Offices & Services
Office of Human Resources

Spot Rewards

Purpose: Spot Rewards are intended to recognize staff for meaningful or special contributions above and beyond their standard job responsibilities. All SEAS staff members are eligible to receive a Spot Reward.

  • All Spot Rewards are set at $250 and are centrally funded.
  • Spot Rewards can be given at any time during the year at the discretion of the manager.
  • Spot Rewards are typically awarded for a specific effort such as project-based and time-bound work. 

Nomination Criteria

When submitting a Spot Reward, managers should consider factors such as the contribution that merits recognition, job level, and work done by other staff members in the area or unit. Please consider how the contribution is different from standard job duties, how it may differ from the work of other members of the team/department, and the impact or benefit of the contribution. 

Examples of Types of Work/Contributions:

  • A staff member successfully managed a large and complex event which posed a number of unexpected challenges, including issues with the venue and coordinating many sponsors.
  • A faculty member  made a decision to submit a training grant proposal without much prior notice. A staff member who does not usually engage in this work offered to take on additional work and their effort made a difference in the application being submitted on time. 
  • A staff member agreed to take on extra assignments during critical times while fulfilling ongoing work duties. 
  • A staff member developed an innovative solution to improve a process that has department or school-wide access. 

How to Submit a Spot Reward

To submit an award for processing, managers should send an email to Kim Harris, Assistant Dean for Human Resources. Please include the following information:

  • Subject Line: Spot Reward 
  • In the body of the email, please include the name of the staff member and the reason they are being nominated.
  • Nominations should be brief but descriptive, and include at least one specific example of how the staff member has gone above and beyond their standard job responsibilities, including the timeframe of their contributions (if applicable). 

Approval Process:

  • Nominations are reviewed on a rolling basis and we may outreach to nominators if additional information is needed.
  • Approved nominations will be communicated to the nominator, the recipient, and the recipient's manager (if different from the nominator). 
  • Spot Rewards will be processed in the next possible payroll.