Postal Pulse Survey/Employee Engagement

FY2016 Performance Report – Continuing to improve employee engagement is a top priority for the organization. The Postal Service is committed to creating a dynamic, highly engaged workplace where employees perform at consistently high levels and work in environments

that promote development, recognition and learning. This helps increase productivity and customer satisfaction while simultaneously decreasing safety incidents, turnover and absenteeism.

Employee engagement is measured through the Postal Pulse survey, which was conducted during the second quarter of FY2016. The survey, distributed to all employees by mail or email, identified key business opportunities related to employee well-being, profitability, customer service, accident reduction and employee retention.

In FY2016, we accomplished the following:

• Maintained executive level oversight of the national employee engagement strategy.
• Built on baseline results from the inaugural Postal Pulse survey in FY2015.
• Established a core team in each area and headquarters to administer training related to understanding, implementing and creating an engaged workforce.
• Encouraged employee feedback through additional channels, including dedicated email address, 1-800 number and USPS intranet suggestion box.
• Developed more than 18,000 “State of the Team” conversations and action plans to achieve engagement goals.
• Designed and delivered employee engagement information to all segments of the organization.
• Provided officers, executives, managers and supervisors training and access to a robust reporting platform for assessing and acting on survey results.

FY2016 results:

• Selected team members to support the efforts of the executive director of employee engagement who reports directly to the chief human resources officer.
• Delivered the Postal Pulse survey to 600,000 career and non-career employees. Thirty-two percent of employees completed and returned the survey. The grand mean engagement score result increased from 3.16 to 3.24 on a scale of 1 to 5.
• Identified, trained and certified 26 ambassadors to deliver training to supervisors and managers in all areas and headquarters (on two-year assignments).
• Provided training to more than 6,000 supervisors and managers, an increase from 400 in 2015.
• Continued to leverage the talent of previously trained engagement leaders and champions.

FY2017 Performance Plan – The Employee Engagement team will continue to provide targeted training to executives, managers and supervisors so they can take concrete actions to create and sustain more engaged work environments. The team will partner with other functions — such as Safety, Health and Wellness, and Learning and Development — to create a sustainable approach to engagement in multiple aspects of the organization.

Working with the Corporate Communications group, we will increase awareness about the importance of employee engagement across the organization and ensure our message is aligned to organizational strategy and overall Human Resources objectives. Employee Engagement will continue to research the most effective methods to administer the survey, including focus groups, post-event evaluations and multilevel delivery methods.

The Employee Engagement team will continue to share knowledge related to the successful implementation of engagement techniques and best practices. In conjunction with the Learning and Development function, team members will continue to provide expert facilitation within targeted leadership development programs. We’ll also provide updated materials and information to Learning and Development managers and ensure employee engagement is included in new and existing training programs.

One of the most significant contributions will continue to be the “State of the Team” process to create action plans and goals for improved employee engagement, and aligning the efforts of supervisors, managers and executives to meet these objectives. A metric used to determine the number of action plans created will also capture information about the plans in an electronic database. Improving interaction and engaging employees more effectively translates into better business results and increased levels of productivity.