At USC, we live by our motto — Palmam Qui Meruit Ferat, meaning “Let whoever earns the palm bear it.” This tradition reflects the pride we take in recognizing effort, excellence, and achievement. Every day, Trojans bring their talents, energy, and care to our community. Taking a moment to acknowledge those efforts not only celebrates our colleagues but also strengthens our shared mission, values, and culture of appreciation. Recognition is more than a “thank you” — it inspires motivation, builds connection, and helps us thrive together.
Recognition starts with you and Trojan Spotlight!
Trojan Spotlight is USC’s staff recognition and service award platform that makes it easy to celebrate peers, be recognized, and receive service awards, which honor staff starting with your 5-year work anniversary and every five years of service thereafter. Staff at USC are encouraged to share appreciation, gratitude, and recognition with colleagues – celebrating the everyday moments that make USC an extraordinary place to work.
How to use Trojan Spotlight:
Log in to USC Trojan Spotlight using single sign-on or by requesting a passcode to start recognizing others and being recognized.
- Receive your staff service awards: Honoring your years of hard work and dedication to USC, all full-time, benefits-eligible staff members receive recognition starting with their 5-year work anniversary and every five years thereafter. At your milestone, you will receive a celebratory email and either a digital MemoryBook with personalized messages (at year 5) or points that can be redeemed for a gift of your choice (at years 10, 15, 20, and so on).
- Recognize others: Spotlight your appreciation of colleagues and build a stronger community through a live Recognition Feed. Here are four simple steps to make your recognition meaningful:
- Spotlight – Name who you’re recognizing
- Celebrate the action – Call out what they did
- Emphasize the impact – Explain how it made a difference to you and others
- Say thank you – Close with gratitude
- Be recognized: You will be notified at your USC email address if a peer recognizes you on the Recognition Feed.
For an overview of the platform, refer to the Trojan Spotlight Informational Session recordings for university staff or Keck Medicine of USC employees.
How to make recognition impactful
It doesn’t need to be complicated. Use the STAR Recognition model as your framework:
- Specific – Focus on specific actions and why it mattered.
- Timely – Share recognition soon after the moment
- Authentic – Be genuine, sincere, and use your own words
- Regular – Make recognition a habit – aim to recognize employees at least once a month
Frequently Asked Questions
Navigating the Trojan Spotlight Platform
Visit Trojan Spotlight and log in using your primary work e-mail address as listed in Workday. You may use single sign-on or request a passcode.
Requesting a passcode is an option enabled for those whose primary e-mail address is school- or unit-specific (i.e., @med.usc.edu, @adm.usc.edu, etc.).
For further assistance, please reach out to the HR Service Center at uschr@usc.edu or 213-821-8100.
All USC staff have access to the Trojan Spotlight platform to recognize others and be recognized, as well as to receive their service awards.
Keck Medicine of USC employees have access to Trojan Spotlight to receive their service awards.
USC faculty who manage staff have access to Trojan Spotlight in order to recognize their direct reports. While staff service awards are reserved for USC staff, the university has several recognition programs available to faculty as well.
USC’s faculty recognition programs honor excellence in teaching, research, service, and community impact. Faculty can be nominated for awards through different bodies like the Center for Excellence in Teaching, the Office of the Provost, the Academic Senate, and the University Club.
The Recognition Feed is a social media-style dashboard highlighting real-time recognition being shared among colleagues across the university. Here’s how to use it:
- Log in to Trojan Spotlight and locate the Recognition Feed on the home page. Scroll through the feed to see the great work and contributions being recognized. You can add a “like” or comment to show your support.
- Select the “Recognize” button to write your own message of appreciation. Be specific, timely, and authentic in your note, and it will appear in the feed for others to see (unless the recipient prefers private recognition).
- Remember to check the feed, celebrate others’ wins, and contribute your own recognition messages, as it’s a great way to stay connected and strengthen our culture of appreciation.
Tip: Not everyone enjoys public recognition — if you’re unsure, you can choose to make your message private, so it goes directly to the recipient.
Throughout the year, seasonal campaigns take place to encourage staff peers to recognize one another. When a campaign is live, you will receive notifications from Trojan Spotlight reminding you to log in to the platform and use the recognition feed to express appreciation to your colleagues and build connection.
Staff Service Awards Program and Eligibility
USC staff service awards honors your years of hard work and dedication to USC. This program recognizes full-time, benefits-eligible staff members starting with their 5-year work anniversary and every five years of service thereafter.
At the 5-year service milestone, you will receive an email from Awardco providing you with a digital MemoryBook including messages contributed by your manager and colleagues. Beginning at 10 years of service and every five years thereafter, you will receive points that can be redeemed for a service award gift.
When you reach an eligible milestone work anniversary, you will be notified to log into Trojan Spotlight where you can select a gift from their offerings with an allotted amount of award points.
Staff service awards are available to full-time, benefits-eligible staff members. Service years are calculated based on continuous, benefits-eligible employment (50%-100% FTE).
When you reach a service milestone, you will receive an email from Trojan Spotlight inviting you to log in to the platform. This email will inform you of your award point allotment based on your service milestone year, which you can use towards a gift selection of your choice within the available offerings.
Service years are calculated based on continuous, benefits-eligible employment (50%-100% FTE). Leaves of absence do not count toward service credit. You can view your years of service by checking your continuous service date in your Workday profile. For additional support and questions on years of service, please contact the HR Service Center.
Redeeming Points
After you log into your account, you will see a tab under the USC logo in the top left corner of the screen labeled “Spend Points,” which will take you to the redemption menu.
Points must be redeemed within six months of issuance, though you are encouraged to redeem them within the month of your service milestone to celebrate you.
If you would like to purchase a particular item and need to make up the difference in points, you are welcome to make a purchase of points using your personal credit card. You can purchase additional points when you advance to the checkout page. As a reminder, the use of a USC P-Card is prohibited for all personal purchases. For more information on eligible purchases, please review the Expenditures and Procurement policies.
Access to Trojan Spotlight is provided as part of your employment and connected to Workday. If you are leaving USC, use your points, as any unused points will automatically expire and cannot be accessed or redeemed.
No, you will not be taxed on any points that you receive, as USC will cover this cost.
Service award points are distributed as a one-time recognition benefit, so they cannot be reissued if you decide to return a service award item that you ordered. If you used any personal funds for your item, however, these will be refunded to you.
Platform Troubleshooting
If you encounter any difficulties or error messages logging in or redeeming points, please contact our Awardco support team through the blue “Chat” button in the bottom right corner of the Trojan Spotlight platform, by emailing support@awardco.com, or by phone at 1-800-320-0893.
Questions related to the Staff Service Award program or program eligibility can be directed to the HR Service Center.