School of Arts and Sciences
SAS Human Resources
3600 Market St/2649
Suite 570
SAS Staff Incentive Bonus Program
Goal
The SAS Staff Incentive Bonus Program was created
to encourage staff initiative in solving problems, achieving
efficiencies and thinking creatively, as well as to inspire
cooperation across departments and schools and throughout
the University.
Program
The SAS Staff Incentive Bonus is a special one-time
payment awarded to selected SAS exempt and non-exempt staff
for extraordinary contributions to the mission of the School,
above and beyond the staff member's job description. It is intended to reward those members of our staff whose work is consistent with the School's objectives for excellent performance. Examples
of outstanding performance which may merit a bonus include:
1. Successful completion of special projects
2. Actions which result in measurable and significant cost
savings
3. Outstanding customer service
4. Initiative and innovation in solving problems or improving
service
5. Other accomplishments having a particularly positive
impact on the University, School, or Department
The program is designed for the purpose of acknowledging
exceptional and well-defined events. This will be the focus
in the selection process. It is not meant to replicate the annual salary review process which should be used to recognize and reward an employee for performing his or her job responsibilities consistently well.
Program Administration
The SAS Staff Incentive Bonus Program will be administered
by a seven-member committee, which will include exempt and
non-exempt SAS staff in good standing and a faculty member.
Committee members are not eligible for the Bonus Program.
Nomination Process
Faculty and staff are encouraged to nominate individuals
for their efforts in the current fiscal year. Individual staff members may nominate themselves for their own accomplishments, and are encouraged to nominate peers. All nominations
(including self-nominations) must be approved by the nominee's
immediate supervisor and department manager. A previous bonus recipient may be nominated again, provided the nomination is based on new activity and achievements. The committee reserves the right to verify all information with the nominee's supervisor.
The nomination form submitted is the only information considered in selecting the award recipients. For this reason, it is important that nominations be complete and accurate. Please provide specific examples addressing some or all of the five criteria above and provide as much details as possible about why the person you are nominating deserves to receive a bonus. This will greatly impact their chances of being selected. It is possible for more than one person to nominate someone for a particular achievement; it is also possible for one nominator to submit multiple nominations for one individual, provided each nomination focuses on a distinct project or accomplishment. Nominees may only receive one cash award.
Eligibility for the SAS Staff Incentive Bonus Program
is limited to employees who:
- have completed their introductory
period
- are included in the regular salary increase
program
- are grade 28 or below for general staff; class C or below for IT staff at the time that the bonus eligible functions were performed
Nominations for those in performance management
or who have received a performance evaluation rating of
less than "consistently meets established goals/expectations"
will not be considered. Qualified staff members are eligible for a bonus regardless of any recent salary adjustments or promotions. Bonus recipients must be employed in SAS at the time of the award.
Nominations will be reviewed by the Staff Incentive
Bonus Program committee. Nominations may be submitted at
any time but must be received no later than midnight June 30 in order to be considered. The committee reserves the right to
confirm the information provided in a nomination submission.
Winner Selection
The Staff Incentive Bonus Program committee will make
recommendations to the Dean and the Vice Dean for Finance
and Administration for the final selection
of bonus recipients. The award amounts, after taxes, will
be $750, $1500, or $3000. Awards will be extremely competitive
and will recognize only genuinely exceptional performance
based on established criteria.
Award Timing
Bonus payments will be made in the fall. Bonus recipients will be announced School-wide.
Ready to make a nomination?
Here's what you need to do
- A well prepared nomination will greatly impact your nominee's chances of being selected for an award. We have provided some examples of successful nominations from past years. You can use these examples to help guide your efforts to compose a winning nomination.
Download a PDF document with examples of effective nominations
- Click here to download the nomination template. Open this template in Microsoft Word (or your preferred word processing program). When you save the document, please include the name of the nominee in the file name. For example, if you are nominating Jane Smith, save the file as jane smith nomination.doc
- Once you have finished writing the nomination and saved it using the nominee’s name, go to http://www.sas.upenn.edu/sashr/forms/bonus/nomination_form.html to upload your form, and complete the nomination process. Be sure to save a copy for your records.
