6109.13_30
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FOREST SERVICE HANDBOOK
CHEQUAMEGON-NICOLET NF (REGION 9)
RHINELANDER, WI
PARK FALLS, WI
FSH 6109.13 – PERFORMANCE, TRAINING, AND AWARDS HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 30 – INCENTIVE AWARDS
Supplement No.: R9 Cheni 6109.13_30-2008-1
Effective Date: September 23, 2008
Duration: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
Approved: JEANNE M. HIGGINS
Forest Supervisor
Date Approved: 09/23/2008
Posting Instructions: Supplements are numbered consecutively by Handbook number and
calendar year. Post by document; remove the entire document and replace it with this
supplement. Retain this transmittal as the first page(s) of this document. The last supplement to
this Handbook was 6109.13-2004-1 to 6109.13_30.
New Document
R9 Cheni 6109.13_30-2008-1
4 Pages
Superseded Document(s)
(Supplement Number and
Effective Date)
R9 Cheni 6109.13-2002-1
4 Pages
Digest:
30.3 Reissues supplement without any change in direction.
R9 CHENI SUPPLEMENT 6109.13_30-2008-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 23, 2008
DURATION: Effective until superseded or removed
6109.13_30
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FSH 6109.13 – PERFORMANCE, TRAINING, AND AWARDSHANDBOOK
CHAPTER 30 – INCENTIVE AWARDS
30.3 – Policy. This supplement establishes minimum expectations for what should be included
in the awards program of each unit on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Direction
contained in this document was developed by the Forest Partnership Council and is meant to
supplement existing language in Article 17, Paragraph 5, of the Master Agreement. The policy
and procedures hereby established will ensure that each employee has the opportunity to
participate in an award’s program on their unit.
Rewarding means the recognition of employees, individually and as members of groups, for their
performance, and acknowledging their contributions to the Forest Service mission. Recognition
should be an ongoing, natural part of day-to-day operations. A lot of actions that reward good
performance don’t require a specific regulatory authority. An awards policy provides a range of
options that more formal rewards can take, such as cash, time off, and many non-monetary items.
A standard awards policy was cited as a need through the Continuous Improvement Process
(CIP) survey.
This supplement was adopted in part, with modifications, from the awards program developed by
the Lakewood/Laona Ranger District, the Eagle River/Florence Ranger District, and the
Supervisor’s Office Technical Administrative Group (TAG). The programs at these respective
units may continue in their current form provided they continue to meet the minimum
expectations laid out in this supplement. For the purposes of this supplement, “units” shall be
based on the Forest Leadership Team organization and include individual Ranger Districts and
each team within the Supervisor’s Office (Engineering, TAG, Natural Resources and Ecosystem
Management, Forest Planning, Public Affairs, FS/DFS/Secretary, and Zone Contracting). It is
permissible, upon mutual consent, for units to merge their programs together for ease of
management. The annual awards budget for each unit will be determined through the Forest
annual budget process, and is not subject for review under this supplement.
The following items represent the minimum expectations for all unit awards programs on the
Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest:
1)
Each unit will have an awards program that is understood and acceptable to the
employees on the unit;
2)
Such programs should address the procedures that will be followed for making a
nomination, the process used for recommending, review and approval of all awards, and a list of
criteria for defining the types of circumstances where each type of award is appropriate;
3)
Awards should be given throughout the year and as close as possible to the
event/work warranting recognition;
4)
Units may, and are encouraged to, make awards to other employees off the unit in
recognition of the contributions such work has had on the unit’s performance;
5)
Each unit should adopt some form of monitoring to ensure that every staff group
within the unit is administering the unit’s awards process in a similar manner. Such monitoring
efforts should involve a Union representative from the unit (when applicable); and
R9 CHENI SUPPLEMENT 6109.13_30-2008-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 23, 2008
DURATION: Effective until superseded or removed
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FSH 6109.13 – PERFORMANCE, TRAINING, AND AWARDSHANDBOOK
CHAPTER 30 – INCENTIVE AWARDS
6)
Units are required to manage their awards program within the annual awards
budget assigned to the unit.
As an aid to those units that do not have a current awards process, the following procedures and
guidelines, developed with some modifications from the Lakewood/Laona District policy, are
available for consideration and use. This is only an example of a program that meets the
minimum expectations listed above.
EXAMPLE
At the Lakewood/Laona Ranger District, the unit’s award program shall be managed by a fiveperson “Awards Committee” (Committee). Committee members will be seated for a period of
two years. No more than one half of the Committee shall be replaced in a given year in order to
provide continuity for the system.
The Committee shall include, as a minimum, an Assistant District Ranger (management
representative) and a Union representative. The remaining three seats will be filled by a crosssection of employees that should include a representative familiar with the budget. Combined
administrative units shall maintain representation from each office.
The Committee shall use the USDA Guide for Employee Recognition in making final award
recommendations.
Committee meetings will be held quarterly (closely following each quarter) to review
nominations received, and recommend awards to the unit manager. Supervisors should be
consulted if needed. The Committee may also recommend awards without a unit nomination
(i.e., letters from the public as a basis for an award).
All unit employees can and are encouraged to nominate individuals and/or groups for awards.
The nominations could be for someone from another district, SO, or RO. This does not preclude
supervisory nominations for performance bonuses, nor does it preclude the current system in
place for the Leadership Team and Forest Supervisor.
This policy excludes Performance Bonuses and Quality Step Increases, which shall remain
unchanged and can be awarded at the discretion of the supervisor without review by the
Committee. The total dollars available for these types of awards needs to be deducted from the
unit’s total awards budget to determine a net available for the Awards Committee.
There will be two (2) categories of awards for which employees can be nominated – monetary
extra effort and non-monetary extra effort.
R9 CHENI SUPPLEMENT 6109.13_30-2008-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 23, 2008
DURATION: Effective until superseded or removed
6109.13_30
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FSH 6109.13 – PERFORMANCE, TRAINING, AND AWARDSHANDBOOK
CHAPTER 30 – INCENTIVE AWARDS
Monetary Extra Effort
Extra Effort (Special Act or Service)
Spot
Suggestion/Innovation
Non-Monetary Extra Effort
Time Off
Keepsake
Letters of Appreciation (other)
Honorary (other)
Simple forms will be available for employee nominations. The forms will require the name of
the individual or group being nominated, the reason(s) for the nomination, and name of the
individual making the nomination. Justification given for the nomination should be as detailed
as possible, in 100 words or less. Completed forms are to be sealed and placed in a file or ballot
box in a specified location at each office. Individual offices may determine their own method for
collection and retention of nominations prior to quarterly Committee meetings. Once the award
recommendation is forwarded to the unit leader, he/she will prepare and sign form AD-287-2
“Recommendation and Approval of Awards”.
All discussions and actions taken by the Committee shall remain confidential. This includes the
names of persons making nominations, recommendations for the types of awards, and monetary
award amounts. It is imperative that confidentiality also extends to those who process monetary
spot awards at the unit level.
Awards will be presented by the unit manager at family meetings/safety meetings. A statement
will be made as to the reasons for the award, type of award, and a show of non-monetary awards.
The Committee is also responsible to monitor the unit’s program to ensure it is being
administered in a similar manner across all staff groups and that it stays within budget
guidelines. As noted above, this will require the Committee and unit manager to reach
agreement as to how much of the unit’s awards budget is administered by the Committee, and
what portion is handled directly by the unit manager for performance bonuses.
MONITORING
The Partnership Council has indicated a desire to monitor implementation of this supplement to
ensure that it’s meeting our program expectations. The data gathered will be reviewed on an
annual basis, and necessary adjustments identified by the Partnership Council. This supplement
shall remain in effect until such time as necessary changes are identified and agreed upon, and a
new supplement is processed.