Benefits-eligible staff employees with .75 FTE (full time equivalency) or greater are eligible to select an award for years of continuous or bridged service to the University in five-year increments starting with five years of service. Prize solicitation emails are sent from OC Tanner, the U’s recognition partner, and are generally sent by email to eligible employees the month prior to the anniversary. For more information about Staff Service Awards, please contact the U’s Staff Service Awards Coordinator, Laree Thomas.
University of Utah HR also hosts an annual ceremony for employees who have achieved milestone years of service in five-year increments starting with 25 years of service. This event takes place in annually in the late winter/early spring. For more information about this event, contact Mandy Skonhovd.
1. FAQs for Staff:
Contact the Service Award Coordinator at Laree.Thomas@utah.edu to have your eligibility reviewed or check on the status of your award notification.
Your order access expires one year from your anniversary month.
You have 90 days to exchange an award. Your award comes with instructions for exchanging items. If you cannot find this sheet, contact the Service Award Coordinator at Laree.Thomas@utah.edu.
First, the department must agree to reallocate the funds to the organization. Your accounting person can help you with this. The employee does not receive credit for a charitable contribution. Please notify the Service Award Coordinator at Laree.Thomas@utah.edu of your intentions.
Some departments will approve a cash alternative. It must be handled as a paycheck through a Prize and Award Form and taxes must be taken out through your accounting person in your department. Please notify the Service Award Coordinator at Laree.Thomas@utah.edu of your intentions.
If it is one week past the anticipated delivery date, please contact the Service Award Coordinator at Laree.Thomas@utah.edu. The Coordinator can track your package for you.
Please call University Hospital Human Resources at 801-581-6500.
Please keep all packaging and instructions. Contact the Service Award Coordinator at Laree.Thomas@utah.edu.
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2. FAQ for Managers and Supervisors:
The preferred way to purchase retirement gifts is through UShop. Retirement gifts cannot be purchased on P-cards, be purchased using state or federal funds, and cannot exceed the service year award amounts (see below for Staff Service Awards amounts). Gift cards as retirement gifts will be taxed and considered compensation. If the gift is cash or cash equivalent (gift cards/gift certificates), the amount would need to be reported through HR Payroll to satisfy IRS requirements. Tax services has additional helpful information on their website.
- An eligibility report is transmitted to O.C. Tanner the month prior to the service date anniversary.
- An email is sent out from O.C. Tanner to each of the eligible employees inviting them to select an award from an electronic catalog.
- The award order is shipped directly to the employee's home address listed in the Human Resources database.
The awards are billed to the Department of Human Resources. The cost is then reallocated to your department based on the Chartfield number you provide when requested, or to a default chartfield we have on file for your department. On your financial management report, it will show up as an "OC Tanner/Laree Thomas" charge.
Employees are not required to order from the electronic catalog. Your department is responsible for coordinating any alternative recognition. Refer to the Service Award Amounts below for the maximum that can be spent. Notify the Service Award Coordinator by email at Laree.Thomas@utah.edu of your intentions.
If the supplier is an enabled supplier in UShop, then use UShop to purchase. If you need assistance please contact the UShop team at ushop@utah.edu.
First, the department must agree to reallocate the funds to the organization. Your accounting person can help you with this. The employee does not receive a credit for charitable contribution for this. Please notify the Service Award Coordinator at Laree.Thomas@utah.edu of your intentions. The department is responsible for coordinating this effort.
If the department approves a cash award, the Service Award Coordinator must be notified by email of this decision at Laree.Thomas@utah.edu. The email should come from an administrative person eligible to make such decisions for the department. At that point, contact the payroll reporter for your department to have a Prizes and Award form issued, ensuring to copy Laree.Thomas@utah.edu on your email to your payroll reporter along with the form. The department is responsible for coordinating this effort.
If your VP agrees, you may use the amounts for a 5-year service award as a guideline (see below).
3. Service Award Amounts:
| YEAR LEVEL | Average Award Value (based on all selections) |
| 5 Years | $85.00 |
| 10 Years | $175.00 |
| 15 Years | $225.00 |
| 20 Years | $260.00 |
| 25 Years | $330.00 |
| 30 Years | $405.00 |
| 35 Years | $470.00 |
| 40 Years | $535.00 |
4. Annual Staff Service Awards Event:
University of Utah HR hosts an annual ceremony for employees who have achieved milestone years of service in five-year increments starting with 25 years of service. This luncheon and ceremony takes place annually in the late winter/early spring and is attended by President Randall, Chief Human Resources Officer Jeff Herring, and members of University leadership.
For more information on the Staff Service Awards Ceremony, please contact Mandy Skonhovd.