Think your opinions on how to run the University St. Thomas don’t matter?
Think again.
Consider the extended Christmas holiday that faculty and (most) staff at St. Thomas have enjoyed the past couple of years. That suggestion was made by two School of Social Work staff members through the Employee Suggestion Award Program.
If you have a brilliant, money-saving or money-generating idea of your own, the Human Resources Department at St. Thomas is soliciting proposals for the Employee Suggestion Award Program now.
The program recognizes regular full- and part-time faculty, staff and employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement at St. Thomas for their creative ideas that, when implemented, result in increased efficiencies, net savings, new revenue or significant and measurable improvements in the operations of the university.
How to submit
One or more eligible employees should submit a written proposal, using the Suggestion Award Form, which includes:
● Evidence and data that support their research and that verifies the proposed net earnings, savings or service improvements.
● Analysis of estimated costs of implementation.
Submit proposals to Edna Comedy, associate vice president for human resources. Proposals will be accepted on an ongoing basis. The minimum estimated value of each proposal should be at least $50,000.
Evaluation
Proposals will be evaluated for qualification, completeness and feasibility and verified for projected net savings and new revenue by several university leaders and administrators, including Comedy, a supervisor/manager from the department impacted by the suggestion, subject-matter specialists with expertise related to the proposal, the vice president of business affairs and CFO, and other members of the Employee Suggestion Awards Committee.
Awards
If an employee’s proposal is accepted, he or she will receive one of two awards:
● A lump-sum monetary award between $500 and $1,000, based on the determined financial benefit of the proposal. The university will pay all income taxes associated with the award.
● A time-off award, also based on the determined financial benefit of the proposal. The employee will receive paid leave time up to 40 hours per contribution and up to 80 hours maximum per fiscal year. The award must be used within the fiscal year in which it was received.
Awards also may be a combination of the two, at the discretion of the Human Resources Department.
If more than one employee is attributed to a proposal that is accepted, the award will be divided equally among the employees.
Visit the Employee Suggestion Award Program webpage or policy page for more information, or e-mail Edna Comedy, associate vice president of human resources.
