Above and Beyond Award for Staff
(Nominated by any Montana Tech Employee)

Tips for writing award nomination

Nominations are blinded before being given to the selection committee.  Please help with this by limiting your use of your nominee’s name and pronouns in your answers.

The key to a well-written nomination is to provide evaluators with specific information that illustrates how the individual’s achievements have made a positive impact on the campus, department, co-workers, or students’ lives.

The selection committee relies on your words and examples to “see” your nominee’s attributes and contributions.  Detailed information is essential. Don’t worry about using “fancy” words.  Explain details in such a way that non-experts will understand, and please spell out/define acronyms.

Make every sentence count.  Write sentences that are concise and give specific details. 

Things to think about when filling out the nomination form questions: 

HOW does the nominee demonstrate a commitment to our mission and core values?

 
WHAT did the nominee do?

  • Projects and/or activities above and beyond job descriptions
  • Any challenges or issues encountered and overcome

 

HOW did the nominee do it?

  • Initiative and/or leadership
  • Teamwork
  • Creativity and/or innovation
  • Behaviors and/or attitudes

 

WHAT were the results and/or impacts?

  • What did the nominee accomplish?
  • Are there specific benefits derived from those efforts?

 

SHOW THE “Above and Beyond”

It is one thing to report what a person did, but the selection committee would like to know if those accomplishments were a normal part of the person’s job or something more.

  • Was this an extra task, voluntarily taken on?
  • What is the difference from before?
  • What is “extra” and by how much? 

 
BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC

Don’t assume that selection committee members will understand the specific nature of a project or achievement without explanations.  Be specific about what the nominee did and how it made a difference. 

 
GATHER INPUT FROM OTHERS

A group of two or more colleagues may work together to write a nomination.

 

Example:

WEAK: Nominee is a hard worker who goes above and beyond their job duties.  In addition, Nominee is always reliable, diligent, and has a willingness to help.

STRONGER: No matter how bogged down in reports or work of their own this nominee may be, they always maintain an open-door policy and will stop what they are doing to help students, faculty, or staff with questions, usually very complex in nature. This person always maintains a cheerful, friendly demeanor and treats everyone with equal respect and consideration. This person leads by example. They willingly provide guidance when requested or when they perceive it could be helpful.