Spotlighting Recent Successes: Recognizing and Celebrating Our Colleagues!

Procurement Services would like to congratulate the Procurement Services Key Contributor Award Winners as well as the Procurement and Expense Specialist Excellence Award Winners!

 

Procurement Services Key Contributor Award Winners

The inaugural Procurement Services Key Contributor Awards were presented to Lesley Lackore and Lucas Schau during an awards ceremony on March 8th.

This annual award was created to recognize Procurement Services Employees who have positively impacted the mission and vision of Procurement Services at Iowa State University. Including those who have made a significant contribution towards improving a process or procedure, have been an essential component in completing a complex project or solving a complex problem, have demonstrated dedication to cultivating their professional knowledge and expertise, have introduced innovative ideas, or have had a positive impact through their dedication to job excellence.

 

Lesley Lackore was recognized for proposing and leading the initiative to create customized plastic for our P-Cards and T&H Cards.  Customized plastic solved a problem created for nearly 5,000 cardholders when a change made by U.S. Bank resulted in three Iowa State University Card Products (P-Card, T&H Card, Athletic Team Travel Card) being blue.  Cardholders with multiple blue cards had trouble differentiating between them, causing confusion and misuse of cards as well as an increase in declined authorizations because the incorrect card was used.

Lesley recognized the issue and the implications for both cardholders and Procurement staff and led the collaboration between Procurement Services and U.S. Bank, making sure to include other members of the Procurement Services Department in the project and allowing them to provide input in their areas of expertise. 

Lesley’s work will directly benefit the cardholders and Procurement Services and provide increased visibility for the Card Programs and Iowa State University!

 

Lucas Schau was recognized for seeing the Dyno project, which began with a bid in 2017 through to completion this past year.  He inherited this complex project, and its multitude of challenges, including: manufacturing delays, missing items required for installation, a switch from the foreign company’s contractors to US Contractors for installation due to COVID, the closure of the branch of the company working on the software installation, discussions regarding renegotiating with solvency agency to finish the project, finding another company to take over, and the installation location at Iowa State being changed three times.

Lucas kept the project moving, despite the additional issues that seemed to continue to arise, worked with the Office of University Counsel, the department, the foreign supplier, and the supplier’s legal representation, sought input from the many different groups involved in the project, and kept them all informed.

Lucas did a great job managing and coordinating the project’s many components, tied up all the loose ends, and did so with professionalism!

 

Procurement and Expense Specialist Excellence Award Winners

The May 2023 Procurement and Expense Specialist Excellence Award was presented to Sara Craft and Katie Siders on May 23rd.

The Procurement and Expense Specialist Excellence Award was created to recognize Procurement and Expense Specialists who exemplify one or more of the pillars of excellence in their work, including:

  • Taking Initiative
  • Assisting a Colleague
  • Providing excellent service
  • Utilizing a holistic approach
  • Engaging in relationship building

 

Sara Craft's nominators spoke of her timely communications, ability to keep everyone involved in the process informed, attention to detail, and stated that they always find her to be both respectful and helpful.

 

Katie Siders’s nominators spoke of her excellent service, patience, support of others, timeliness, clear communication, and accuracy.

 

 

Nominations are Now Open!

If you would like to nominate a Procurement Services Employee or a Procurement and Expense Specialist (PES) for recognition, there are several options!

 

Recognition Opportunities for Procurement Services Employees

The Procurement Services Employees eligible for the following awards can be found on the Staff page of the Procurement Services Website.

  • Recognition of Outstanding Service - This recognition was created to enable you to provide a quick shout-out or thank you to a Procurement Services Employee who exceeded expectations and provided outstanding service!
    • Completing the short web form is a great way to quickly recognize a Procurement Services Employee who has exceeded expectations, strived to create a positive interaction, took ownership to address the challenge or need, and/or responded in a timely manner, as well as to thank them for their efforts.
    • This recognition is provided to the employee approximately two weeks after the nomination has been submitted.
    • Nominations can be submitted at any time through the web form.
  • Procurement Services’ Key Contributor Award – This award was created to recognize Procurement Services Employees who have positively impacted the mission and vision of Procurement Services at Iowa State University. Including those who have made a significant contribution towards improving a process or procedure, have been an essential component in completing a complex project or solving a complex problem, have demonstrated dedication to cultivating their professional knowledge and expertise, have introduced innovative ideas, or have had a positive impact through their dedication to job excellence.
    • This is an annual award with a January 5th nomination deadline for the 2024 Award.
    • Nominations can be submitted through the web form.

 

Recognition Opportunity for Finance Service Delivery Procurement and Expense Specialists (PES)

The Procurement and Expense Specialists (PES) that are eligible for the following award can be found on the Directory page of the Finance Service Delivery Website. 

  • Procurement and Expense Specialist Excellence Award – This award is to recognize Procurement and Expense Specialists (PES) who exemplify one or more of the pillars of excellence in their work, including: Taking Initiative, Assisting a Colleague, Providing Excellent Service, Utilizing a Holistic Approach, and Engaging in Relationship Building.
    • This is a biannual award selected in May and November.
    • Nominations can be submitted at any time through this Qualtrics Survey.

 

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