The Postal Service believes its future success involves investing in the education and development of its employees. It deploys a comprehensive learning continuum that addresses development at all levels of the organization, and delivers relevant, targeted, learning solutions designed to improve knowledge sets and produce skilled employees able to fill future vacancies. In 2009, use of technology to deliver learning content was accelerated.
The Postal Service was recognized in 2009 with an “Excellence in Practice” citation from the American Society for Training and Development, the world’s largest association dedicated to workplace learning.
To help employees gain a better understanding of the postal business and strategic direction, the Postal Service launched Growing the Business, a new learning tool that gives new employees a broad survey of postal products and services and helps demonstrate how they can serve as solutions to customers’ needs. It features a tutorial on usps.com and an interactive Discovery Map that illustrates the bottom-line impact of revenue and cost.
The Postal Service launched the Learning Management System (LMS), which incorporates eLearning, distance learning, and social networking. LMS allows employees to electronically request and participate in training, giving them more control over their development. It allows managers to electronically approve training requests and assists in designing employee training plans. Integration with the Human Capital Enterprise System permits automated documentation of completed employee training. More than half a million training enrollment transactions were executed through LMS in its first three months, 70 percent using employee self-service.
The online Executive Leadership Transitions Toolkit deployed in June provides training for new and acting executives. It includes an online virtual meeting place to work on Harvard Business Review case studies, with online chats and threaded discussion groups to share ideas and best practices that foster collaboration.
The electronic Individual Development Plan (eIDP) was launched for employees who are not currently potential successors in CSP or EAS Leadership Development processes. The online system provides employee assessments and suggests on-the-job and course-work training to increase skills in competencies as indicated by the assessment.
