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motivation. After assessment of reported awards, award criteria should distinguish an employee whose behaviors and
efforts go above and beyond their expected job functions and
responsibilities. To maintain the impact of the award on staff
morale, a mixture of monthly, quarterly, and annual awards
should be utilized based on the selected criteria. A combination of peer- and management-nominated awards can maximize the benefit as recognition from both groups is important
for employee satisfaction.

Thank You Notes
Handwritten thank you notes from department leadership
can be an effective recognition tool. Two institutions noted
regularly utilizing this tool in an organized format. The frequency varied from daily to biweekly based on available
information on extraordinary employee efforts. Information
to write the notes often comes from fellow employees. Prior
to this type of recognition, department leadership should
ensure the information provided is sufficient to write a personal thank you note that specifically identifies the employee's unique behavior(s). Ideally, the behavior being
recognized can be clearly tied to the department or organization's mission and vision. One survey participant noted that
a majority of employees who receive a thank you note personally or via e-mail provide her with positive feedback for
the gesture. Some key components to consider in utilizing
this tool are inclusion of a personal, specific message, writing style (handwritten or typed), and delivery method (personal, e-mail, home/office, etc).

Public Recognition
Similar to the strategies mentioned above, an important element of most recognition tools is the public nature of recognition efforts. Some examples include in-person feedback,
verbal recognition in front of the team, articles in a department newsletter, or posts on a department or institutional
bulletin board. All methods can be effective in communicating achievements and the identified behaviors or attitudes of
extraordinary employees. Public recognition should be given
to staff at all levels and services, including both technicians
and pharmacists. This tool can also be utilized to highlight
actions of other health care professionals that support the
pharmacy department's patient-care efforts.

Considerations for Recognition
Programs
A recognition or reward program should be aimed at identifying desirable behavior and performance, then capitalizing on
personal intrinsic and extrinsic motivators to achieve excellence. Survey results revealed great examples of recognition
that utilized money, certificates, and public and personal
appreciation. Some items to consider when designing and

Hospital Pharmacy 52(11)
implementing a recognition program include the process of
identifying behavior/performance (peer/supervisor nomination, electronic tracking, etc), timing of the reward (on the
spot, monthly, quarterly, etc), and creating awareness of the
program and its criteria. The tools and items above should be
considered in designing recognition programs with the goal
of encouraging desired behavior and high performance. To do
this, it is important to have an understanding of which rewards
are valued by team members and their perception of how
likely it is that their actions will result in a reward.

Novel Recognition Programs
Pharmacy leadership at Rush University sought a new way to
recognize employees within the department over the past
year. New pharmacy achievement awards were implemented
to embody organizational goals and Rush's core values of
innovation, collaboration, accountability, respect, and excellence. Prior to developing a new set of awards, the only
award was The Preceptor of Year award. With a staff of over
30 preceptors and 40 clinical staff pharmacists, the leadership team wanted to expand ways to identify admirable work.
The selection process includes nomination from the leadership team based on concrete and objective criteria developed
for each award. In addition to recognizing pharmacists within
the department, certain awards recognize pharmacy technicians as well. The consortium of awards includes The
Preceptor of the Year (contributed most to the development
of the residents), The Innovator of the Year (recognizes creative solution to common challenges within the department),
The MVP Award (excellence in their work and their personal
integrity), The Einstein Award for Scholarship (generation of
new knowledge from research, reviews, or platform presentations), Clinical Service Award (excellence in patient care,
teaching, and mentoring), and the I-CARE Award (sought
out a diversity of opinions to assure delivery of optimal pharmacy services). Because the awards span different areas of
practice, pharmacists and technicians with different strengths
have an opportunity to be recognized. The awards are presented annually at the resident commencement ceremony to
which all staff, residents, and family are invited.
Hershey Medical Center has an innovative program to
recognize staff members. In lieu of their slogan "Inspired
Together," peers are asked to recognize fellow employees
who have been an inspiration at the beginning of all meetings. The leadership team then takes the time at their weekly
meeting to sign and send a card to every staff member that
was recognized. About 10 individuals are recognized each
week with no maximum in the number of recognitions that
could be potentially given. The biggest hurdle is deciding
what is noteworthy and inspiring rather than meeting baseline job expectations. In either direction, staff members
appreciate being recognized for the work they do. In addition
to recognizing staff through peer nomination, a birthday card
is sent to every staff member and Hershey provides biannual

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