6. SELECTION, EVALUATION, AND RECOGNITION
a. Responsibilities

Selection, Evaluation, and Recognition (SER) is responsible for the following:

• Establishing guiding principles for recruitment and hiring of a qualified workforce.
• Designing and delivering effective, efficient, and fair assessment systems.
• Providing guidance on organizational selection, placement, and evaluation methods.
• Partnering with internal customers to achieve operational success.

In addition, SER’s achievements in 2002 included improving applicant access to the Postal Application and Scheduling System (PASS), the redesign of www.usps.com/employment, and the rollout of the Universal Associate Supervisor Program for remote Postal Service facilities. SER also played a key role in the restructuring of Headquarters and Headquarters-related units and continued to administer the Voice of the Employee (VOE) survey.


1. Attracting the Right Applicants for the Right Jobs

To assist individuals interested in Postal Service employment, the www.usps.com/employment website was redesigned to promote and strategically showcase the Postal Service as a major competitive employer. The web site now advertises employment opportunities, test openings, job information, compensation, and benefits information.


2. Postal Application and Scheduling System

During 2002, SER continued to enhance the functionality associated with PASS. Originally implemented in January 2001, this system includes an interactive voice response (IVR) system and a web application to collect examination information and casual and temporary employment applications. PASS not only streamlines and standardizes the test application process at a substantial cost savings, but also protects sensitive application information, reduces cycle time between application and examination, and provides a national web-based scheduling component with an automated fulfillment process for mailing applicant scheduling packages. Since its initial implementation, PASS has processed over 7,200 examinations for casual and temporary openings and more than 1.3 million applicants.

Some of the more significant enhancements made to PASS during 2002 include:

• The addition of a United States map on the web application that allows potential applicants to search for examination and casual and temporary employment opportunities.
• Refinements to the IVR and web applications to reduce the number of incomplete applications and reduce “no-show” rates for examinations.
• The capability to support special career opportunities afforded certain categories of employees, such as casuals, transitional employees, and postmaster relief and leave replacements.

3. Universal Associate Supervisor Program

The Universal Associate Supervisor Program (ASP) was developed over five years ago and has been successfully implemented in major metropolitan locations where there are significant numbers of supervisory positions, as well as a need for well-trained supervisory pools to fill in during vacations and long-term absences.

With the implementation of Universal ASP, all remote Post Offices and plants are now part of the ASP program. Universal ASP increases national consistency for the selection, training, and placement of supervisors while preserving the benefits of the original ASP program. The Initial Level Supervisor (ILS) selection system, used by offices previously not covered by ASP, was replaced with Universal ASP.


4. Restructuring of Headquarters and Headquarters-related Units/Customer Requirements

To refocus the Postal Service’s priorities on its core business, in 2002 the Postal Service undertook the most significant reorganization since 1992. The Headquarters organization was restructured to better serve both internal and external customers and to better position the organization for future changes in technology, shared services, product development, operations, marketing, and sales.

The number of officers was reduced by 20 percent. The Headquarters organization was streamlined, with the elimination of some 800 positions Headquarters and Headquarters-related field units.

The Office of Customer Requirements played a significant role in developing the new structure by reallocating resources and grade levels appropriately to attain economies of scale.

Concurrent with the Headquarters reorganization, both the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic Areas were consolidated into the current eight-area configuration. This effort provided better control over operations and a significant reduction in administrative costs. Similar changes are under consideration and will play a critical role in the overall cost reduction effort. Following reduction in force (RIF) and RIF avoidance procedures, these changes were accomplished in record time compared to past reorganizations of this scale, with minimal disruption to operations.

SER supported the restructuring by developing implementation strategies for 95 competitive areas. Because many of the restructuring changes involved a transfer of function (ToF), SER developed and implemented ToF business processes and automated its software system to accommodate ToF reassignments. As a result, the Postal Service now has processes in place that comply with the Office of Personnel Management’s ToF regulations. To assist unplaced employees during the restructuring, SER developed and implemented a Job Opportunities website that provided job vacancy listings for impacted employees and gave them first consideration for management vacancies.


5. Giving Special Consideration to Temporary Employees for Career Positions

SER deployed new policies to further the consideration of casual employees for career positions through competitive examinations. The Commission on a Safe and Secure Workplace recommended that the Postal Service provide special consideration to temporary employees for career positions when the noncareer employees have already been screened and trained, and are known to be good workers.


6. VOE Survey

SER has developed and implemented employee opinion surveys, called Voice of the Employee (VOE) surveys, for the last 11 years. The surveys sample one-fourth of career employees each quarter. Each survey elicits opinions on a wide variety of work-related issues and provides a mechanism to monitor the organization. Results from the surveys are provided on the WebEIS. An index formed from six of the survey questions has been used as the primary measurement of the Postal Service’s success in meeting its VOE goals.

The national VOE survey results for 2002 show an index number of 58.8, an improvement over the baseline 2001 index of 58.1. The overall response rate for 2002 was 57 percent versus a 55 percent rate in 2001. The results reflect improved scores in the areas of employee recognition, supervisory treatment of employees, and ability to communicate with employees.

Survey data and employee suggestions will help the Postal Service to achieve continuous organizational improvement.


7. Employee Assistance Program and Workplace Environment Improvement

The Office of Workplace Environment Improvement (WEI) was created in September 1998 to reflect management’s commitment to improving the postal work environment and bringing focus to “people issues” in the Postal Service. Recently the work of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and WEI were combined under one manager and the office was renamed EAP/WEI. The function includes the EAP, violence prevention and crisis management activities, the identification and propagation of indicators, and measures and initiatives for workplace environment improvement. Key components of EAP/WEI for 2002 and 2003 continue to be:

• Coordination and implementation of Strategy 5 milestones (Build a Highly Effective and Motivated Workforce) in the Postal Service Transformation Plan.
• Development of the role of the employee workplace intervention analyst position to play a more strategic and consultative role in the field.
• Integration, assessment, and communication of employee feedback and other workplace environment information.
• Support for replication of a broad array of workplace improvement initiatives and practices.
• Communication of progress in improving workplace environment. Specific areas in which these components are carried out are as follows:

a. Employee Assistance Program.

The Postal Service EAP provides free, voluntary, confidential, in-person counseling services to employees and family members from masters- level counselors housed in or near local Postal Service facilities. Counselors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in convenient locations to assist employees and family members with difficulties that affect their personal lives and their work, including emotional, financial, legal, chemical dependency, marital, and family problems.

The EAP provides consultation to managers and supervisors regarding not only individual workers but also the work setting within which they function. The EAP intervenes, when appropriate, through preventive efforts, such as manager coaching and educational seminars on communication and stress management. EAP also provides ameliorative efforts that include conflict resolution sessions and organizational interventions and restorative actions, such as debriefings after a critical incident (e.g., suicide, domestic violence at work, armed robbery, and accidental death). In 2002, 44,618 employees and their family members received counseling from the EAP.

Forty-five percent of employees reported some type of work problem that affected their work performance. EAP staff responded to more than 399 critical incidents and provided assistance to more than 7,543 employees after these incidents. Health and wellness seminars on topics ranging from stress management to elder care to substance abuse were provided to 44,918 employees.


b. Violence Prevention and Crisis Management.

The Workplace Environment Advisory Committee, includes representatives of employee unions, management associations, labor relations, and human resources, with the manager of EAP/WEI as chair. This group, working closely with the Postal Inspection Service and EAP/WEI, uses a standardized protocol for the identification and resolution of potential “troubled worksites.” These are Postal Service sites that may be susceptible to threatening or other undesirable behavior as a result of individual or systemic problems. The efforts of the committee, in concert with area and local personnel, resulted in resolution at nine sites. In addition, EAP/WEI assists the field in ensuring that local threat assessment and crisis management teams are in place and that desired training is provided. Finally, EAP/WEI staff members continually respond to potential threats and crisis incidents throughout the Postal Service to ensure prompt response, swift resolution, and maximum safety of Postal Service employees.

EAP/WEI continues to lead the efforts to implement the recommendations made by the Commission on a Safe and Secure Workplace, also known as the Califano Commission. Communication regarding changes is ongoing.


c. Integration of Employee Feedback and Workplace Environment.

EAP/WEI plays a pivotal role in increasing the effectiveness with which data from the VOE survey and other workplace environment sources is used. Beginning with the 2000 survey, the Board of Governors approved an indicator using six of the survey questions. EAP/WEI provides technical assistance to the field in interpreting and responding to the data. It also facilitates the sharing of information about field and best practices that improve the workplace environment.

EAP/WEI staff members serve as internal consultants to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of WEI efforts nationwide. Also, EAP/WEI disseminates information about resources for addressing workplace environment issues, including local and national Postal Service initiatives and external sources. Finally, EAP/WEI will continue to deliver national messaging in 2003, to ensure that the business case for improving the workplace is recognized and accepted.


d. Dependent Care.

Pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) negotiated with the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO for the 1998–2000 National Agreement, the Postal Service and the APWU jointly selected a vendor to provide a dependent care resource and referral service to management and APWU-represented employees. The service allows employees to get assistance in locating dependent and elder care resources as well as a variety of options to help balance work and home life. The MOU remains in place through November 2003.