Background
The U.S. Postal Service operates over 31,000 post offices and retail units where staff perform various operations, including scanning packages upon arrival or measuring mail. These Retail and Customer Service (i.e., function 4) operations accounted for 145 million workhours and $6.9 billion in costs in fiscal year 2023. The Postal Service’s ability to capture efficiencies, including through targeted operational reviews at selected units, can help drive its Delivering for America plan’s financial goals.
What We Did
Our objective was to assess the efficiency of Retail and Customer Service Operations nationwide. We assessed related policies and processes, observed operations at 12 units nationwide, analyzed performance data, and interviewed management and staff.
What We Found
While the Postal Service reported attaining its function 4 operational efficiency goal in fiscal year 2023, we identified concerns with key data that underlie these results. National data showed instances of misaligned mail volume and workhour data, such as mail volumes being processed with no workhours or workhours incurred with no reported mail volumes. This happened because staff did not always properly record their workhours. We observed similar conditions during our fieldwork, as well as instances of staff improperly measuring mail. These shortcomings, which occurred due to inadequate oversight, hinder the reliability of the underlying operational performance data, and could be mitigated with better system controls. We estimate $134 million of funds that could have been put to better use between October 2022 and March 2024.
We also found issues related to the management of its targeted operational reviews. First, the centralized system for recording these reviews did not track key performance elements or retain historical data. Second, the related policies are outdated, which may cause confusion among staff and hinder optimal site selection. Addressing these issues would enhance the impact of function 4 reviews, provide better operational and performance visibility, and help drive efficiencies and future cost savings.
Recommendations and Management’s Comments
We made five recommendations to address the issues identified in the report, and Postal Service management agreed with all five. We consider management’s comments responsive, as the corrective actions should resolve the issues. A summary of management’s comments and our evaluation are at the end of each finding and recommendation