President's Award for Service Excellence

The purpose of this award is to provide annual recognition of an employee or team who made an outstanding contribution to the mission of the University through:

• The provision of exceptional service to staff, faculty, students, alumni, donors or visitors;
• The identification of measures that contribute to the improved efficiency and/or effectiveness of University operations; or
• Contributions to the community or the University, which enhance the reputation of the University.

All permanent or term (part-time or full-time), APOs, Executive Directors, AUPE Support Staff and Exempt Support Staff members who have continuous service of at least three years are eligible for nomination. Staff members retiring in the year of the award are not eligible for nomination. The Exempt Support Staff members are included with the AUPE members for the purpose of this program.

Nominations are to be made on The President’s Award for Service Excellence Nomination Form available on the Awards website: uleth.ca/awards/service-excellence

Nominator: The Nominator must be an employee or student at The University of Lethbridge who has known the employee or team and of their performance and contribution for at least three years.

NOTE: Nominators may be involved in the nomination of only one Nominee in any given year.

References: A signed narrative for each of the supporting references is to be attached to the nomination. A minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 references in addition to the nominator are required.

*One of the references must be from outside of the immediate working area of the nominee

Confidential: Please note that nominations for the President’s Award for Service Excellence are confidential, and there should be no contact between the nominator and the nominee or the referees and the nominee. Unsuccessful nominations will be kept on file for consideration for two years.

PLEASE NOTE
• Nominations must be received by the President’s Office no later than the deadline set out in the call for nominations – typically the middle of March following the applicable year.
• The Nominator must indicate whether the nomination is for an employee or a team, and must attach a signed, supporting letter no longer than two pages.
• Each nomination must further be supported by a minimum of two, and not more than four, references who must submit their signed references as required with the nomination form.
• Position and contact information for the Nominator and all references must be clearly indicated and must reference the name of the employee or team being nominated.

A Review Committee will consider individual, or team nominations based on the criteria listed below. A team’s overall performance and contribution must be identified, and each team member’s integral role should be demonstrated. Among the factors considered by the Committee will be:

Enhancement of University Reputation
• What has the nominee done that enhances the reputation of the University?
• Are they a good ambassador for the U of L, both internally and externally?
• If you called a contact inside and outside of the University, what would they say?
• Does the nominee volunteer outside of normal work hours?
• Does their schedule permit volunteerism?

Provision of Excellent Service
• What sets the nominee apart from co-workers?
• Is the nominee consistently going above and beyond position?
• Is the nominee well known both internally and externally for providing excellent service?

Demonstrated Innovation
• Has the nominee developed innovative ideas and put these forth?
• Have any of these innovations been implemented?
• Is the nominee the “go to” person who either answers questions or finds the answer for you?

Breadth & Depth of Impact
• Does the nominee have the ability to impact others? If so, have they taken any initiative to broaden their scope? Internally and externally?
• How does the nominee make a difference to their department? And other departments?

Strength of References
• What do the references say about the nominee?
• Do the references mention interactions with co-workers? Is the nominee well thought of?
• How does the nominee’s work make a difference to co-workers?

The Committee will develop a ‘short list’ consisting of no more than five nominees (for each employee group) whose contributions were, in the committee’s view, the most significant.

As nominations are carried forward for one year, nominees will NOT be notified of their nomination. However, nominators WILL be notified if their nominee was successful or not prior to the announcement of recipients.

1. The President’s Office will coordinate and provide administrative support to the process.

2. Review Committee
a. The Review Committee is comprised of:
• Two AUPE Support Staff members appointed by AUPE Support Staff.
​ • Two APO staff members appointed by Administrative Professional Staff
​ • One Exempt Support Staff member appointed by Exempt Support Staff.
​ • President’s Office representative as non-voting Chair (Director, Office of the President).

b. For each group of appointees, each member will serve a three-year appointment.

c. Appointed or elected committee staff members must have been University staff members for at least three years.

d. Committee members must resign if they become nominees or nominators.

e. The Review Committee reserves the right to interview the nominators or immediate supervisors of all the Nominees.

The Review Committee reports directly to the President and provides a recommendation containing a summary of the committee’s deliberations and rationale. The President, after consultation with President’s Executive, will make the final decision.