Outstanding employees and leaders recognized by TMG Peer-to-Peer Awards

The TMG Peer-to-Peer Recognition Program recognizes employees for outstanding work while demonstrating and reinforcing McMaster’s core leadership capabilities. Four employees from McMaster’s management group (TMG) are the recipients of this year’s awards.

Zrinka Granic, Andrianna Kabitsis, Katie Millar and Mary Taws were nominated by colleagues and selected by the awards committee. They received their awards at the TMG Forum on Feb. 9, 2023.

Each of their nominators shared examples of how their colleague demonstrates one or more of the six core leadership capabilities.

The following are highlights from their nominations.

Zrinka Granic

Director of administration, School of Rehabilitation Sciences | Champions Change and Innovation

Granic enthusiastically led her team through institutional changes such as Finance to Go, and the transition to OneDrive, her nominator wrote. When her department was the first program to bring students back to in-person learning, Granic was instrumental in re-engineering space to ensure that health and safety was a top priority.

She spearheaded an evaluation of new space layouts, including office sharing and bookable spaces, to ensure that the transition to hybrid work was as seamless as possible with her team; and she was a key contributor to several new strategic initiatives, including a new memorandum of agreement for undergraduate courses, and developing a strategic alignment fund application for the BHSc undergraduate degree.

Andrianna Kabitsis

Senior consultant, Employee Labour Relations and Dispute Resolution, Human Resources Services | Invests in Relationships

Kabitsis provides leadership and support regarding complex matters to university leadership while generating an inclusive and trusting environment, her nominator wrote. She supports and develops faculty members in the creation of action plans during sensitive discussions and situations.

Kabitsis was also instrumental in the creation of the university’s Disconnecting from Work Policy, taking into consideration the needs of multiple community stakeholders; and she has developed phenomenal relationships with FHS Faculty Affairs, colleagues at offsite locations and the broader university community.

Katie Millar

Program Manager, HR Data Analytics, Human Resources Services | Drives Results

Millar delivers results with integrity during times of rapid change, providing senior leadership with real time data and cost analysis so complex decisions can be made with confidence, her nominator wrote. She created an HR Power BI model to automate all manual data extraction, making the arduous process of refreshing dashboards a simpler and sustainable one.

She also integrated the Data Cookbook into the Human Resources Supporting Hub, resulting in an improved user experience, and more consistent HR reports; and she has accomplished all of this and more while ensuring the well-being and morale of her team is at the forefront of everything that they do.

Mary Taws

Associate director, Content; Communications, Marketing & Public Affairs | Communicates and Collaborates 

Taws led her team to collaborate with the student community and various student success units to amplify their voices and address their concerns at times of adversity and stress, her nominator wrote. She also collaborated with industry professionals to provide superior training opportunities to university communications professionals in the areas of accessibility and inclusivity.

Taws routinely creates communication plans that bring together people and resources from across campus, creating a campaign that is far greater than the sum of its parts, as demonstrated in Global Entrepreneurship Week, and International Women’s Day; and she stepped into a new role as the content team leader, empowering new employees during times where communications were critical, and did so with unflagging grace and professionalism.

Read more about the Recognition Program.