A Guide to STAR Awards

Under the STAR Plan, managers are able to recognize, acknowledge and reward employees for exceptional performance and/or significant contributions related to and supportive of individual, departmental, divisional, and/or organizational goals and objectives.

The following are the STAR Award guidelines for FY2025-2026 

Managers may acknowledge and reward individuals and teams for:

Exceptional Performance: Demonstrated and sustained exceptional performance that consistently exceeds goals and work expectations in quantity and/or quality.

Creativity: One-time innovation or creation that results in time/dollar savings, revenue enhancement, and productivity improvement; and/or ongoing innovative/creative activities that benefit organizational systems, protocols, and/or procedures.

Organizational abilities: Exhibiting extraordinary skills in leadership resulting in the accomplishment of significant departmental or divisional goals and objectives; effective project management, which could include developing a project and/or implementing a project with substantial success; and/or demonstrating organizational capability leading to a greater level of effectiveness.

Work success: Significantly exceeding productivity, customer service, quality of care or similar goals, including demonstrating superior interactions with managers, peers, supervisors, subordinates, the University community, and/or clients and customers served.

Teamwork: Acting as an exceptionally effective and cooperative team member or team leader for a team that has significantly exceeded the goals/objectives of the department/unit.

Individual Award Nominations

Individual employees may be nominated for STAR awards based on one or more of the performance standards set forth above. Input will be required from the employee's manager/supervisor if someone other than the employee's manager/supervisor is nominating the employee.

Team Award Nominations

Team Awards may be granted to teams of employees who meet one or more of the performance standards set forth in the STAR Plan for work on a project within the same department or for work on the development and/or implementation of inter-departmental projects. Input will be required from the team leader and each employee's supervisor/manager if someone other than the manager/supervisor is nominating the team.

Nomination Process

• Written justification of demonstrated performance and contributions, as described in the performance standards above, is required for every STAR award.
• The UCLA Campus STAR Award Nomination Form or equivalent documentation must be used for each nomination. 
• Check the most recent guidelines for more details.

Questions?

If you have questions, please contact your Campus Human Resources Compensation Consultant.