What you need to know
Recognizing and rewarding employees’ accomplishments helps us foster a motivated and engaged workforce. A culture of recognition also builds strong relationships among coworkers and helps everyone work together toward the same goals, making the workplace a better place to be.
Whether you are a manager or an individual contributor, you have several ways to recognize and show appreciation for your employees, teammates and colleagues.
What is the difference between rewards, recognition and appreciation?
- Rewards are tangible benefits, like bonuses or gifts, given for reaching specific goals or performance targets. At Sandia, only managers can give rewards.
- Recognition is when you publicly acknowledge someone’s achievements, like giving them an award or praising them in a meeting.
- Appreciation is a more personal way to say thank you for someone’s contributions, like writing a note or giving verbal praise.
Appreciation
Valuing and appreciating the contributions of your peers and team mates not only boosts morale but also enhances collaboration and productivity. Whether it’s a simple thank-you for a job well done, acknowledging a colleague’s support during a challenging project or celebrating milestones together, expressing gratitude can strengthen workplace relationships and create a positive atmosphere.
Thunderbird Kudos and Sandia Greetings eCards are Sandia-supported tools for showing support, appreciation and celebrating milestones with your colleagues.
Use Thunderbird Kudos to recognize a colleague’s hard work with a simple thank you. These quick and simple recognitions align to Sandia’s values and behaviors and are a great way to spotlight a job well done to management.
All regular employees, students, LTEs and contractors may submit or receive a Kudos.
Submit Kudos online at kudos.sandia.gov
Sandia Greetings eCards website offers a variety of electronic cards you can customize with your own message. Whether you’re thanking a colleague for their contribution to a project, celebrating a special occasion or just reaching out to say, “I value you,” Sandia Greetings provides a convenient and eco-friendly way to share your sentiments.
Card categories range from special occasions, appreciation, support and encouragement, team spirit or just because.
Visit Sandia Greetings Site to browse the wide selection of cards available.
Recognition
Celebrating your employees’ or coworkers’ achievements, whether big or small, fosters a sense of belonging, strengthens collaboration and motivates individuals to strive for excellence. Recognition can take many forms, from public praise during team meetings to personalized notes of appreciation.
Recognizing accomplishments in a timely manner—such as after completing a project, reaching a milestone or overcoming challenges—can significantly enhance team dynamics and drive overall performance.
For managers, recognizing how your employees demonstrate the Dimensions of Performance or Sandia Behaviors in the moment reinforces desired behaviors that create a high-performance culture or enable accomplishments.
Sandia offers many ways you can recognize colleagues, including Employee Recognition Awards, Thunderbird Kudos and Tier Board recognitions. Sandia also recognizes employees’ milestone service anniversaries.
ERAs are an annual opportunity to honor individuals and teams who have made outstanding contributions to Sandia’s success. An ERA recognizes those who go above and beyond, contributing to the Laboratories’ highest achievements.
Awards fall within six award categories: Innovation, Technical Excellence, Leadership, Operational Excellence, Collaboration and Culture Champion.
Nominees must be a current, regular, or temporary (excluding recurrent) employee on roll. Staff augmentation contractors are not eligible to be nominated.
Nomination period is in January of each year and does not require any level of management approval or a P/T to submit a nomination. To complete a nomination form you will need to go to the ERA site during the nomination period.
Use Thunderbird Kudos to recognize a colleague’s hard work and accomplishments. These quick and simple recognitions align to Sandia’s values and behaviors and are a great way to spotlight a job well done to management.
All regular employees, students, LTEs and contractors may submit or receive a Kudos.
Submit Kudos online at kudos.sandia.gov
Tier board recognitions highlight achievements such as progress on or completion of a project.
Submit recognitions to your tier board host or administrative professional. If the employees you want to recognize are outside your division, you can notify the tier board host or administrative professional in their organizations so their colleagues and leaders can join in the recognition.
This program recognizes and celebrates employees service milestones and for their loyalty and contributions to Sandia.
Service awards are given to regular employees (except students and staff augmentation) at 1, 3, 5 years of service and every five years after. Employees who reach a service award milestone receive a certificate and those at 5 years and above will get to select a gift commensurate with their milestone.
Managers and admins will receive a planning report via email that lists who in their organization has an upcoming service milestone. The awards will be delivered to the manager’s email and/or mail stop; managers should present the award to the employee. No P/T is needed for the award and the gift.
Rewards (for manager use only)
Rewarding employees for their achievements and accomplishments reinforces positive behavior and motivates employees to continue striving for excellence. Managers should seize opportunities to reward employees after significant milestones, successful project completions or when they go above and beyond their regular duties.
Embracing a rewards system is not just about recognition; it’s about cultivating a thriving workplace where everyone feels empowered to achieve their best.
Managers can give gift cards and Spot Awards to employees they wish to reward for their efforts and achievements.
Spot Awards are lump-sum cash awards (non-base) that recognize significant, short-term efforts (e.g., meeting project milestones, accomplishments) with broad impact or completing major projects spanning departments/centers.
While only managers can originate the Spot Awards, anyone can recommend an award to the manager. Spot Awards can be given anytime through HR Self Service. All regular employees, students and LTEs are eligible to receive Spot Awards.
Visit HR Self Service to award a Spot
Digital gift cards are a fast and convenient way for managers to recognize and reward employees’ achievements in a meaningful and practical way. All regular employees, students and LTS are eligible to receive gift cards.
Managers can give small dollar amounts (between $25 and $150), and employees will be able to select the gift card of their choice. Gift card recipients are notified via email, along with a link to a website where they can select a gift card().
Visit giftcard.sandia.gov to learn more.
A simple thanks is worth a lot
Appreciation is a priceless gift that costs you next to nothing.
Consider using these simple tips for showing your appreciation for your employees, team members and colleagues.
Personalized notes: Write a handwritten note/card or a personalized email expressing your appreciation for a specific action or contribution.
Thoughtful gestures: Bring their favorite break-time beverage or snack or invite them to lunch.
Share positive feedback: Provide unsolicited positive feedback to their manager about how they helped you and the impact it made.
Offer compliments: Let them know what skills, knowledge or characteristic you value and appreciate about them.
Create a gratitude board: Set up a board in a common area where team members can post notes of appreciation about and for their colleagues.