Achievement Awards

1. Individual Achievement Awards

   Individual employees may be nominated for an Achievement Award based on one or more of the established performance standards. Input will be required from the manager/supervisor if different than the nominating individual.

   Established performance standards include:

   1. Exceptional performance: Demonstrated and sustained exceptional performance that consistently exceeds goals and work expectations in quantity and/or quality.
   2. Creativity: One-time innovation or creation that results in time/dollar savings, revenue enhancement, productivity improvement; and/or ongoing innovative/creative activities that benefit organizational systems, protocols, and/or procedures.
   3. Organizational abilities: Exhibiting extraordinary skills in leadership resulting in the accomplishment of significant departmental or divisional goals and objectives; effective project management, which could include developing a project and/or implementing a project with substantial success; and/or demonstrating organizational capability leading to a greater level of effectiveness.
   4. Work success: Significantly exceeding productivity, customer service, quality of care or similar goals, including demonstrating superior interactions with managers, peers, supervisors, subordinates, the University community, and/or clients and customers served.
   5. Teamwork:  Acting as an exceptionally effective and cooperative team member or team leader for a team that has significantly exceeded the goals/objectives of the department unit.
2. Team Achievement Awards

   Team Awards may be granted to teams of employees who meet one or more of the performance standards set forth above for work on a project within the same department or for work on the development and/or implementation of inter-departmental projects. Input will be required from the team leader and supervisor/manager if different than the nominating individual.

Employees eligible for Achievement Awards must meet ALL of the following requirements:

• PPSM (PSS or MSP) employee in one of the following appointment types:
  • Career
  • Partial-Year Career
  • Contract (where eligibility is incorporated into the terms of the contract)
• Successful completion of a probationary period, if applicable
• On active pay status or on an approved unpaid leave
• Received a "meets expectations" or better overall rating on most recent annual performance evaluation (PPSM 23 requires that written performance evaluations be completed annually).
  Employees who have not yet received an annual performance evaluation may be eligible for an award if their manager confirms on the nomination form that they are "meeting expectations."

Limitations:

• An employee may not receive an Achievement Award if the employee is a participant in an incentive award plan that prohibits the receipt of a recognition award.
• An employee's receipt of an Achievement Award under the STAR Plan does not establish any right or guarantee that the employee will be eligible for or entitled to an award in any subsequent Plan year.
• Senior Management Group (SMG) members are not eligible for awards.
• Exclusively represented employees are eligible for recognition awards under the Plan only if the applicable collective bargaining agreement authorizes participation in the STAR Plan.

• Achievement Awards may be presented at any time during a STAR Plan year (i.e., fiscal year) to eligible employees, and should be awarded as soon as possible after the accomplishment.
• Achievement Awards can be processed at any time, but should be processed within 30 days of the end of the fiscal year.
• Awards may range from $1,000-$10,000, or up to 10% of the employee's annual (full time equivalent) base salary, whichever amount is less. The amount of the award is taxable. Part-time employees are eligible for the full amount of the award, if all other eligibility criteria are met.
• Employees may receive one Achievement Award per fiscal year.

• All Achievement Award nominations should be submitted to the Recognition Award Administrator for the nominee's department, using the Berkeley STAR Plan Nomination Form.
• Managers, Supervisors, peers, or other individuals may nominate staff for Achievement awards; given the performance requirements, it is more likely that nominations will be made by an employee's manager.
• The employee's department head must approve the employee's nomination.
• The Recognition Award Administrator reviews the nomination for eligibility.
• Eligible nominations are forwarded to the Award Review Committee (if applicable) or the Vice Chancellor or Dean for review and decision based on timeframes established by each unit.
• The Vice Chancellor or Dean, in consultation with the Award Review Committee (if applicable) has approval authority for Achievement Awards. If the Vice Chancellor or Dean approves the Achievement Award, an award letter and a certificate will be prepared for the nominee’s manager to be presented to the recipient.
• Awardees receive an award letter, a certificate, and the award (less taxes) in an upcoming check. These documents should be presented to the employee at the same time.