Employee Recognition Awards

NWP Values Award aligns NWP's Purpose and Values with fostering creativity, confidence, and ambition to make a difference in the lives of others.

This award recognizes excellence in the areas of Innovation and Responsiveness as we seek to empower success at Northwestern Polytechnic.

For this award, 'excellence' is defined as one who demonstrates that as Northwesterner’s: We are innovative, entrepreneurial, and market-driven in our teaching, learning and how we operate. We are responsive to our students, our market, and our internal and external community. 

Values set the tone for our culture. In addition to being a guide to NWP’s approach on campus and in the broader learning community, our values have the potential to motivate and inspire.

This award recognizes staff and faculty who demonstrate excellence in the areas of Innovation and Responsiveness and who do their best to spark and empower success at Northwestern Polytechnic.

For this award 'excellence' is defined as one who demonstrates a commitment to being:

• innovative, entrepreneurial, and market driven in our teaching, learning and how we operate.
• responsive to our students, our market, and our internal and external community.

Examples may include:

• Demonstrating exceptional initiative, perseverance, accountability or commitment in meeting or exceeding client (including other staff or students) needs, project deliverables, or goals.
• Pursuing excellence through actions of integrity and perseverance, demonstrating high accountability in ethical decision making.
• Responding to clients (including other staff or students) quickly and effectively with innovative and integrated solutions.
• Helping NWP become a top employer by creating a supportive environment where team members are motivated, engaged, loyal, and proud.

These characteristics associated with the following criteria will serve as a guide to the award recipients.

The following will provide the necessary context to a nominator on how a nominee may demonstrate distinction or excellence.

Innovation and Responsiveness

Generating and driving new ideas, collaborations, resources and processes to align NWP’s purpose and values to foster creativity, confidence, ambition and make a difference in the lives of others.

Examples include:

• Applying original thinking in approach to job responsibilities or projects and research; generating or improving ideas, devices, processes, services, etc.
• Engaging in or fostering an environment of creativity; contributing to or facilitating problem solving, bringing forth innovative ideas and creative solutions.
• Proactively seeking opportunities to learn about new technologies, best practices, tools or systems to enhance work methods, processes and approaches.
• Seeking and listening to different points of view and respects differing opinions when developing solutions; separates own interests from the larger polytechnic interest to generate the best solution.
• Showing initiative to enhance current procedures, policies, systems or structures to be more efficient and effective, save time or money, or improve the experience of end users. Be a leader of change within the organization.
• Demonstrating exemplary community service and volunteerism through involvement with the polytechnic community that is equitable, diverse, and inclusive.

Nominations are closed for 2025.

It is preferable that packages are coordinated and submitted by the primary nominator. Completed nomination packages should be submitted to @email – Please tag the submission as “Outstanding Staff Award” in the subject line. The Review Committee will meet between June 1 and June 30 to discuss nominations and select award recipients.

Awards Selection Process

The nomination review committee for the staff awards consists of:

• Human Resources Director
• Two (2) additional committee members appointed by the HR Director
• Executive Assistant (Secretariat, non-voting)

The granting of the award will be done by consensus. An Award may be withheld at the discretion of the committee.

It is the nominator’s/nominee’s responsibility to gather and submit all components of the nomination package as identified in the “Nomination Checklist” for each award. Incomplete nomination packages will not be reviewed.

NWP Values Award

• One award may be allotted each academic year to outstanding staff members in any Division
• Eligibility:
  • All faculty, support and administrative staff. Executive members excluded.
• Criteria:
  • The criteria reflect NWP’s Values and Dedication to Staff, Students, and/or Community Members.
  • Nomination letters should clearly show how the nominee is innovative, entrepreneurial, and market driven in their approach. Nominees are responsive to our students, our market and our internal and external community by
    • Applying original thinking in approach to job responsibilities or projects and research; generating or improving ideas, devices, processes, and services. etc
    • Engaging in or fostering an environment of creativity; contributing to or facilitating problem solving, bringing forth innovative ideas and creative solutions.
    • Proactively seeking opportunities to learn about new technologies, best practices, tools or systems to enhance work methods, processes and approaches.
    • Determining direct organizational impact to innovation and responsiveness as it relates to staff, students, community (other).
• Nomination Checklist:
  • Three (3) Letters of Nomination from three different people (maximum 2-pages per letter), and
  • Acceptance of nomination by nominee in writing.

Announcements

The President will announce the recipients of the NWP Values Award at the NWP Employee Recognition Awards Ceremony in August. The awarded recipients receive a framed certificate and are featured in our NWP communications. The nominees who are not selected for an award will receive a letter of recognition.