ast year the University of Southern California’s auxiliary department,
which oversees all of its service employees in transportation, hospitality,
housing, and the bookstore, implemented a program to recognize and celebrate
employees who perform above and beyond the scope of their jobs. "We are always
focused on encouraging better customer service, internally and externally,"
says Dawn Mugavero, HR director for the auxiliary department. In the past, the
department has had informal recognition programs for certain units, but they
weren’t organized or all-inclusive. "It’s important that everyone gets to
participate."
To be sure that employees would be on board and excited about the new
recognition program, it was created by a design team made up of representatives
from all departments and positions, she says. They set the parameters and goals,
made the forms, and named the two programs -- Tommy Thanks and Super Tommy --
after the school’s mascot, Tommy Trojan.
The first program, Tommy Thanks, is a recognition form given to employees by
peers, superiors, or subordinates to acknowledge a great act of customer
service. The giver fills out the form, summarizing the good deed, then gives one
copy to the recipient and another to the HR department. The form itself is a big
part of the reward, Mugavero says. It shows employees they are appreciated and
gives them documentation to hang in their office or save in their files.
The HR department puts its copy in a monthly drawing for prizes, such as
sweatshirts, coffee mugs, hats, and gift certificates. Each month Mugavero draws
about 10 percent of the names from the pool of Tommy Thanks winners. The gifts
are then wrapped and presented to the recipients at the monthly senior
management meeting. "We want to make a big celebration of the reward to show
employees that management recognizes and appreciates their efforts," she says.
Even though the gifts are small, the formal acknowledgment is what’s
important. "The employees value that."
The Super Tommy is a similar acknowledgment form given by managers to
employees in recognition of exceptional behavior on the job. Along with the
form, managers can include up to five Super Tommy coins worth $5 each. The coins
are redeemable for internal gifts such as event tickets or meals, or can be
exchanged for gift certificates to stores off-campus.
The group had originally considered giving cash prizes for the new
recognition programs, which it does for its financial goals achievement program,
but decided against it for several reasons. Union employees, who make up nearly half of the full-time
auxiliary staff, are excluded from participating in any cash-incentive program,
and cash gifts have tax implications. Most important, the group didn’t want
the focus to be on money. "It’s not about the value of the gift, it’s
about the value of the thanks," Mugavero says.
The employees seem to appreciate the effort. After a small learning curve, it
required very little effort to get them to take advantage of the program.
Mugavero promotes it by placing form dispensers around the work space, by water
coolers, and in common areas, so that employees are reminded of it and have easy
access to it. Now, with little prodding, she collects roughly 250 Tommy Thanks
forms every month. "Once everyone understood what the program was all about,
there was a very positive reaction to it."
Workforce, June 2002, p. 90 -- Subscribe Now!
= Member Only
