Georgia Tech Service Milestones are Getting a Refresh
THE LOVE THAT GEORGIA TECH EMPLOYEES HAVE FOR THE INSTITUTE is clear in the quality of their work. Now, the way they’re recognized for that service is changing to match employees’ passion.
Employee service recognition has changed many times over the years, said Mattie Hamilton, recognition program manager for Georgia Tech Human Resources (GTHR).
Initially, milestones were recognized by two separate programs. GTHR recognized 10- and 25-year milestones, and Staff Council recognized 1- and 5-year milestones for staff, beginning in 2017. Faculty, meanwhile, only received recognition beginning at 10 years. Both programs included simple gifts, like certificates, pins, and coffee tumblers, as well as a luncheon for longer-serving milestones.
Hamilton said this fall marks the start of a far more convenient and equitable process.
“The new service milestones program builds on our commitment to recognizing and celebrating the exceptional contributions of our people, and it represents an exciting evolution in our efforts to honor and support our greatest asset—our people—throughout their entire career journey with us,” she said.
Now, not only will all full-time benefits-eligible employees (staff, faculty, research faculty, and postdocs) receive 1-year and 5-year recognitions, but there will also be recognitions at 5-year intervals starting at five years of service.
The process of physically receiving the gifts will also be made more convenient. One- and 5-year honorees can now pick up their gifts at the Georgia Tech Human Resources building at 500 Tech Parkway NW, Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. within three months of their anniversary date.
Meanwhile, milestone honorees with 10 or more years of service will receive a unique login code every five years for a gift selection portal that will ship the gift of their choice directly to their home. That portal will open quarterly, and the selected gift will arrive within three months of the honoree’s work anniversary.
“The gift choices are much more exciting now, and hopefully, the shipping or easy pickup options will help more people receive their gifts,” she said. “It’s important to note, we can’t retroactively give gifts, so these changes will begin with every milestone going forward. If you haven’t so far received a milestone gift, you will begin receiving them under the new process on your next milestone.”
Additional changes to the service milestones program include:
- One and 5-year gifts can now be shipped if the employee:
- Works at an out-of-state Georgia Tech facility OR
- Is 100% remote and lives outside metro Atlanta
- The annual service recognition luncheon that recognized only that year’s 10- and 25-year honorees will now recognize all milestones 10 and up. The luncheon will be split into two separate events: an afternoon reception for the 10- and 15-year milestones and a long-service dinner for the 20-year milestones and above.
If you have any questions about changes to the service milestones recognition program or related events, or if you want more information, click here.
Service Milestones One Pager
Learn about all the major changes to Service Milestones with a convenient one page infographic.
Service Milestones Timeline
Explore key events that unfolded throughout the careers of three Milestones recipients at Georgia Tech.
Decades at Georgia Tech: Why We Stay
When Elliot Price began his work at Georgia Tech, it was a homecoming.
Price was a local – an Atlantan through and through. He’d gone to school down the street from Georgia Tech’s main campus and played football at the Institute in the ‘70s. Now he serves as Georgia Tech’s Augusta regional manager for the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP).
“A big part of my decision to leave Miller Brewing Company in the ‘80s and come here, aside from it being a great opportunity, was my allegiance to Tech,” said Price. “My roots go back a long way, and the things that Georgia Tech can do for the world excites me.”
Through his work under the Enterprise Innovation Institute – formerly the Economic Development Institute – Price has spent decades working with manufacturers in Augusta and throughout the state, using Georgia Tech’s engineering and procedural expertise to improve safety, quality, and efficiency in the manufacturing industry.
He said he’s proud of his work, and it puts a smile on his face to be recognized for his long service and reflect on the four decades passed. Though, he added, with a chuckle, it doesn’t feel that long.
He also said the recognition of his own accomplishments feels like an act of gratitude for those who came before him.
“It’s a little sad to see all those relationships I’ve built – those people who have grown up here with me – retire and leave. They were so integral to our growth here at EI², so sometimes I get a little teary-eyed when people like that move on,” Price said. “But we’ve still got the best group of employees around. They’re all committed through their hearts to help companies be successful. That’s one of the ways we’re measured – our impact – and that mission is one of the things that drives me to stay with Georgia Tech.”
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Vinod Singhal, Charles W. Brady Chair and professor of operations management, has a similar perspective. Singhal said he made the move to Georgia Tech in 1989, following his PhD work at the University of Rochester and a three-year stint with General Motors in Detroit. He said he missed the atmosphere of academia and saw the potential to create something at Georgia Tech that would help students and the Institute alike.
Singhal said the Institute had just begun hiring for the buildout of operations and supply chain management curriculum in the Scheller College of Business, a subject that many universities were not focusing on at the time. And, he said, Georgia Tech hired him and gave him the keys to steer the development of the operations management program at all levels – undergraduate, graduate and PhD.
“My colleague and area head, Cheryl Gaimon, told me to do my own research, take risks, and that I didn’t have to mold myself to what everyone else was doing,” Singhal said. “The idea that I would be part of building something from scratch was very attractive to me.”
Since the ‘80s, Singhal said he’s been proud to watch Georgia Tech grow in prominence and prestige. Likewise, he’s watched the city he loves grow around the Institute.
But his favorite thing about Georgia Tech can be summed up in one word: collegiality. Singhal credits his work atmosphere, full of academic freedom, rigor, and teamwork, with his many accomplishments over his 35 years.
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Like the others, Sonny Cody said he feels like part of a team at Georgia Tech – one where every member does the best they can and where employees feel valued.
“There are so many people here that take everything personally, because they’re so invested in their work,” said Cody, lock and access system foreperson for Infrastructure and Sustainability. “What really stands out to me about my years here are the people. I think we all know we’re here to serve, and we want to do the best job we can at it.”
After eight years working at Georgia Tech beginning in 1987, Cody took a three-year hiatus, but the Atlanta native and Grady baby quickly realized he missed his work at the Institute and returned in 1998, this time staying more than 25 years. Cody said he’s watched lock technologies change, buildings demolished, new ones built, and generations of students come and go, each one more excited than the last.
“It’s been an honor and privilege to watch all of it. I’m proud of where I work,” he said.
