Office of Human Resources

All nonunion, benefits-eligible staff - both full- and part-time - with at least three months' service time at Brandeis, are eligible to receive this award. All managers, including faculty who manage staff, may request a reward for their employees by completing the Spot Reward gift card request and approval form (pdf).

Managers can reward an employee or employees with an Amazon gift card, available in $50 increments, up to $350 maximum per card. 

Note to managers: When defining the size of the award, please keep in mind that gift card award amounts are considered as gross payments for tax purposes; imputed income will be recorded in employee payroll and taxes will be withheld.

The On-the-Spot program is meant to reward individuals who have displayed extra effort or who have gone above and beyond their day-to-day job responsibilities. The program recognizes employees “in the moment” on a one-time basis for recent exemplary action. Continuous and sustained excellence should be recognized through other institutional means, such as the annual merit program or a promotion, if appropriate.

The following are examples of situations in which an On-The-Spot reward may be given:

• Improving a process which created substantial department efficiency and overall budget savings.
• Utilizing creative problem-solving to resolve a particularly complicated and ongoing issue.
• Working extra assignments outside of the regular pattern of work to be of further assistance to their department.
• Assisting a colleague in completing a large work assignment or project that took considerable time and effort, and would normally be outside of the employee’s job domain.

It is important that all rewards are distributed in a manner that is fair, equitable and transparent to employees within the overall rewards budget.

Rewards will be funded out of the budget of the approving manager’s department. In extenuating budget circumstances, departments should first seek assistance from the dean or vice president, and potentially from central funds.

Anyone in an employee’s supervisory chain can nominate an employee for an On-the-Spot reward, with the approval of the employee’s manager (second-level supervisor of the employee).

To request an On-the-Spot Reward:

• Complete a Spot Reward gift card request and approval form (pdf).
• Forward both to human resources for review and final approval.
• Supervisors or managers can pick up the gift card from the HR front desk.
• The employee’s supervisor or manager should notify the employee in person and thank them for the work or behavior that is being rewarded.

Under IRS regulations, gift cards are considered taxable income and will be processed accordingly. Further, managers may not use university funds to purchase gift cards for employees, for any reason, outside of this program.

To enhance the university's culture of recognition by rewarding employees who go above and beyond their job responsibilities, and to encourage initiative and creativity, in service of students and all constituents.

A reward program like this is to be used for special situations and circumstances, not on a frequent or recurring schedule, with any individual employee. The intention is to provide more opportunity in a staff member’s career to be recognized and rewarded than annual increases and promotions. It is not intended as a supplement to compensation.

We would like this to be as decentralized as possible, with managers (with guidance from their school/department) empowered to make decisions about whom to recognize.

The Office of Human Resources is involved primarily to help guide patterns of use across schools and units, and less for the purpose of evaluating individual awards. The procurement of the cards is centralized (only HR may purchase the cards); the funding is decentralized, with the cost of cards charged to the manager’s budget.

There are no policy provisions making a particular staff member ineligible, but we discourage managers from recognizing probationary or temporary employees as well as those on a performance plan or who have been the subject of recent disciplinary action.

All nonunion staff are eligible, no matter the classification or funding type. We will engage all bargaining units about being included and update the policy as progress dictates.