The Postal Service is now operating in the most complex and competitive business environment in our history, one that’s marked by uncertainty and change. Despite the difficulties this business environment presents, we’ve withstood every challenge because of strong leadership and committed employees.
Leadership Readiness – Similar to most federal agencies, a large number of our managers and senior leaders are eligible for retirement. To plan for the significant risk this poses, in FY2016 we implemented a new assessment process for Corporate Succession Planning (CSP) to enable us to gauge leadership potential, allowing us to better identify critical experiences needed to build a robust leadership pipeline. We administered our operations-focused leadership programs such as New Supervisor Program (NSP), Managerial Essentials for Field Leadership (MEFL) and Postmaster Essentials (PME) to ensure that our managers and supervisors are job ready. During the year, we offered more classes than originally planned to meet the increased demands of the organization.
Also, our Executive Leadership Team demonstrated an unwavering commitment to employee engagement and invested in utilizing our engagement leaders and champions throughout the organization to conduct engagement leader training for employees at all Executive and Administrative Schedule (EAS) levels within the organization. Altogether, these efforts improve leadership readiness and support culture changes necessary for long-term success.
Our leadership development programs achieved important outcomes in FY2016, including:
- The new CSP assessment process helped us identify 1,600 potential successors to leadership positions and has been incorporated into the CSP nomination process for new potential successors.
- Eighty-eight percent of critical Postal Career Executive Service (PCES) positions now have at least one “ready now” potential successor, and 158 new potential successors were added to CSP. To support individual development planning, 75 percent of CSP potential successors have an active plan (i.e., completion of one activity every six months).
- In February 2016, we introduced a streamlined process for EAS leadership development open season for area and district employees. Program eligibility was expanded to EAS-16 employees to allow supervisors to begin development for managerial-level positions in the district. A two-year strategic plan has been established for each area and district, which includes structured opportunities to enhance the growth and development of EAS Leadership Development (ELD) program participants.
- The ELD program grew by 4,934 new participants. To support individual development planning, 63 percent of ELD program participants have an active plan (i.e., completion of one activity every six months). Once the pending manager review and approval occurs, there will be an additional 27 percent of ELD program participants that have active individual development plans.
- Ten leadership development programs were offered to both headquarters and field EAS high-potential employees to develop our bench strength. In addition, there were six programs for executive-level employees. Leadership programs continue to focus on critical business challenges and maximizing the creativity, innovation and strategic thinking of our high-potential employees to recommend new solutions and strategies.
To prepare employees for career advancement, learning opportunities are available for officers, senior executives, executives, managers and supervisors. The following list summarizes participants by program:
Data Source: EDW Learning Management System and Rosters for Leadership Programs
A total of 15 officers and high-potential executives have completed the Senior Executive Assessment and Development Center program, designed to accelerate development for senior executive-level positions. Eighty percent of participants in the program have an active executive development plan.
Impactful Training Programs – In FY2016, the Postal Service invested in pilot training programs for new employees in field operations. These onboarding programs serve two purposes — prepare new employees to be job ready and improve retention.
Functional and technical skills were other areas of focus for pilot training programs in FY2016. Small Package Sorting System and Vehicle Maintenance Fleet programs include essential machinery and maintenance training to keep the mail moving efficiently. In addition, the Postal Service piloted a blended learning program called Respectful Communications targeted at EAS and PCES. Its goal is to increase effective communication in the workplace and improve work environments. The Postal Service will offer the course nationwide at the start of FY2017.
Protecting Employees’ Information – The Postal Service made significant progress in FY2016 to improve its ability to defend against advanced threats and cyber intrusions. Over the next few years, the Postal Service will continue making major investments to enhance its defense capabilities and ensure the security of its data assets. Protecting the privacy of customer, employee, supplier and corporate information has been - and will always be - a priority for the Postal Service.
In FY2016, the Postal Service focused on building comprehensive cybersecurity capabilities through technology, people and processes. These capabilities included defending against threats, monitoring systems for possible unauthorized access and eradicating intruders. Moving forward, the Postal Service will enhance its cyber security infrastructure by continuing to invest in the development and maintenance of a robust information security organization.
CyberSafe at USPS – In FY2016, the Postal Service’s awareness and training initiative continued to foster a cybersecurity culture among postal community members through monthly awareness campaigns, annual training courses and online resources. Efforts increased both internally and externally to provide our employees, suppliers and customers with the knowledge and skills needed to protect critical USPS information.
In FY2016, the CyberSafe at USPS initiative deployed 12 themed, monthly awareness campaigns to our employees and suppliers that included numerous articles on information security topics such as password security, insider threats, safe social media use, how to avoid phishing attempts, how to safeguard mobile devices and how to protect systems from malware. The initiative managed two internal websites, providing employees with guidance on how to perform key information security processes associated with their job roles. A customer-facing CyberSafe at USPS website launched on Sept. 30, 2016, with the goal of providing customers with the cybersecurity knowledge to protect individuals, families and small businesses. The Postal Service also continues its strategic partnership with the Department of Homeland Security’s “Stop. Think. Connect.” campaign, further demonstrating our commitment to serving as a leader in cybersecurity among government organizations.
In addition to awareness activities in FY2016, CyberSafe at USPS continued organization-wide training efforts. The initiative re-released its cornerstone training, CyberSafe 101: Password and Phishing, and launched CyberSafe 201: Data Protection to USPS employees in January 2016. CyberSafe 101 received a 99 percent completion rate from its 200,000 enrolled USPS employees, as did CyberSafe 201 from its 55,000 enrolled employees. The initiative developed two additional web-based training courses in FY2016 that focused on computer workstation safety and protecting systems and devices from malware. These will be released to USPS employees and suppliers in FY2017. The CyberSafe at USPS training strategy focuses on providing USPS employees and suppliers with the knowledge and skills to perform their job functions while protecting USPS information assets.
The CyberSafe at USPS initiative will continue its efforts to improve the information security of consumers and businesses that rely on the Postal Service. In pursuit of this goal, the initiative will expand to include a role-based training curriculum for those who have access to the USPS network, increase awareness messaging and training for suppliers and customers and continue to bolster customer-facing online resources.
