Incoming Postmaster General Donahoe Tells Senate Customers Come First
“Leaner, Faster, Smarter” Motto Going Forward
WASHINGTON – The incoming postmaster general told a U.S. Senate subcommittee Thursday that one of his highest priorities would be to improve the customer experience, making the Postal Service “leaner, faster and smarter” in the years ahead.
Deputy Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe, who will become the nation’s 73rd postmaster general on Monday, said he is looking at all the ways the Postal Service deals with its customers. “Every interaction with us,” he said, “with a carrier, a clerk, at a kiosk, at a contracted desk or online must be a great one.”
Addressing the current state of the Postal Service, he acknowledged that the past several years have been challenging but there are significant accomplishments that should not be overlooked. He pointed out that the Postal Service achieved $3 billion in spending reductions in 2010, for a three year total of $10 billion and despite reaching the lowest career complement since 1970, “service levels, customer satisfaction and trust in the Postal Service have never been higher.”
Donahoe, a 35-year postal veteran who has served as deputy postmaster general since 2005, said the $8.5 billion loss the Postal Service experienced in 2010 was “a stunning number” but were it not for two legislatively mandated payments, $5.5 billion to the Retiree Health Benefits Fund and a $2.5 billion non-cash workers compensation adjustment, the loss was less than $500 million, a “significant accomplishment,” especially in light of a 6.6 per cent mail volume decline.
“If you look at the aspects of the business within our control,” he said, “we have done well in responding to economic conditions. We have an opportunity to turn the corner and produce regular operating profits.”
He said the legislation introduced by the subcommittee chairman, Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), the Postal Operations Sustainment and Transformation (POST) Act of 2010 would provide the Postal Service with “the flexibility to implement necessary business strategies faster and more effectively” and that the bill had his wholehearted support.
“We don’t want to be a burden to the American taxpayer, and the POST Act helps ensure that won’t happen,” Donahoe said.
Looking ahead, he told the subcommittee “My personal vision is that of a profitable, nimble Postal Service that competes for customers and has a well defined and valued role in an increasingly digital world. Part of that vision is to ensure the Postal Service will always be a resource to every American business and be valued and trusted at every American residence.”
He concluded, “Our goal is to remain viable for a long time (and with the help of the Congress), we will be able to do just that.”
Letter From PMG To All Postal Employees
A LETTER TO ALL EMPLOYEES FROM POSTMASTER GENERAL JACK POTTER
When I became Postmaster General in 2001, I told you about the challenges we were facing, the direction we were taking and the changes our future would require. I also told you about my confidence in your ability to move the Postal Service forward. As I look back, almost 10 years later, your achievements have exceeded every expectation. So it is with mixed emotions that I share with you my plans to retire.
The progress we made together, despite enormous obstacles, has been simply amazing. Service, customer satisfaction, efficiency, cost management and our reputation for trust have never been stronger. We’ve come through some trying times and I’ve always known — whatever the situation — that we’d stand together, work through it and emerge more focused than ever. And we have.
The work has been demanding, but it has been fulfilling. In taking stock, and with the perspective of a decade to guide me, I have reached a point in my life where it is time to move on to other things. Pat Donahoe, Deputy Postmaster General and Chief Operating Officer, will become our new Postmaster General when I “end tour” Dec. 3.
I’ve worked with Pat for many years. His commitment to service excellence and his confidence in you are unparalleled. There’s no one better qualified to lead our organization during a time that will require new levels of flexibility, innovation, performance and change. The governors of the Postal Service have chosen well in selecting him.
While our leadership may change, our needs will not. The Postal Service has to continue adapting to changing customer demand. It has to respond to the pressures of a diminished economy and a revolution in communications. It has to generate new revenue by developing new products, new services and new approaches to pricing. And it has to help shape the public-policy debate as we seek necessary legislation to remove the obstacles in the way of our long-term success. These are the basic elements of our plan to keep America’s postal system viable for many years to come. It will be difficult, more difficult than even the last 10 years, but it can be done and I know you can do it.
It has been an honor and a privilege to lead this great organization. When I leave, I’ll leave knowing that I’ve done my best through your tireless efforts and support. I’ve truly enjoyed every one of my 32 years with the Postal Service. The most rewarding part has been the people — the thousands of people I’ve had the chance to meet and work with, inside and outside the Postal Service.
I have always been proud to be a member of the postal family. My pride, based on your commitment to our customers and to our nation, has only grown in the years I’ve served as Postmaster General. That will not change — no matter where the future takes me — and I will remain a strong advocate for the Postal Service.
Thank you for your efforts on behalf of those we serve. The work of the Postal Service is important and it will remain important, even as we evolve in the face of a future that is still revealing itself. You make a difference every day.
It’s been a pleasure to work with you.
USPS Focuses On Strong Start In FY 2011
Performance Update
With its focus on managing workhours, controlling overtime and improving productivity, the Postal Service continues to realize cost-reductions in mail processing, customer service, delivery and supervisory/administrative areas, according to DPMG and COO Pat Donahoe.
Preliminary figures through August show total mail volume continues to decline — 3.8 percent below the same period last year (SPLY). The good news, says Donahoe, is that managers and employees have done a great job in matching workhours to workload — posting a year-to-date (YTD) reduction of 72 million workhours compared to SPLY.
Discussing preliminary YTD overnight delivery performance scores through August in this week’s “Field Updates,” Donahoe says the key to beginning strong next year will depend in large part on successfully meeting quarter 1 challenges in FY 2011 — Columbus Day, Veterans Day, election mail, and the end-of-year holiday mailing season.
Those opportunities, combined with renewed efforts to consolidate routes and facilities, will help USPS realize additional cost-reduction opportunities in FY 2011, according to Donahoe.
USPS Positioned For A Strong Finish In FY 2010
Positioned for a strong finish in FY 2010:
USPS focuses on beginning strong in FY 2011
To finish the year strong — and to position USPS for a strong beginning in fiscal year 2011 — employees must continue to focus on controlling workhours and operating expenses without hurting service, according to DPMG and COO Pat Donahoe.
Preliminary quarter 3 figures through May show total mail volume continues to decline — 5.1 percent below the same period last year (SPLY). The good news is that employees have done a great job in adjusting workhours to match workloads. The reduction in workhours (6.8 percent below SPLY) is outpacing the decline in mail volumes.
Reviewing a number of cost-reduction opportunities in this week’s Field Updates segment, Donahoe thanks employees for their tremendous efforts.
With renewed efforts to control overtime, consolidate routes and facilities and manage the assignments of non-career employees, Donahoe says USPS will remain on track to finish strong in FY 2010.
source: USPS News Link