The University of Virginia announced last week that it was seeking nominations from the employees themselves for an annual outstanding employee award.
Susan Carkeek, vice president and chief human resources officer for the university, said that "there are many dedicated, hard-working staff across [the campus], and this is an opportunity to recognize their excellence." Three departments – academic, medical, and UVA College at Wise – are eligible to participate in the rewards program.
The university noted, also, that the outstanding employee rewards program has been implemented in addition to the school’s more general rewards and recognition program, rather than as a replacement for it. The outstanding employee award was recently renamed to honor Leonard Sandridge, UVA’s chief operating officer, for his long service to the school and his role as "an avid champion of UVA’s staff."
The university’s program demonstrates that the public sector as well as the private can benefit from the presence of a strong employee rewards program, which contributes to improved morale and productivity if implemented intelligently.
