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Increase Flexibility

The Postal Service will continue to enhance and develop additional workforce planning and tracking tools. These tools will provide standardized data reports and modeling tools to meet the needs of field operations. Additionally, for individual operations within a facility, a wide-range of diagnostic tools will be developed to allow managers to assess the improvement potential of their operations through scheduling and staffing changes. Diagnostics will identify staffing/scheduling alternatives to address common problem situations (high overtime, stand-by time, frequent temporary schedule changes, etc.) and potential solutions. With both facility-wide and unit complement modeling with diagnostic tools, the Postal Service will have more accurate plans for determining current staffing and scheduling needs. This modeling effort will also provide the ability to plan for future opportunities to gain greater staffing flexibility and efficiency.

These efforts will analyze future needs and build needed scheduling flexibility into planning assumptions. By utilizing part-time and non-career employment opportunities, the Postal Service can ensure maximum flexibility and efficiency in operating alternatives. Since an evolving incremental approach to changes in the current network is anticipated, efforts will concentrate on managing the associated complement transitions to maintain productivities and service throughout the period of change. In this way individual operating unit performance will not suffer during the implementation of staffing adjustments.

The Postal Service has developed considerable field expertise planning for and achieving the overall complement numbers needed in an operation. Future efforts will concentrate on maintaining maximum flexibility in staffing alternatives and in managing the transition of complement to achieve maximum efficiency.

Summary

Engaging employees, managing current and future talent, developing market-based compensation, and aligning complement to customer needs are the right things to do. Changes in these areas will be needed in order for postal customers to benefit from the many opportunities identified in this Plan. Implementing change is difficult — no matter what the industry. While postal employees have a proud history of delivering quality service during adverse situations, changing the culture to be more customer- and business-focused will not happen overnight. The Postal Service and its 700,000 employees have a solid start and will continue to be proactive in preparing to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.