Teamwork Criteria
Acting as an exceptionally effective and cooperative member of a team dedicated to making positive change.

1. The selected nominee will demonstrate and exhibit the following outstanding skills:
   • Communication is of the highest caliber; clear, persuasive, accurate, and focused on the needs of specific individuals and groups.
   • Exemplifies respect and promotes a welcoming work environment; inspires collaboration by bridging gaps among diverse individuals and units.
   • Consistently goes beyond direct responsibilities to achieve team and department goals; welcomes new challenges.
   • Consistently goes beyond direct responsibilities to achieve team and department goals; welcomes new challenges.
   • Demonstrating superior interactions and a positive influence on managers, peers, supervisors, subordinates, and the university community

Outstanding Customer Service and Job Performance Criteria
Demonstrated and sustained outstanding performance that consistently exceeds goals and job expectations in quantity and quality, resulting in significant achievement or significant impact upon UC Merced.

1. The selected nominee will demonstrate and exhibit the following outstanding skills:
   • Provides excellent customer service by proactively building relationships to understand, predict, and respond to customer needs with the motivation to go above and beyond to ensure the customer needs are met.
   • Demonstrates excellent communication skills and best practices; proactively keeps others informed through various communication channels; ensures stakeholders involved in a task or project are well-informed of the status of the project or task.
   • Anticipates and actively problem solves with minimal assistance from supervisor; recognizes when decision is necessary and involves relevant stakeholders.
   • Understands and consistently demonstrates project management; very effective in establishing and organizing priorities; anticipates deadlines and performs tasks on time, accurately, and with few errors; balances multiple deadlines and demonstrates readiness for higher level responsibility.
   • Understands all phases of the job and its relation to other positions; awareness of how their work directly impacts the success of their team; sets professional goals, self-monitors progress and self-corrects performance to meet goals and communicates with the supervisor.

Organizational/ Leadership Abilities Criteria
Demonstrated extraordinary leadership resulting in the accomplishment of significant goals or objectives that serve the good of UC Merced.

1. The selected nominee will demonstrate or exhibit the following outstanding skills:
   • Significant UC Merced community/departmental improvement or significant project management
   • Demonstrated drive and initiative involving people, events, programs, projects, and/or teams.
   • Promotes a respectful and supportive work environment and inspires others to learn and grow.
   • Demonstrated above average judgment in evaluating situations and making sound and ethical decisions
   • Demonstrated exceptional service to the institution and/or community at large (e.g. voluntary participation in campus committees).
   • Extended their self to help others with a high degree of excellence, professionalism, and integrity in their work

Staff Engagement Criteria

1. The selected nominee will demonstrate or exhibit the following outstanding skills:
   • Engages in campus activities such as committees and/or initiatives, workgroups, advising/mentoring of staff or student organizations above and beyond their campus role
   • In the spirit of our campus principles of community, employee will demonstrate the ability to hold themselves accountable and invites colleagues and peers to do the same.
   • Providing inspiration as a role model to encourage others to engage in campus activities
   • Engages in innovative thinking setting an example for other colleagues.
   • Team player, employee will demonstrate the ability to collaborate and works exceptionally well with other staff on campus.

People Management Criteria
An outstanding manager or supervisor leads and engages people to maximize organization and individual performance through alignment with the University mission and attainment of strategic and operational goals.

1. The selected nominee will demonstrate and exhibit the following outstanding skills:
   • Is a leader in addressing conflicts through an empathetic leadership framework, promptly using strong communication skills, and making suitable referrals or recommendations; exemplifies ability to gather and utilize constructive feedback
   • Consistently and effectively acknowledges employees' initiative to improve skills, enhance contributions, and show appreciation and understanding 
   • Has a positive attitude and manages with respect, fairness, transparency, and honesty; humanize the work environment and treat employees as people
   • Empowers employees' professional development training and career development. 
   • Creates a shared vision of organizational and operational excellence; connects department goals and individual contributions to vision.
   • Promotes teamwork while supporting individuals' well-being and represents the values and norms that contribute to a supportive workplace culture that is free of discrimination, microaggression, and bullying.

Equity, Justice, and Inclusive Excellence Criteria
Recognizes a manager for the work they do that cultivates a culture of dignity and respect, ensuring that all members of the community thrive as their authentic selves through equitable and inclusive structures, policies, and practices.

1. The selected nominee will demonstrate and exhibit the following outstanding skills:
   • Contributes to fostering, creating, or sustaining a healthy campus culture at UC Merced, deepening the collective appreciation for equity, justice, and inclusive excellence
   • Engages in work or activities that promotes cultural competency, reflects equitable practices, affirms the Principles of Community and are inclusive in scope and depth
   • Communicates and engages in difficult dialogues related to diversity and inclusion
   • Encourages personal or professional growth of self or colleagues through leadership in positive interactions and communications related to equity, diversity, or inclusion
   • Participate, support or lead activities that have promoted a campus environment that is welcoming, supportive, and nurturing of cultural, ethnic, racial, class, gender, sexual orientation, language, and other differences
   • Contributes to raising awareness and consciousness about diversity and inclusion within the context of the university’s mission and for the greater good of the Merced community

Equity, Justice, and Inclusive Excellence Criteria
Recognizes a staff member for the work they do that cultivates a culture of dignity and respect, ensuring that all members of the community thrive as their authentic selves through equitable and inclusive structures, policies, and practices.

1. The selected nominee will demonstrate and exhibit the following outstanding skills:
   • Contributes to fostering, creating, or sustaining a healthy campus culture at UC Merced, deepening the collective appreciation for equity, justice, and inclusive excellence
   • Engages in work or activities that promotes cultural competency, reflects equitable practices, affirms the Principles of Community and are inclusive in scope and depth
   • Communicates and engages in difficult dialogues related to diversity and inclusion
   • Encourages personal or professional growth of self or colleagues through leadership in positive interactions and communications related to equity, diversity, or inclusion
   • Participate, support or lead activities that have promoted a campus environment that is welcoming, supportive, and nurturing of cultural, ethnic, racial, class, gender, sexual orientation, language, and other differences
   • Contributes to raising awareness and consciousness about diversity and inclusion within the context of the university’s mission and for the greater good of the Merced community

1. The selected nominee will demonstrate and exhibit the following outstanding skills:
   • Innovation or creation resulting in a significant impact on process, workflow, or department and/or unit function.
   • Proactively pursues results and looks for creative solutions on a regular basis and often contributes innovative ideas and solutions to existing problems
   • Created product or idea draws on a wide variety of sources, including different texts, media, resource persons, or personal experiences
   • Created product is interesting, new, or helpful, making an original contribution that includes identifying a previously unknown problem, issue, or purpose
   • Organized and reorganized ideas into different categories or combinations and then evaluate whether the results are interesting, new, or helpful.