Board Policy - Section Number: 07.11.00.00

Purpose

To establish an Employee Productivity Award Program where ideas can be shared leading to innovation, greater efficiency, increased productivity and more effective public service; to promote cost savings and efficiencies; to recognize employees for innovation and extra effort; to improve morale by rewarding and encouraging positive contributions; to stimulate communication and innovation from the bottom-up; and to reinforce the County’s commitment to continuous improvement. This program will be administered by the County Administrator’s Department of Human Resources.

Policy

Eligibility for Participation: Full-time, part-time and temporary County employees in classified and unclassified services in the following County organizations: Board of County Commissioners, County Attorney’s Office, County Administrator’s Office, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Supervisor of Elections, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, State Attorney’s Office/Victim Assistance, Property Appraiser, Tax Collector, Civil Service Board, County Planning Commission, and the Environmental Protection Commission. Excluded from participation are all elected officials, constitutional officers, appointed authorities, the County Administrator’s Executive Team, and the Director of Human Resources.

Evaluation Committee: A group comprised of employees from each County agency electing to participate in the Productivity Award Program. The County Administrator or his/her designee may appoint up to three members of the general public to serve on the Committee. In addition, the County Administrator’s organization will have three representatives, the Sheriff’s office will have two representatives, and all other agencies will have one representative. The County Administrator’s Director of Human Resources or his/her designee will chair the Evaluation Committee. This Committee will determine the feasibility, cost savings or revenue increase (if any) of the suggestion or productivity improvement. The Evaluation Committee will be empowered to solicit any information or assistance necessary to properly evaluate the submitted suggestion(s) or productivity improvement. The Evaluation Committee members will meet on a quarterly basis to review those suggestions that have been submitted. The Evaluation Committee will also be responsible for determining the appropriate participation award category, as defined below, and the amount of the award for submitted suggestions.

Awards

Awards will be available to both individual employees and teams or departments.

1. Silver Award – Award amounts will range from $50 to $500 for those Intangible and Safety Suggestions that are successfully implemented. The award amounts will be based on the perceived value to the County’s quality of work life, improvements in employee morale, safety, health, or enhancement of the County’s image. Individuals, teams, or departments may submit suggestions.
2. Gold Award – Award amounts will be ten percent (10%) of the estimated cost savings, productivity improvement, or increase in revenue for the first full year implementation of a Tangible Suggestion, not to exceed a maximum amount of $2,000 for a suggestion submitted by an individual; $3,000 for a suggestion submitted by a team or department.
3. Platinum Award – There will be two Platinum Awards each year: one for an individual employee and one for a team or department. These Awards recognize a specific Silver or Gold Award at the end of each fiscal year. The Evaluation Committee determines the recipients of these awards based upon the Evaluation Committee’s determination as to the Silver or Gold Award that has made the most significant difference in County operations throughout the year. The Platinum Award will be $2,000 for an individual suggestion; $3,000 for a team or department suggestion.
4. A Certificate of Recognition will be given to supervisors of individual employees, teams, or departments who submit suggestions that receive awards in recognition of their inspiration and vision.

Definitions

Suggestion: A written, original idea that proposes a specific method, equipment modification or improvement which results in Hillsborough County government’s being able to perform a job or follow a procedure better, quicker, easier, cheaper, or with improved quality of service and/or work life or which enhances the County’s public image. All suggestions become the property of Hillsborough County. The submitting employees waive any further claim for themselves or their heirs against the County in reference to their suggestions. The “types” of suggestions covered by this program include:

• Tangible Suggestions – Those suggestions for which a precise monetary value can be measured; i.e., actual net cost savings can be measured in before and after costs.
• Intangible Suggestions – Those suggestions beneficial to the County but not measurable in actual dollars. These include improvements to procedures, revisions of forms, and enhancement of employee working conditions, health, and morale.
• Safety Suggestions – Those suggestions which promote safer methods, practices, and procedures which result in increased employee productivity or monetary savings by reducing the County’s lost time or medical expenses due to employee work-related injuries or illnesses; by reducing liability claims against the County; or by implementing public safety suggestions which result in cost reductions to the County.

Only the Productivity Award Coordinator will know the identity of the submitting employee(s). To allow for complete anonymity, the application forms will be numbered by the Coordinator prior to submission to the Evaluation Committee. Identities of the submitting employees, teams, or departments will be revealed after the suggestion or documented savings have been reviewed by the Evaluation Committee and the Director of Management and Budget.

Productivity Award Coordinator: An employee assigned from the County Administrator’s Human Resources Department who, as a portion of his/her overall duties, maintains the overall Productivity Award Program.

Suggestor: A Suggestor may be one employee or may be composed of a group or team of employees. If the suggestor is a group or team of employees, the suggestion will be treated as if submitted by one person and the cash award will be shared equally by all employees involved in the suggestion or productivity improvement. If a group or team suggestion is submitted, the names of all involved employees can be included on the initial suggestion form.

Suggestion Criteria

Suggestions should cover the following points:

1. Identify the main subject of the suggestion.
2. Describe the present method or condition, assuming the evaluators have no knowledge of the current matter.
3. Describe the way it could be, explaining exactly how the task/job/change in methodology, etc., could be improved.
4. Describe the advantages of the solution being presented, including potential savings, benefits, etc.

Suggestions must involve a matter that is not in use by the County prior to the date the suggestion is submitted and/or already under consideration by the County prior to the date submitted. All suggestions become the property of the County when submitted.

No idea is too small. Many small suggestions can have the same impact as the occasional big suggestion.

To be successfully considered for a Silver or Gold Award, a suggestion should not:

1. Relate to classification, pay, benefits, other terms and conditions of employment and/or personal grievances.
2. Be too general or lack sufficient data to be evaluated.
3. Duplicate an active suggestion.
4. Relate to routine maintenance matters such as cleaning, painting, repairing and adjusting, unless a change in methods or materials is proposed.
5. Be within the employee’s authority to implement.
6. Involve the elimination, lowering or raising of fees or taxes levied by the County or other government entities. (Note: However, suggestions are encouraged that, as the result of implementation, cause taxes or fees to be lowered.)
7. Relate to matters resulting from assigned or contracted audits, studies, surveys, reviews or research.
8. Involve collective bargaining proposals.

Suggestion Process

1. To encourage supervisor and department creativity and resourcefulness, as well as individual vision, suggestions may be submitted through the department supervisor. This will provide immediate availability and documentation of savings that often must be calculated and authenticated by the department for which the suggestion is made. This type of suggestion does not require submission to the Committee prior to implementation. Recognition will be of a job well done once suggestions have been successfully implemented and have realized enhanced services, savings or increased revenues.
2. Suggestions to improve the efficiency or service of other departments may be made directly to the Evaluation Committee on the approved form or via COIN to the Productivity Award Coordinator in Human Resources. Suggestion forms are available from the Human Resources Department, payroll coordinators, and at appropriate agency/office locations. The Committee will then refer the suggestion to the department for evaluation and possible implementation. In this instance, the recognition certificate would be given to the implementing department.
3. The Productivity Award Coordinator assigns a Suggestion Number to the suggestion and forwards the suggestion to the Evaluation Committee members. Suggestions will be forwarded for review without any indication of the employee’s name in order to ensure an impartial evaluation. The submitting employee will be notified in writing of the Committee’s initial review of eligibility/ineligibility for consideration. If the suggestion is eligible for consideration, the Committee will move forward with the review for an award.
4. Any awards that project financial savings or report documented savings will be forwarded to the Director of Management and Budget for review and validation. The Director will confirm the savings to the Evaluation Committee prior to any award.
5. Any employee whose suggestion is initially deemed ineligible will receive a letter of explanation from the Productivity Award Coordinator.
6. Award payments made in the Productivity Award Program will not be included in the employee’s regular base rate of pay and will not be carried forward in subsequent years.
7. Award payments are subject to Federal income and FICA tax.
8. Award payments shall be funded by reserves set aside for employee efficiency incentives.
9. Suggestions that are not implemented are valid for two (2) years. Employees can submit a written request to the Productivity Award Coordinator, requesting a re-evaluation of their suggestion with any new information they have within that two-year time period.
10. The Productivity Award Program is not subject to any grievance procedures.
11. The actual cost savings or revenue increases of a suggestion shall be reviewed for one year after the suggestion has been implemented. The award amount shall be increased, up to the maximum amount, if the actual savings or revenues are more than originally estimated. The affected department is responsible for this review.
12. Award winners and their supervisors will be recognized on a regular basis through the NewsLine or other Agency newsletters.
13. The Productivity Award Coordinator will provide quarterly updated reports to the Board of County Commissioners, listed under the regular agenda section, indicating the number of employee suggestions, dollar amount of the awards, and total dollar amount of projected or documented savings.

Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of all elected officials, constitutional officers, and appointed officials to comply with the above guidelines and procedures.