New recognition site provides opportunities to show appreciation

Michigan Medicine is improving the ways in which faculty, staff, learners, leaders and patients can show appreciation for those who go above and beyond.

The Department of Human Resources recently launched a new recognition site that allows for real-time, interactive engagement. The new platform (recognition.med.umich.edu) brings together current offerings, such as the Making a Difference program, and new opportunities to recognize hard-working employees.

“Everyone wants to feel appreciated and valued — and that includes faculty, staff, learners, leaders and volunteers. It is extremely important that we let our staff know that we appreciate them and the work that they do,” said Deloris Hunt, chief human resources officer at Michigan Medicine. “Many of our employees take on additional roles outside the position they were hired for, and that has been especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic. The last several months we have seen our health care heroes shine in many different departments and roles, and we continue to find ways to recognize them for all they do for each other and our patients.”

Expanding recognition

The new site helps expand the reach of recognition and delivers it in real-time. When an award or e-card is submitted online, notification is instantly sent to the employee and their manager/supervisor with a certificate to be printed and based on how employees prefer to receive their recognition, it could be shared with others.

Managers are encouraged to share all of their department recognition at staff meetings, huddles and other sharing opportunities to further recognize the employee.

“The new recognition site is a direct response to feedback we heard from our leaders and managers that they would like more tools and resources to help them create a culture of appreciation and recognition,” said JoAnn Grantham, recognition program manager for Michigan Medicine. “With additional tools and resources, we will make recognition easier and more timely.”

The technology also allows for the creation of additional recognition options that are tied to the recently announced Michigan Medicine values.

For instance, Making a Difference awards will now align to one of the five core values – caring, innovation, integrity, teamwork or inclusion – in which the employee demonstrated and is being recognized for. This is a great way to further demonstrate how employees are living out core values in the education, research and patient care settings.

Other features to the new site include:

• A new e-card option allows you to send a special note to celebrate a birthday, work anniversary, or simply send a note of appreciation to someone to brighten their day. The site will be adding more e-card options in the future.
• The main page of the site has a social stream that allows you to see awards, e-cards, and milestones for employees across the entire organization. You can see everyone, or filter it to see those most relevant to you or your department. You can even “follow” employees to see all the recognition they receive.
• Real-time recognition is achieved by the employee and their supervisor through a system-generated email. The certificate is immediately available, and the manager can use it to further recognize the employee.

How it works

Moving forward, all Making a Difference award nominations will be submitted through the new site (recognition.med.umich.edu) and employees should log-in using their Level-2 username and password. Once you set up your profile, you can review the social stream and begin sharing ‘thank you’ messages with deserving colleagues and teams. Simply select “Recognize” at the top of the home screen. How-to guides are available on the site.

Patients will continue to be able to submit recognition using a modified version of the site. There is a separate log-in for patients and visitors with access to the Making a Difference form. The paper forms previously used will be removed from clinical units and replaced with an information card providing information about the program and the link to submit nominations.

“Over the past few years, we have branded our program around the theme ‘Inspired,’ to show how much the work of our faculty and staff inspires those around them,” said Grantham. “We look forward to continuing that theme in the new programming and make it even easier to find inspiration at Michigan Medicine.”

Send an e-card or Making a Difference award by going to recognition.med.umich.edu.

Learn even more about the new recognition website and the upcoming Employee Appreciation Week by checking out the latest episode of The Wrap employee podcast in the YouTube video below! You can also find it via an audio media player by clicking here.