City Council's Award for Employee Excellence Administrative Policy

Administrative Policy and Procedures
Human Resources Department

City of
| 7 EL MIRAGE

Arizona
GRAND HERITAGE, BRIGHT FUTURE! *

City Council’s Award for Employee Excellence
Reference Number: AP23-062

Effective: 01/2024 Replaces: N/A

Policy Statement

The City Council’s Award for Employee Excellence recognizes and celebrates outstanding
performance and exceptional contributions made by employees. This policy establishes a formal
process to identify and honor employees who demonstrate exceptional public service and
significantly impact the El Mirage community. This award is the highest honor that an employee
may receive for noteworthy service to the City of El Mirage.

Policy

Eligibility and Criteria

The City Council’s Award for Employee Excellence is open to all regular full-time or part-time
employees. Any employee at any level of City government may nominate any other employee or
employee group for an award.

Nominations can be made for outstanding performance, a special act, or distinguished
accomplishments. The performance upon which a nomination is based must be clearly above and
beyond that which would be expected from dedicated employees who are competently
performing the essential duties of their position, with or without reasonable accommodation.
When the accomplishment/service is closely connected with the performance of normal duties,
it will be necessary to identify in the nomination how the performance or accomplishment was
beyond the scope of normal activity.

Nomination notices are distributed to employees each year, including nomination instructions, a
nomination form/link, and the submission deadline. Nominations must be submitted on the
City’s designated form. Supporting documentation will not be considered. Completed forms are
submitted to the Human Resources Department. Department Heads will be allowed to comment
on the nominations of their staff before nominations are submitted to the award committee.

Award Categories

Individual or employee groups are eligible for consideration for an award after meeting one or

more of the following criteria within the twelve months preceding the nomination:

Efficiency and Innovation: Improved service delivery through innovative problem-
solving, or successfully establishing new and outstanding methods, practices, or plans.
Human Relations: Made outstanding contributions toward enhancing the quality and
morale of the workplace or creating a positive public image of the City of El Mirage (such
as positive personal interaction with other employees, public awareness, working on
relations internally, or significant collaboration efforts with other organizations).
Outstanding Public Service: Exhibited unselfish devotion to duty far and above normal
requirements and contributed significantly to the advancement of City service to the
citizens of El Mirage.

Safety and Heroism: Demonstrated outstanding judgment or courage in an emergency,
risking his/her life, or exhibited meritorious action to prevent injury, loss of life, or
damage/ loss of property.

Award Committee

The award committee will consist of the City Manager, Mayor, and Vice Mayor, or designee(s).

The award committee will review and select the employees who receive the City Council’s Award

for Employee Excellence from the nominations submitted.

Nominations will be ranked independently by each member of the committee.

Upon complete review of all nominations, the highest-ranked nominees will be award
recipients.

The award committee may select one or more nominations from each award category to
receive the City Council’s Award for Employee Excellence, at their sole discretion.

The decisions of the award committee are not subject to grievance or appeal.

Award Recipients

Award recipients will be presented with a certificate from the City Council at a City Council

meeting. Awards will be memorialized on the City of El Mirage website.

For questions concerning the administration of this policy, please contact the Human Resources

Department. This policy may be amended from time to time as the City deems appropriate.

Created: November 2023

Approved: CC) CAyotil dD hk I/ ll/ a

City Manager's Signatife Date