2024 Employee Excellence Awards
The Ƶ Employee Excellence Awards program recognizes the contributions made by employees. The program has been developed in concert with the College's employee groups and complements the existing Distinguished Service Award and the Employee Long Service Recognition program. Take time to recognize those you work with who have made a difference to you, to students and the institution. Nominations will be reviewed by a selection committee made up of representatives from our employee groups. The President's Award nominees will be reviewed and determined by the President. All nominations are submitted through .
2023 celebration event photos
Nominations
2024 Nominations open until June 28
Do you know someone who has made an extraordinary contribution to teaching and learning at Ƶ? How about a fellow employee who has displayed exemplary and inclusive leadership, or has gone beyond their regular duties to make a noticeable impact in the community?
Now is the time to show your appreciation and recognize your fellow team members by submitting a nomination for the OC Employee Excellence Awards. The nomination process has been improved and can now be done electronically through etrieve.
Both employees and students are invited to submit nominations for an OC employee.
Awards
College Engagement Award
This is an award for any Ƶ employee who has made a significant and positive long-term impact, that reflected well on Ƶ and its community.
Eligible: Employees with equal to, or more than, five years of service from hiring date to date of nomination.
Awarded to: An individual
Criteria: Ƶ recognizes the commitment of the employee who has made significant contribution to the effectiveness of the institution in delivering its vision, mission, and values. An employee nominated for this award will have examples of the following accomplishments:
- Made specific, tangible contributions to the profile and prestige of Ƶ during their years of employment;
- Provided noted and recognized service to Ƶ and its community;
- Been committed to professional growth that positively affected Ƶ;
- Served as a role model or mentor to other employees;
- Demonstrated personal integrity in challenging situations; and
- Earned the respect of professional peers outside the institution.
Community Impact Award
This is an award for any Ƶ employee who has participated substantially in community-building and outreach initiatives that have made a positive impact and contribution to community.
Eligible: All employees
Awarded to: An individual
Criteria: Ƶ recognizes the commitment of the employee who has been involved in community activities and initiatives that have made a significant contribution and/or impact, supporting Ƶ’s vision, mission and values. The employee nominated for this award will have examples of the following accomplishments:
- Went beyond their regular duties to be an important contributor and make a noticeable impact in the community;
- Role model of the Ƶ values and a champion of equity, fairness and inclusion; and
- Consistently represented Ƶ in an off-campus activity that positively represented Ƶ in the community.
Courage to be Creative Award
This award will honour and recognize the scholarly or creative activity of an individual or a team who have bravely made a contribution to the advancement of knowledge through their work.
Eligible: All employees
Awarded to: An individual or a team
Criteria: An individual or a team nominated for this award will have made an extraordinary contribution to the advancement/enrichment of Ƶ through scholarly or creative activity. An employee nominated for this award will have examples of the following accomplishments:
Note: In addition to the regular items in this nomination package, a curriculum vitae or a list of scholarly or creative activity summarized in no more than 2 pages performed by this individual or team may be attached.
Scholarly Activity:
- Involves oral or written activities that reflect a thorough and critical collection of knowledge of one’s profession, discipline or of diverse cultures;
- Can include the practical application of research findings;
- Inspires others to embrace new educational models and ways of working;
- Finds creative approaches to academic challenges; and,
- Actively seeks opportunities to innovate and improve program delivery.
Creative Activities:
- Involve creative practices in their work;
- Find new solutions to long-standing issues;
- Identify new and novel teaching or training practices;
- Empower colleagues and/or students to be creative and to do things in a new way; and,
- Promote innovative and creative ways of showcasing the diversity of Ƶ.
Instructional Excellence Award
This award will honour and recognize instructional excellence at Ƶ. It will be awarded to those individuals with instructional responsibilities who have exhibited consistent excellence in teaching and who have had a significant impact on student learning environment, growth, and success.
Eligible: All instructional employees
Awarded To: An individual or teaching team
Criteria: An instructional employee or a teaching team nominated for this award will have made an extraordinary contribution to teaching and learning at Ƶ and will have examples of the following accomplishments:
- Communicated class subject matter accurately, clearly and with enthusiasm; invited, presented and challenged multiple points of view;
- Planned and organized all course material in a way which added significant value to the learner;
- Challenged, inspired and supported students to do their very best work;
- Demonstrated knowledge of, and passion for, the subject matter;
- Consistently up-to-date in developments in their area of instruction;
- Created a positive and accessible learning environment for all students;
- Encouraged and openly considered feedback;
- Used effective teaching methods and techniques to adapt teaching style to fit student needs;
- Employed all resources available to their utmost efficiency;
- Responded appropriately to the individual needs of each student by being available and approachable for out of classroom consultation;
- Acted as a role model by embracing their own professional development;
- Established a cohesive and collaborative learning environment;
- Generated a desire for continuous and life-long learning in others, especially students; and,
- Acted as a valuable resource for students and colleagues at Ƶ.
Leadership Award
This award will honour and recognize an Ƶ employee who has demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities.
Eligible: All employees
Awarded to: An individual
Criteria: An employee nominated for this category will have demonstrated many qualities of exceptional leadership including examples of the following accomplishments:
- Established and maintained exemplary and inclusive leadership practices;
- Provided a sense of purpose, and vision for the future, aligned with the College’s Strategic Plan “Inspire”;
- Initiated, led and managed changes effectively, creating commitment to the change from others;
- Invested time and effort in coaching and individual and team development;
- Builds consensus and commitment to action from team members in achieving departmental and organizational goals;
- Ensured that people were recognized for their contributions and celebrated the accomplishments of others;
- Provided team members with the tools and support needed to perform their tasks; and
- Communicates consistently in an inclusive, fair, straightforward, and open way.
President’s Award
The President’s Award will be given in recognition of a current employee who consistently demonstrates a commitment to and significant contribution to the values and priorities of Inspire, the Ƶ Strategic Plan.
Eligible: All employees
Note: This award will be given at the discretion of the President. It will not necessarily be awarded every year.
Awarded to: An individual
Criteria: Nominees for this award have demonstrated their commitment and contributions to Ƶ in relation to the Inspire Strategic Plan. An employee nominated for this award will have examples of the following accomplishments:
- Demonstrated embodiment of the College’s values through words and actions;
- Had a strong ability to organize their own work and/or the work of their team;
- Proven leadership in team settings and in their own work, setting and achieving challenging goals in changing environments;
- Demonstrated the ability to collaborate professionally and effectively;
- Shown creativity in service delivery and problem solving for maximum effectiveness and exceeding the expectations of students, clients, or fellow employees;
- Displayed a commitment to being a strong College ambassador through volunteering withing the College and/or local communities;
- Had the courage of their convictions through allyship and active support of indigenous OC and/or EDISJ and/or wellness; and,
- Used their ability to deliver on special projects or tasks that distinguish their contributions. Communicates consistently in an inclusive, fair, straightforward, and open way.
Service Excellence Award
This award will honour and recognize Ƶ employees who have consistently gone beyond their regular duties and responsibilities to meet the needs of Ƶ and contribute to our mission of transforming lives and communities.
Eligible: All employees
Awarded to: An individual or a team
Criteria: An individual or a team nominated for this award will have surpassed the expectations of Ƶ, its staff and/or students by seizing opportunities to do more than what is asked and will have examples of the following accomplishments:
- An extraordinary commitment to continuously providing excellent service to students or clients beyond the scope of usual roles and responsibilities;
- A commitment and significant contribution to the success of a project or initiative;
- Actions that have had a significant impact on students, staff, departments or Ƶ;
- A positive attitude, good judgment, and good communications skills;
- A commitment of time and effort to represent Ƶ and potentially enhance its reputation; and,
- The ability to achieve outstanding success despite difficult circumstances and unforeseen problems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nominations are now open. The closing date for nominations is midnight Friday, June 28, 2024.
All employees are eligible for nomination as long as they meet the award criteria.
Any employee or student may nominate an employee.
For the purposes of the Ƶ Employee Excellence Award Program, a team is defined as a core group of employees closely associated in a given work, activity or project.
- Core members are those who are central to the activity or project being nominated; differentiated from other employees who are loosely associated with it.
The nomination form is available through .
To nominate an employee or a team for an award, you must complete the Employee Excellence Awards Nomination form in Etrieve by the deadline. The nomination form includes questions that ask how the nominee or team demonstrated the award criteria. It will also ask for 3 references that support the nomination.
No other attachments are permitted with the nomination package except in the case of the Courage to be Creative Award that permits a curriculum vitae or summary of scholarly/creative activity of no more than two pages in length. Additional pages beyond those noted above will not be accepted, and will not be reviewed by the judges.
No. However, the nominee will not be informed unless given express consent by the letter writer.
The general focus of the awards are accomplishments from the previous fiscal, academic or calendar year. However, there may be instances where previous accomplishments are a factor, particularly for awards such as the President’s Award. Please submit the information you believe best supports the nomination and the selection committee will determine eligibility.
Yes, students may nominate employees. Students may also be used as a reference to support a nomination.
Yes, all employees are eligible as long as their nomination was within their employment at Ƶ.
There are no restrictions. Because of the nature of the nomination process, it is possible that an employee may be nominated in more than one category a year. However, finalists and recipients in a particular category cannot be re-nominated for the same category in the next year and must wait an entire year before being re-nominated in a particular category.
Yes. A person can submit as many nominations as he/she wishes.
The nominee is not required to sign-off on the nomination. Nominees will be informed after the closing date that they have been nominated and asked if they are willing to have their name go forward to the judging committee for review.
A Judging Committee has been established. The committee reviews the nominations and following their review, the top three candidates in each category will be informed. The recipients will be announced at the institutional event.
Senior Administration, Administrators’ Association, OCFFA, BCGEU Vocational Instructors, BCGEU Support Staff and Excluded Support Staff.
Yes. Please refer to the nomination form in etrieve under additional information #8 and #9.
When a nomination is submitted through , it is automatically routed to the Employee Excellence Awards folder.
By default, the nominee will not be informed but with the nominator consent, we can share that information. If you wish your nomination to remain confidential, please indicate this when submitting the nomination.
No. We request that all nominations be submitted through .
Previous award recipients
Contacts
Judging Committee
Gill Henderson, Associate Vice President, People Services
Supported by employees from each of the employee groups