Employee Recognition — Minnesota State University, Mankato

Guidelines and Hints

Send a Mav Pride Award!
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Presentation Counts!
Plan the presentation
Get Feedback
Difficult Challenges
Years of Service Awards

Guidelines and Helpful Hints to Recognize Employees

The Employee Recognition Program at Minnesota State Mankato is designed to help supervisors recognize and employees feel the value of their contributions to our university. Recognition of employees is a vital aspect to supervision and performance management:

How a recognition award is presented can be more important and meaningful than the award itself.

Excellent presentations spotlight the individual recipient and include these elements:

Plan a special event (decide when and where to hold the event; for example a Fall College Meeting; or department/staff meetings)
Invite others to attend as appropriate
Explain the award's significance
Involve others in the department in the presentation
Relate specific accomplishments that are relevant

Plan the Presentation & Get Feedback

Don't just wing it; think of your presentation in advance
Prepare others to speak, if necessary
Don't joke or kid around unnecessarily (too many things are misinterpreted)
Gather important details, e.g. how long the employee has been at the university and in what capacities
Respect the recipients wishes, e.g. privacy
Get feedback from the recipient and from others

Difficult Challenges

Some situations are more difficult than others, some suggestions include:

When the recipients' accomplishments are not easily identified or the recipient is an underachiever: Use specifics such as years of service. Focus on personal qualities such as reliability, friendliness, neatness, courtesy. Mention interests away from work, hobbies, or community involvement.
When the university is facing hard times: Focus on individual effort and contributions. Be honest about circumstances. Make sure the recipient knows he/she is still valued.
The recipient is shy: Create a quiet gathering and invite only the people the recipient selects. If the person is uncomfortable in any group setting, have others sign a card or other personal expression of appreciation to include with the award.
Great Words and Phrases to Use:

Learning new skills	Tackling a problem	Determined
Pitching in to help	Cross-training another	Effective
Making people laugh	Accurate	Efficient
Mediating a conflict	dependable	Fair
Volunteering	Ambitious	Forthright
Sharing information	Appreciative	Good natured
Customer service	Attentive	Sense of humor
Adaptive	Considerate	Independence
Willing	Decisive	Innovative
Practical	professional	Reliable
Optimistic	Original	Persuasive
Tolerant	Steady	Thorough
Resourceful	Self-confident	Self-starter
Mentoring a new person	Cooperative	kind

(O.C. Tanner Recognition Company has provided information for this web page.)