USPSNEWS@WORK

VOE survey means it's time to tell it like it is

Don't just fill out your Voice of the Employee (VOE) survey for yourself. Do it for our customers.

They might not know a lot about the VOE survey, but they benefit from the workplace improvements that result from it.

A positive workplace environment does more than just send off good vibes. It affects performance - and that affects business outcomes. Dependable, reliable, consistent and courteous service is a customer magnet.

So, for the quarter of USPS employees who received one of the VOE surveys mailed out recently, it's time to tell it like it is. Help USPS identify workplace issues so improvements can be made. You benefit. So do our customers. And they're our bottom line.

VOE surveys are due Feb. 21.

New postal law — Sarbanes-Oxley

The Facts

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act now applies to the Postal Service. SOX, as the law is called, was enacted in 2002 in response to improper corporate accounting practices. It's designed to add transparency, accuracy and reliability to a company's financial disclosures. We have until fiscal year 2010 to comply with certain provisions.

Section 404 of the law requires the Postal Service to establish controls and testing for financial reporting, as well as report any changes in financial conditions or operations. The accuracy of this information must be personally certified by the postmaster general and the chief financial officer.

The PMG's View

Those of you who have read the Transformation Plan know that the Postal Service is committed to comply with SOX requirements that are applicable to a government entity. Therefore, the only change brought about by the new law is a specific timetable to implement this.

Our first priority remains delivering the mail and improving service performance and customer satisfaction today! It's incumbent upon all of us to ensure we don't get distracted by these new procedures and continue to manage our day-to-day business.

Ella Fitzgerald stamp issued in New York

Honoring Ella Fitzgerald at the first-day-of-issue ceremony are, from left, Ella's granddaughter Blossom Brown, son Ray Brown, Jr., and her longtime friend Phoebe Jacobs.

Over the years, Fitzgerald won 13 Grammy Awards and many other honors, including the National Medal of Arts, presented to her in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan. She was one of five artists awarded Kennedy Center Honors in 1979. In 1989, the Society of Singers created an award for lifetime achievement, called it the "Ella," and made her its first recipient. In 2005, Jazz at Lincoln Center inducted Fitzgerald into its Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame.

Fitzgerald continued to perform up until a few years before her death, when failing health compelled her reluctant retirement. Songwriter Ira Gershwin once remarked, "I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them."

2006 Annual Progress Report released

The Postal Service has achieved remarkable results and is better prepared than ever to help ensure a prosperous future for mail, according to a progress report on the organization's transformation efforts. The 2006 Annual Progress Report examines progress made on key strategies identified in the Strategic Transformation Plan, 2006-2010.

The Postal Service has achieved seven straight years of productivity growth and, in 2006, had its fourth consecutive year of positive net income, along with high levels of service and customer satisfaction.

The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, recently signed into law by President Bush, will enable the organization to continue its transformation efforts and cost- cutting measures.

The 2006 Annual Progress Report is available online at http://www.usps.com/strategicplanning/publications.htm.