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01 March 2022 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Charl Devenish
UFS staff members
All smiles – pictured are inspired University of the Free State staff ready to live, serve with excellence, and care for the growth of the institution.

The Division of Organisational Development and Employee Well-being within the Department of Human Resources’ iRecognise initiative is another University of the Free State (UFS) initiative to appreciate and recognise staff dedication and excellence. 

Through the peer-to-peer iRecognise platform, UFS staff members have the opportunity to recognise colleagues from different units, divisions, faculties, and campuses. 

Natasha Nel, UFS Organisational Development specialist, said: “iRecognize is an open acknowledgment and expressed appreciation for employees’ contributions. A strong recognition culture can help individuals and organisations perform better. Employees, teams, and the university all benefit from frequent and meaningful feedback and appreciation.”

“It is a promotion of positive behaviour that supports individuals, teams, divisions, and departments in achieving the university’s vision and goals. The UFS wants to create a culture of mutual respect, reward, and recognition for employees at all levels in a non-monetary award based on significance,” she said.

The criteria for staff to recognise colleagues include timeliness, authenticity, and specificity, and the badges that staff members can use is also aligned with the university’s competency framework. The platform also includes an option to send recognition privately. 

“Employees who feel recognised and appreciated are more engaged, productive, and innovative, despite what may appear to be common sense. Employee appreciation is a potent motivator and reinforcer of positive behaviour,” Nel said.

Nel said: “Recognition reinforces acts and behaviour that improve everyone's working environment. Although recognition is free, it improves employee productivity, engagement, and quality of work.”

The recognition platform has other capabilities that the Division of Organisational Development and Employee Well-being would like to incorporate in the future, and staff can continue to nominate their colleagues for their excellence. 

News Archive

Soetdoring/Kagiso pair-up wins 2015 Stagedoor
2015-03-03

With a new format and residences mixing it up, the 2015 Stagedoor proved to be a success yet again, leaving Soetdoring and Kagiso with the spoils of victory.

Stagedoor (the annual first-year residence stage and serenade competition) saw a change of format this year where residences were combined to perform in a few number of outdoor venues for rotations.

Prior to this, Residence CoRC Cultures expressed much concern regarding the co-operation that might (or might not) be achieved with working with other residences. These were all early stage fears. However, as their preparations progressed there seemed to be a glint of light at the end of many groups’ tunnels.

Seven diverse and combined groups made it through to final, namely;

• Vishuis and Tswelopele,
• Karee and Armentum,
• Sonnedou and NJ van der Merwe,
• Soetdoring and Kagiso,
• Roosmaryn and Vergeert-My-Nie,
• Villa Bravado and Madelief, and
• and Veritas and Marjolein.

The finals proved that the efforts and sleepless nights of RC Cultures, first-years, composers, and other behind-the-scenes contributors can really make any situation work.

As always, the crowd was blown away by the musical and vocal talent of first-years, as some compositions gave the audience goose bumps, leaving them asking for more. All in all, the evening created a frenzy, causing residences to interact whereas they would have never done so before.

According to the Student Affairs’ Arts and Culture office, the aim behind the new format was to break the barriers between residences. Arts and Culture were also pleased as to with how the RCs worked around accommodating their partners and ensuring maximum co-operation, despite some challenges.

As the night neared its closeclosing, residences were chanting their names and showing their pride in their first years’ performances.

2015 Stagedoor final results:

1. Soetdoring and Kagiso
2. Roosmaryn and Vergeet-My-Nie
3. Vishuis and Tswelopele

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