for recognition. For each of these examples, a nomination form should allow the opportunity to describe exactly why the nominated person/team meets the criteria for the award and even provide specific examples. Providing nominators an opportunity to describe the particular reason for nomination not only highlights great performance, but outlines what was done to justify the specific award.The following are ideas for nominating recipients and narrowing the field before discussing the final selection of the award winner.Customer FeedbackThis nomination option elicits feedback from the individuals who work with your employees, teams, and units. There is no better indicator of performance or behavior, especially for departments or units that are customer oriented than by eliciting feedback from the customer. There are several methods that may be used to collect this feedback, such as sending an email to an existing list of customers, an online form, using a survey tool such as surveymonkey.com, or using a paper customer feedback form. There should be some form of communication with the customer in describing the award criteria and any other pertinent instructions or timelines involved in collecting their feedback.Peer NominationsOne of the most meaningful methods of recognizing employees is to encourage everyone in the organization to recognize one another for their achievements. Coworkers often have the best view when it comes to seeing the efforts of fellow employees and it is often more significant to receive recognition from the people around you than from any other source. This is best done by sending out a communication to all the employees in your department with a description of each award, the criteria for meeting the award, and instructions on how to nominate individuals or teams, if eligible. The instructions should include a deadline for submitting nominations and a nomination template to follow which includes the award criteria, the nominee and space for an open-ended response as to why the nominee meets the award criteria. This must be planned in advance with enough time before any formal recognition ceremony, allowing time for effective use of one of the selection methods below. The nomination process should be voluntary, but for this to work most effectively, a high response rate is optimal. Multiple reminders to employees before the deadline and encouragement to participate in the program will help make this an effective nomination process. The Peer Nomination method can be open to anyone in the department or organization, or if it makes sense, can be limited to smaller groups such as non-managers or front-line employees. Nominated by ManagementThis nomination method is limited to the supervisors and managers in the organization and they may still choose individuals, teams, or units to be nominated. This method provides the opportunity for supervisors to recognize the employees whose performance they are expected to oversee on a daily basis. It may also limit or even exclude management from receiving the awards and in a large organization could be a good method for recognizing and encouraging front-line staff and others in the organization. Keep in mind this is simply for the nomination of award recipients and it could correspond to any of the following selection methods. The same considerations for communicating, collecting nominations, and timelines as discussed above in the peer nomination process also pertain here.

Final Selection: Who will receive the award?This final selection method essentially falls into three categories: some form of committee, a single decider, or random chance. In any scenario we must emphasize the importance of clearly delineating the criteria, behavior, or performance that is the goal of the recognition. Recognition done haphazardly loses its ability to motivate and inspire people to do their best. If an individual or team is recognized for being innovative, for example, and theyve not implemented a change or made any innovative recommendations, they will wonder why theyve won such an award and so will others in the organization. That is why open-ended nominations that list the exact reasons for why an individual or team has been nominated and how they met the criteria for the award will make the selection process much easier and effective. By CommitteeWhen it comes to creating a recognition selection committee, members may consist of volunteers, they may be chosen by management, or they may consist of previous recognition winners. There are a variety of ways to form a committee, however it is much more effective when members are engaged and excited about their participation. It can also be a good idea to rotate the members for each recognition cycle. You may also keep in mind that committee members dont have to be excluded from receiving a nomination or award. The selection committee will need some time to review and discuss all nominations. The goal should be to review all nominations and identify an appropriate winner for each award category where multiple nominations may exist. The committee members should focus on the nominations, but may also consider in their final selection process those who are nominated for multiple award categories, recipients of past awards, and the overall fairness of the program.Committee types: Everyone Committee: This is essentially a group that can be made up of anyone within or even outside the organization that will review the nominations and determine the final recipient.

Peer Only Committee: This is a group made up specifically of non-managers who will review the nominations and determine the final recipient.

Management Team: This would be best used in the case of peer nominations where everyone is involved in the nomination process and then managers make the final call after their review of all the nominations.

Single DeciderThis method, along with random chance described below, may not be the most effective way to select final awardees in a formal recognition setting, as having a group selection process can eliminate personal bias. However, there are scenarios where it may be appropriate or necessary. In a small department there may not be enough people to form a committee and thus one person would need to make decisions. Also, the benefit of involving high level management, such as a Vice Chancellor or Dean in the review of nominations and selection of recipients, may be more meaningful to the awardees. Random ChanceThis method essentially takes the nominations and uses a random method such as a drawing to determine the final recipient. This method is the least preferred for formal recognition, as it does not provide for close evaluation of specific nomination submissions. Recognition should be a tool to motivate and if the quality of the nominations is perceived as irrelevant, it will not meet that goal. That is not to say that random selection cannot be a great tool. It can be very appropriate for a more informal recognition process when combined with one of the nomination methods described above. For example, a drawing could be held from all the positive customer feedback and the winner would receive an award.

Spot Awards and Other Informal RecognitionFor informal recognition where there may be no special event or staff meeting, an organized process of nominating then selecting recipients may not be necessary. For example, a spot award, which is on-the-spot recognition for excellent performance or model behavior, is best determined by the immediate supervisor or higher level manager. While any of the nomination and selection ideas could be used for such an on-the-spot award, the easiest option is to allow supervisors and managers the freedom to instantly recognize and reward their employees, teams, or units. Instant recognition is often most meaningful to employees. In this type of recognition, the nomination and selection is made at the supervisors or managers discretion.

Approval and Implementation

Once you have developed a program document that includes the required elements listed in the Basic Recognition Program Template below, the first step is to seek initial feedback from the Department of Human Resources, Employment Services. Employment Services is responsible for the review and approval of recognition programs for the Boulder campus and requires that a draft is submitted prior to formal submission. This review process ensures the program meets all necessary criteria and offers specific feedback as needed prior to departments collecting signatures. You may contact Employment Services at 303-492-6475 for guidance on developing a program and for information about having your program reviewed. Official HR approval comes from the Director or Assistant Director of Employment Services. Employment Services will then route the program for review and approval from the appropriate Provost or Vice Chancellor as needed. The Procurement Service Center may request a copy of the final, approved program document before approving payments made on the recognition reporting form. Questions regarding the PSC approval process, taxes and payments should be directed to the PSC Help Desk at 303-837-2160.Once the program has been formally approved, it can be implemented. Assuming youve been working with employees to develop the program now would be the time to delegate the oversight and implementation of the program to the appropriate persons in your department. This should be an individual or committee who are excited to see the program take shape in your department. Their role will be to make sure the program is communicated, initiate the nomination process, send out reminders, coordinate the event, acquire the awards, etc. It is essential for the successful implementation that someone has the delegated responsibility to ensure that recognition takes place and follows the guidelines that have been developed for your department. By following the steps provided in this guide, your departments recognition program will begin to realize results in the form of enhanced motivation and increased morale.

Basic Recognition Program Template

Recognition Program Name:Program Duration: (Is this a one-time program or ongoing?) Department Mission, Vision, Values: (While including this in the program document is optional, it is critical that your program align with your departments mission, vision and values.)Recognition Awards: (List as many as determined with the following information)Recognition Category: (May include one or more of the following categories: Merit (excellence), Length of Service, Safety, or Participation) Keep in mind these have specific definitions according to the PSC Procedural Statement: Recognition and Training. Merit (or excellence) is the most common category for recognition.Who is Eligible for the Award: (Remember to be specific, e.g. classified and exempt professional staff, faculty, students, or several types.)Recognition Description and Criteria to meet: (Criteria should be specific and easily identifiable. Refer to the PSC Procedural Statement: Recognition and Training for examples.)

Individual Award to be Given, Individual Cost Limits or Range: (What is to be awarded, e.g. cash, gift card, etc., and what is the award limit or range)

How often Award is Given: (Annually, Monthly, as needed. It can be a combination of several.)

Description of Overall Nomination and Selection Method: (This can be used for all of the recognition awards, or can be described for each individual award to allow variation in the selection method.)

Description of Overall Program Cost, Limits and/or Range: (Some VC areas require description of the source of funds for awards). Approval:Departmental Approval: (signature) ______________________________________Human Resources Approval: (signature) ______________________________________Officer Approval: (signature) ______________________________________

Recognition Award Concepts and Ideas

2030 ImplementedThis award recognizes when an individual, team, unit, or department has successfully implemented one of the specific goals outlined in the Universitys Flagship 2030 Plan and is designed to promote the goals and mission of the university towards its future. The specific implementation should be outlined in the nomination and referenced in the Flagship 2030 Strategic Plan. Beyond Excellence This category is designed to recognize not just those who perform their job with excellence but those who strive beyond what is expected. An employee who meets the criteria for this award should exceed the expectations of the supervisor and exceed the goals defined in a performance evaluation. This is for the employee who stands out above other excellent performers in the unit. Bright IdeaFor departments that value creativity and employee feedback, this category is designed to reward those who provide a great idea to improve the efficiency, quality, or advance the goals and mission of the department or the University. To qualify for this award the idea presented must be adopted and implemented by management with measurable improvement in the above areas. Customer Service This award is designed to recognize service that consistently goes above and beyond to meet the needs and expectations of customers. This recognizes the ability to provide a smile and service in challenging customer service situations; providing excellent knowledge and information to the customer about the department; working to resolve customer complaints/situations creatively.Diversity RecognitionThis category is designed to award employees or teams that have exemplified excellence in diversity and social justice work. Recognizing efforts of reaching out to support and/or advocate on behalf of diverse communities, conveying excellent knowledge regarding a diverse community and/or promoting a diverse community to a department or campus community. Efficiency This award recognizes efforts made by an employee(s), or others, to identify specific opportunities to eliminate ineffective policies and procedures and simplify how the department/work unit does business. Those who meet the criteria should demonstrate the successful implementation of innovative, cost-effective, measures that have created business efficiencies.

Helping StudentsThis category is designed to recognize employees or teams that exemplify an excellent standard of service of helping students via their advocacy, mentorship, development support, etc. Examples of work performance or quality of service can include: Supporting a student through a difficult barrier(s) in their life with their recognition to the employees department that this support helped them tremendously. Working with a student to excel in a given area such as mentoring them to develop professionally in an area in which they work. Supporting a student through their development via their academic, identity process, etc.

Leading by ExampleThis is designed to recognize and reward those employees and/or teams that produce such a high standard of excellence in their performance or in specific areas chosen by the department such as those outlined below, that they set an excellent example for others in their department. Adaptability: Adjusting behavior to work efficiently and effectively in light of new information, changing situations, and/or different environments Customer Focus: Providing an excellent level of service to both internal and external customers, identifying and responding to current and future client needs Integrity: Taking personal accountability to uphold ethical standards, building trusting relationships through honesty, openness, fairness, and candor and living up to commitments Respect: Demonstrating a genuine appreciation for others, valuing diversity by treating everyone with high regard and with consideration for their individual differences as well as maintaining the highest level of professionalism when working with others through challenging issues Teamwork: Working effectively within and across departments, collaborating with others to achieve common goals, listening and communicating in a way that respects and supports others

Additionally, managers that are nominated should excel in one or more of the following areas: Mentoring: Encouraging employees to be their very best by providing feedback, development opportunities, positive reinforcement, and appreciation for their efforts Modeling: Setting a positive example by remaining calm in a crisis, encouraging and supporting collaboration and teamwork, exhibiting humility, helping others achieve success, and being honest and trustworthy Motivating: Inspiring commitment, providing vision, promoting and ensuring alignment with departments goals and/or values, and providing coaching and performance management

Positive AttitudeThis category is designed to recognize and award individuals and/or teams whose positive attitude and enthusiasm promotes a constructive work environment, and spills over to others, resulting in a pleasant work environment. This recognizes and awards individuals and teams who make an extraordinary effort to support others, such as colleagues, co-workers and customers and whose efforts improve morale in the department. Here are some criteria you can use or develop your own for your unit/department. Demonstrates a genuine appreciation for others, valuing diversity by treating everyone with respect and with consideration for their individual differences. Works to build a positive atmosphere of trust and mutual respect within the department and with external customers. Considers how to make the most of their opportunities to improve morale in their department. Takes a special interest in helping co-workers grow in their positions.

Quality AwardThis category can be used in departments or units where the quality of the work performed is valued over quantity. This should recognize high quality work in a singular instance, in a project with significant importance or impact on the unit, or the consistency of high quality work performed over a long period of time. This award recognizes the time taken to do excellent work while maintaining efficiency and meeting deadlines or time sensitive goals.Random Act of KindnessThis award is designed to recognize and award individuals who have performed a random act of kindness that has had a positive impact on the lives of co-workers, customers, or the community. This award will be presented to employees who have demonstrated a distinctive service or acts of kindness to another individual, which positively impacts that person's life. Employees awarded the Random Act of Kindness Award will have provided an act or service, which may be described as one of the following: A special act of kindness or service within or outside of their assigned work area or responsibilities which have a positive impact on another individual. Excellent customer service which met a special need of a customer, employee or fellow staff or faculty member. An action or behavior which raised the morale of others. Sincere cooperation, positive attitude and exceptional willingness to assist others.

Reaching the GoalThis award is for recognizing individuals or groups that have met a specific and measurable goal that is above and beyond what may be in a performance plan or is typically expected in a given year. The goal can be set by the individual, a group, or defined by management and should be met within a specific defined timeline. This should reward those who succeed in meeting a difficult, challenging, and hard to reach goal and can be an incentive towards meeting the goal within the given timeline, with defined or limited resources, and with a high level of quality.Record BreakerThis category is designed to recognize an individual or team that breaks a standing departmental record that relates to the departments mission. The record should be clearly defined and quantitatively measurable. Note: This should reward hard work/performance to meet a measurable goal without sacrificing quality or service to do so. Examples could include fundraising, processing applications, selling subscriptions, getting the best grade, or making widgets. Records should be clearly defined and may need to be updated on a yearly basis.Rewarding CustomersEmployees/students/customers outside a department that have provided outstanding support or services, above their basic job requirements, to a department which in turn has led to the betterment of the department and its students, faculty, and staff. For example, an employee in Human Resources who goes above and beyond assisting an employee in the Leeds School of Business is recognized by the Leeds School of Business for excellent service. Ridiculous Work LoadThis recognizes employees for setting (or breaking) a work load record. This award is designed to acknowledge an employee for persevering through incredibly busy times while maintaining high quality work and service.Safety InitiativeThis award recognizes efforts made by the employee or work unit to reduce accidents and injuries on the job. This award is designed to stimulate interest in accident prevention measures and to promote safety in the workplace by providing an incentive to employees to maintain a safe and healthy workplace. Skills This category is designed to recognize individuals with outstanding skills in a variety of areas that are used to contribute to success and mission of the university, department, or unit. This is a skill that is uniquely possessed and/or superior to others in the organization and should be recognized for the positive contribution made to the organization. Student InvolvementThis category is designed to award students for their superior involvement in various academic or student support programs, student groups, superior involvement and contributions at work, such as excelling in student groups/work/student support programs through excellent contributions; new ideas and implementations that improve the program; superior mentorship of fellow student peers, etc. Supportive SupervisorThis award allows employees to recognize caring and supportive supervisors who show genuine concern for the interests of their employees in both their personal and professional lives by: being available for ideas and feedback, allowing opportunity for employees to meet personal and professional goals, consistently communicating and recognizing excellent work, allowing flexibility for personal issues, providing opportunities for growth (challenging assignments or attending training), and furnishing the resources needed for employees to be successful. Sustainability/Green AwardThis award recognizes employees who have made strides to minimize the University's/Departments environmental footprint by implementing energy/resource saving measures. To qualify for this award the idea presented must be adopted and implemented with measurable success in reducing the impact on the environment.Teamwork & Cooperation This category is designed to recognize and award individuals and/or teams who exemplify teamwork and cooperation with colleagues and customers by their work to achieve many of the following: Works effectively as part of a team to successfully accomplish a task or meet a goal. Builds effective collaborative relationships across different groups or departments within the organization to define and solve problems or reach agreements on a course of action while considering multiple perspectives. Creates a team environment that promotes communication, trust, cooperation and respect for differences. Contributes to a group effort which has a significant impact on departmental goals. Develops a partnership that seeks input and involvement from those affected by decisions. Accepts responsibility and accountability in helping to advance the University's mission or departmental goal. Places team goals above personal goals while achieving a distinct result or product.

Volunteer/Community This category is designed to recognize employees who have demonstrated excellence in giving back to their community via their volunteer work or contributions to programs, nonprofit organizations, groups, etc. outside of their work environment.