Postal Service Hi-Tech Human Resources Transformation a Success
USPS Press Release:
Postal Service employees everywhere now have access to a new cutting-edge human resources (HR) system to meet the demands of the information age. Rollout of the technology phase of the PostalPEOPLE initiative, the largest implementation of its kind in the federal government or private sector, was completed in October.
This massive undertaking is helping the Postal Service to increase efficiency and reduce costs while giving employees individualized information and access to human resources-related applications, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, said Anthony Vegliante, chief human resources officer and executive vice president.
Using SAP software, the new platform replaces a system that once consisted of more than 3,800 Postal Service HR professionals relying on more than 200 processes and some 70 systems to support nearly 700,000 employees. Now, those HR professionals, free from repetitive, manual processes, can focus on the Postal Services strategic focus to better align the workforce and meet present and future challenges, head-on.
The result is a single view of the employee that improves service to our employees, customer satisfaction and our ability to conduct business, said Vegliante.
Completion of the nationwide rollout enables the Postal Service to introduce two significant new services to employees. First is a new self-service tool for managers, which provides managers, postmasters and supervisors with information and resources online to help manage the workforce, perform administrative tasks, and assist their employees with skill development.
A second service has been launched on the organizations intranet site, allowing employees to perform job bidding anywhere they have access to the Internet. This enhances ease of use for bargaining unit employees and provides them with a new way to access the job-bidding system.
The PostalPEOPLE initiative most notably includes the Shared Services Center in Greensboro, NC. The full-service facility is staffed by professionally trained career postal HR personnel who provide assistance to employees who need to speak directly with a person.
Additional functionality will be added in the coming year, leveraging this technology platform to further streamline and enhance HR functions within the Postal Service.
An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation, 146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the worlds mail.
The email that wouldn’t die
The dopey email chain letter we told you about last Saturday was still floating around on Tuesday, after creating a cascade of repeat emails all day Monday. Most of the emails weren’t from people forwarding the original, but from people replying to “all”, complaining about getting the message. These folks seemed totally oblivious to the fact that they were the problem!
I set up a rule in Outlook to dump the emails unread as they arrived, but I couldn’t resist having a look at a few first- here’s a sampling of what some of our dimmer co-workers had to say:
“How in the world did you get my name. Do not send this crap to me or use Postal E-mail for this unauthorized mail.” (From a “National Account Executive”, who apparently doesn’t know he’s in the email directory)
A mgr Emergency Preparedness sent out copies of a Snopes article (not the right one)
A Postmaster in Washington State took time from his busy day: “I don’t know what you folks have to do in Flushing, New York, but obviously you have way to much time on your hands. Stop sending this as this is an official site designated for postal operations only.”
And from a contractor who has no sense of irony: “Everybody, please, stop hitting “reply all” to say how much you hate this email. We all do. And we’re all tired of deleting the umpteen million “I hate this email – stop sending it to me” that are coming through. Thanks.”
Of course, he sent his plea to “all”.
From another National Sales Manager: “EVERYONE—-JUST STOP SENDING!!!!!!!!!!” sent to all, of course!
And a manager of Customer Services in Oregon: “I did not ask for the e-mail, I did not send, it on and it is cluttering our e-mail system unnecessarily. STOP NOW!”
A manager of Customer Services in Michigan twice sent this pathetic cry:”I did not send this to any of these people and I do not want it. Somebody sent it to me and now I am in the loop. Can you make it stop?????????????????? “
A postmaster on Long Island: “Why are you sending this to me? Do you know me?”
PLEEEEEEASE REEEEEAD! or, Why some people just should not have email accounts
Yesterday’s email at my USPS job brought one of those really dumb forwarded emails that promises money if you just forward the email to as many people as possible. It’s not something that happens a lot, fortunately, but it still amazes me when it does. The subject line, which should have tipped off anyone with an IQ above room temperature, was “RE: PLEEEEEEASE REEEEEAD! IT WAS ON GOOD MORNING AMERICA TODAY SHOW …”
This particular email hoax has been around in one version or another for almost ten years according to Snopes.com, the best source for info on urban legends, hoaxes and scams. The version of the email posted at Snopes (collected in 2004) is almost identical to the one I received yesterday.
As annoying as this kind of thing is, there is a certain entertainment value to it. The email is typical of a forwarded chain email in that the actual text of the hoax is far down the body of the message, below the list of those who forwarded it. That makes it easy to trace where the message came from, and who was dim enough to send it on. This one started with a clerk in California, who forwarded it to a dozen or so people. After a few more forwards, it went to the Washington DC area, where it bounced around a few more times before heading for Arkansas, where it was forwarded via a couple of district mailing lists to a Postmaster, who unaccountably forwarded it to some finance related mailing lists, which is how it ended up in my inbox.
There are both management and bargaining unit employees on the list of forwarders, none of whom apparently had any doubts about a message that included phrases like
“My brother’s girlfriend got in on this a few months ago. When i went to visit him for the Baylor/UT game. She showed me her check. It was for the sum of $4,324.44 and was stamped “Paid in full”.
(So not only are these folks gullible, they apparently don’t know how checks work? Oh- and an honorable mention for the District Finance Manager who, on receiving the message, promptly replied to “all” informing the recipients that the message was a hoax and not to forward it. Ummm, thanks for the valuable insight.)
How to fire an employee
If you’re a postal employee, you know that while it’s not easy to get a postal job, it’s even more difficult to get fired from one. So I was surprised to see an article in Inc. that explained the rights and wrongs of firing, and held up a postal supervisor as an example of the right way to fire someone- it’s an interesting article, regardless of your personal viewpoint.
USPS dragnet continues to sweep up injured workers
(The following commentary comes from Dan Sullivan, who frequently contributes to the 21st Century Postal Worker. Opinions expressed are those of the author. To submit a commentary to postalnewsblog.com, email us at postalnews@gmail.com)
by Dan Sullivan
July 6 - The Postal Service’s Ergonomic Risk Reduction Program (EERP)is premised on a simple lie. As it says on page 2 of the slickly produced booklet promoting EERP, “The Postal Service has a long history of attention to ergonomics.”
Forget about the letter sorting machines that destroyed a generation of postal clerks’ wrists and hands.
Pay no attention to the current automated letter and flat sorting machines that are destroying another generation of workers shoulders and backs.
“The Postal Service has a long history of attention to ergonomics.”
Which is like saying George Bush has a long history of attention to the U.S. Constitution and civil liberties.
CSI: PowerPoint
Cliff Atkinson says ditch the bullet points and just tell your story!
LA Times: Making a (Power)Point of Not Being Tiresome
Click here
Free Excel tools
Seen on Download Squad- If you use Excel a lot, you might find this useful. ASAP Utilities is a collection of 300 tools for Microsoft Excel that installs as an item on the Excel toolbar. It’s free, and you don’t have to be an Administrator to install it on your PC.
Cubicles: The great mistake
Interesting piece from Fortune on the history of cubicles, the bane of my postal life. (Yes, I’m one of those ‘overhead’ employees who doesn’t touch the mail, and is stored in a cubicle during my workday).
And I liked this quote on telecommuting from Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA): “There is nothing magic in strapping ourselves into a metal box every day only to drive to an office where we sit behind a desk working on a computer.” Amen. Especially when the “office” is a cubicle. (Hey- you think Wolf could get telecommuting added to the Postal Reform bill?)