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UTA Libraries Employee Recognition Committee Policy

Mission Statement

The UTA Libraries Employee Recognition Committee will actively promote a culture of recognition. It is important in today's work culture/environment to recognize individuals who contribute greatly to a group or one’s overall efforts or achievements. Those contributions can make significant headway towards a group or one's goals. Recognition of those contributions is vital to good morale and incentive for others to help keep positive momentum going forward. The Employee Recognition Committee is charged with making recommendations for the awards listed below.

The Awards Program

• The Hidden Heroes Award
• The Customer Commitment Award
• The Bright Idea Award
• The Applause Award
• The Outstanding Student Assistant Award
• The STAR Award

Other Recognition

• Celebrating You!

The Employee Recognition Committee

The committee is responsible to the Dean of Libraries and informs the library staff of non-confidential activities.

Confidential activities include:

• Award nominations, including name of the nominee, the name of nominator, the date of the nomination, and the nature of the activity for which the person was nominated
• Discussion and deliberation by the committee of the merits of the nomination
• The results of the nomination before an award is announced to the library staff
• Any nomination and its details that did not result in the granting of an award

Non-confidential activities include:

• Discussions of the awards program
• Discussions of Employee Recognition Committee policy and procedures
• Logistical activities for recognition events

The Committee consists of five elected members: two from the professional staff, two from the classified staff, and one elected at-large who can be from either the classified or professional staff. The term of membership is 2 years. The Employee Recognition Committee year follows the UTA fiscal year and runs from September 1 to August 31.

Elections are held each August from staff members who volunteer or are nominated. The advertising, managing and administering of the elections will be handled by the Library Executive Team (LET). The Committee selects its chair at its first meeting in September.

Awards Policies and Procedures

All nominations and supporting documentation received by committee members, as well as all discussions by the committee and recognition decisions made, are held strictly confidential. All documentation received regarding nominations will be destroyed following the presentation of the STAR Award.

The Dean of Libraries and the Associate Director of Libraries are ineligible to receive awards. Elected committee members are ineligible to receive the STAR Award during the years they serve.

Nominations that, in the opinion of the committee, do not meet the criteria for awards will be returned to the nominator, noting how the criteria have not been met. If documentation received does not adequately support the recommendation of at least one nominee, no recommendation for the STAR Award shall be made to the Dean of Libraries.

The Recognition Committee will:

1. At the beginning of each fall semester and throughout the year, issue a call for nominations. The call shall include a detailed description of the criteria for each award, the procedures to be followed, and the deadlines for which nominations must be received for Outstanding Student Assistant Awards and the STAR Award
2. Establish the deadline for receipt of nominations. Nominations received after this date will be held for consideration the next award period
   • Nominations for awards must be received by the first day of the month in which the award will be made. Bright Idea, Applause, Hidden Heroes, and Customer Commitment Award nominations are due on the first of October, December, February, April, June, and August. Nominations received after these dates may be held for consideration for the next staff meeting in which the award may be presented.
   • Nominations for the Outstanding Student Assistant Award are due the first day of December and April.
   • Nominations for the STAR Award are due the first day of April.
     
3. Nominations will go directly to the Library Executive Team (LET) (the specific member of LET to be determined by LET)
   • LET will distribute all nominations to the Employee Recognition Committee members
   • In the event that a member of the Employee Recognition Committee is a nominee:
     • LET distributes the nominations to the Committee members EXCLUDING the member who was nominated
     • The rest of the committee meets, deliberates, and makes a decision without informing or including the Committee member who was nominated
     • In their deliberations, the Committee members treat the nominee as a member of the Libraries’ staff, and not as a Committee member.
       
4. Solicit additional supporting documentation if all members agree
5. Once the Employee Recognition Committee receives all nominations with supporting documentation, the committee will recommend to the Dean of Libraries that the nominee receive an award
6. Maintain confidentiality and will destroy all paperwork as required by policy
7. Periodically review the Employee Recognition Awards Program and the ERC mission statement, policies, and procedures, and recommend revisions as needed
8. Periodically review the Employee Recognition Committee web site and make revisions as needed
9. Plan and coordinate all activities, including:
   • Reviewing nominations and making recommendations
   • Preparing memo(s) to the Dean of Libraries recommending recipient(s)
   • Preparing information for displays and the ERC web site
   • Coordinating presentation of the STAR Award at the Spring Reception
   • Recognizing the year's recipients of all awards
   • After presentation of the STAR Award, notifying the other STAR award nominees of their nomination