Vice-Chancellor Professor S Bruce Dowton presents members of the Library Rapid Improvement Event team with an award at last year’s Excellence Awards ceremony.

How often do we take the time to acknowledge a colleague or team for their exceptional performance at work? There are probably people who instantly come to mind when you think of those who go above and beyond the normal requirements of their role – but go unnoticed.

The 2016 Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Awards for Professional Staff is about giving staff the opportunity to acknowledge and reward those who do great things in the name of work, either as teams or individual staff members. Nominations opened yesterday and close on Monday 22 August.

The Faculty of Arts Research Office team received an award last year, and manager Gill Ellis says it was great to see the team’s – and the wider faculty’s – supporting culture recognised.

“We were delighted by the peer recognition for our ‘here to help’ approach and efforts we put in to support them, their research and the faculty’s achievements,” Gill says. “It was also great that the Screen Production Team from Arts was shortlisted for the award.”

As professional staff are an integral part of the University’s ongoing success, it is important that exceptional performance is appropriately recognised and rewarded. Award recipients are given a $4000 grant to be spent on professional development for the individual or team.

“We are planning to use our grant to visit the National Library in Canberra later in the year and also hoping to visit the Faculty Research Office at ANU to see how they deliver service to their research community and to share best practice. They may even learn something from us,” says Gill.

Nominating is a simple yet powerful way to acknowledge your peers. Learn more and nominate today.