Put your PAWS UP! for Penn State Health and College of Medicine team members
Penn State Health has launched a new employee recognition program to foster employee engagement, high performance and health care excellence. Beginning Sept. 19, the PAWS UP! program replaced the various recognition programs across Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine.
Visit the PAWS UP! website to learn more and sign up. Download the WeRecognize app from the App store or Google Play and log in using the login information provided in the welcome email sent by Penn State Health Paws Up Program on Sept. 19.
Penn State Health and College of Medicine employees can earn PAWS UP! points for exhibiting above-and-beyond behaviors tied to organizational core values. Managers can also reward employees on-the-spot with recognition cards that are preloaded with point values. Earned points can be redeemed for anything in an online rewards gallery featuring merchandise, events, charitable donations, and virtual gift cards.
Employees can send each other non-monetary e-greetings, and everyone is eligible for special recognition on their birthday. The Human Resources department selected and designed the PAWS UP! program to streamline various recognition programs into a consolidated platform based on best practices and to emphasize a unified culture of teamwork and Nittany Lion pride.
“Every individual creates their own ideas of happiness and meaning in their lives and their work,” said David Swift, chief human resources officer, Penn State Health. “But we do know that engaged employees are happier, more committed to their organization and perform better. From our 2017 employee survey, we heard that better communication and more recognition and support could improve workplace happiness. We are listening and working to create a more positive and supportive culture through tools like the PAWS UP! program.”
Through a mixture of formal and informal rewards, social recognition and peer-to-peer nominations, the program demonstrates that Penn State Health believes its people are its greatest asset, and the workplace culture should be one of compassion, caring, connection and appreciation.
“Happiness isn’t the same as engagement. It’s an outcome of engagement. When you’re engaged at your workplace, you feel better about your life. You feel appreciated, recognized, and connected to the people with whom you spend the lion’s share of your day.”—Tracy Maylett, author of “MAGIC: Five Keys to Unlock the Power of Employee Engagement” (DecisionWise, 2014)
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