WASHINGTON, DC — 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 Service’s 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 organization’s 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.

# # #

Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at http://about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm.

For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional on this issue, please go to http://about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

Follow USPS on Twitter @USPS_PR and at Facebook.com/usps.