In the past 18 years, the Postal Service has reorganized its field structure at least three times. In 1992, the Postal Service reorganized its field structure from five regions and 73 field divisions into 10 areas and 85 districts. From 2002-2006 the Postal Service changed its field structure to nine areas and 80 districts, and adjusted again in 2009 to eight areas and 74 districts. Under the current structure, area offices ensure headquarters directives are implemented, and district offices are responsible for managing major functions within a specified region of an area, including day-to-day management of subordinate post offices and customer service activities other than processing and distribution. The Postal Service believes the most recent consolidation will provide an annual cost savings of approximately $100 million.
Loading ... Loading ...Other organizations have streamlined their management structure, whether looking to utilize new technologies or just save money during difficult economic times. For example, United Parcel Service recently announced it was reducing its U.S. regions from five to three and its districts from 46 to 20, and Walmart announced it was reducing its regions from five to three.
What do you think of the Postal Service’s field structure?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Keep in mind that Pushing the Envelope will not publish comments that contain personally identifiable information, so please don’t include any names in your story.
This topic is hosted by the Office Audit Field Financial – West team.
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It is fine to advocate consolidation, but when something goes amiss with payment or records it’s head down to the local office and complain loudly when referred to the centralized location.
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100,000 EAS employees,at avg 75,000/yr =$7.5 Billion/yr. Reduce 25% that =$1.875 Billion saved, and we still deliver 6 days. Problem solved. NEXT!
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Offer anyone who has these jobs an opportunity to transfer to craft positions that are in offices where overtime is being paid and anyone left after those offers have been made and fulfilled be offered other federal positions. The postal service saves more by either eliminating the overtime or taking the salaries off the books completely, win win.
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Yes, we need to consolidate! HQs/Areas/&Districts! None of which touch the mail to get it delivered. HQs pushes out info directly to each PO -then a week AFTER it was implemented the area emails the same info to the District-the District emails to the PO a week too late and blames the PO for non-compliance! With technology HQs can micro-manage just fine. All of the reports roll from HQs so why add two more levels of “spin”? REDUCE!
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All the area offices could be eliminated with the field reporting directly to HQ. This would create more uniformity/standardization on how operations are performed. It would also reduce much of the redundant reporting now taking place.
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Hmmmm….43 out of 45 posts in favor of consolidation. Since that means it’s a good idea, the PS will now increase the number of districts instead.
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“Can the Postal Service Further Consolidate the Area and District Administrative Office Structure?”
The consensus is in and clearly states the obvious. Now OIG, it’s up to you to package and present your 10 year projected cost savings to PRC Chairman Goldway and the rest of the Commission.
“Under the current structure, area offices ensure headquarters directives are implemented, and district offices are responsible for managing major functions within a specified region of an area, including day-to-day management of subordinate post offices and customer service activities other than processing and distribution.”
You have stated it yourself, Area and District offices are nothing more than high priced messengers. All executive decision originate from HQ.
Read the insightful comments by Ex-Area Employee, Dionysus and Mike B.
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The district folks spent a career distancing themselves from the work, now they want to manage it through virtual reality from afar. Machines are real. Mail is real. It is not the numbers they see on their reports. If they want to have relevance to our operations in real time, give them an office at the plant. Or, insist that those with offices at the plants perform these functions. I am an ET, and I perform all PM and corrective work on a DIOSS and DBCS/OSS 4 days a week. On the 5th day, I have another DBCS/OSS. It is not overwhelming, but with administrative time and assisting on other maintenance issues, it is a full load.
Given the time, I can analyze my own reports and take corrective actions on my own initiative. I don’t have that luxury now, but then I don’t need a bureaucracy to do it for me.
I also believe my maintenance manager could manage, if he were allowed out of his office. He is in 4 telecons per day, and when he is not in one, he is preparing for the next one. If district would like to manage the plant, give them an office at the plant.
Otherwise, allow the guy who has an office at the plant to do his job, and let him off the phone.
All that virtual information that we pipe to district every day, doesn’t really need to leave the plant. The plant is reality.
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Too many layers of upper management exist…without any accountability. Area and District Managers are totally out of control. Postal HQ has never dealt with it either. Postal HQ people need to go. It is time for a total restructuring of the USPS.
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So many layers of management.A local office with a PM,or OIC,plus two supervisors must get permission from some other upper manager for everything,i.e. OT approval,supply buys,etc.Why are local offices staffed with so much management,if they aren’t allowed to scratch their noses without permission? What a GIANT waste of dollars.
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All that the area and POOM level management is used for is to roll the information downhill from the area and HQ, and with all offices being online now, that is no longer necessary-their work is redundant…………
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Here Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PM-Bill Miller-Obvious Observer-Dionysus-Mike B-
Ex Area Employee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congressman Stephen Lynch, son of an union Ironworker in a generation when you earned you eight hours are you seeing this???
Senator Durbin & Senator Collins, can you hear this
sanity????
Does the new Business Model Apply?
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There needs to be a check as to why a special mail truck has to deliver mail 6 days a week to only a half block on Dwight Street here in Colonial Beach, VA, when all the other streets (residents) here in Riverside Meadows receive the mail by rueal carrier. The delivery is made even if its only one house on the half block has mail that day. This is truly a waste of money, when the rural carrier past right by at both ends of the street. The rural carrier delivering to this street would sve gas, time, wear on the mail trucks. This multiplied 6 times a week by 52, woow what a savings. Have the rural carrier deliver to Dwight, money saved for the Post Office.
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We seem to all be of a like mind. Get rid of the “good ol’ boy” system of promotion. And fire abusive management who have many grievances against them. Stop the lateral movement of those people to another office! How much money could the PO save with that? That’s a no brainer; millions!
What we want to know is why Obama still keeps Potter as PMG? He as President, has the right to appoint someone else. Someone who will get rid of all this unnecessary upper-management.
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I think OIG is in bed with Postal HQ, Area, and DM’s. That is why nothing is changing
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A year ago we were told that HQ was going to reduce the number of District Offices from 80 to 50. OK, so they elimated six districts — when are they going to remove the other 24? HQ should have done all 30 at the same time. And why on earth do we need 8 areas? The Western Area already covers half of the US so why not just add CA & HA to them, draw a horizontal line across the middle of the eastern part and call one the Northeast Area and the other the Southwest Area?
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The USPS is the most management heavy organization in the United States. While management slashes and moves around clerk and mailhandler jobs, almost no cutting is being done in management numbers. HOW MANY FEWER MANAGERS ARE THERE NOW THAN THERE WERE TWO YEArS AGO, COUNTING ALL THE “VICING” MANAGERS AT ALL LEVELS. Until there is a major restructuring of USPS management, recommended by an outside firm, the USPS is headed for imminent bankruptcy. The USPS is in a death spiral and unless there is serious cost cutting among management hours, it will die off.
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Are you people LISTENINIG???? The first level of management that does any productive function is a Postmaster. Then they report to EVERYONE at the district who reports to EVERYONE at the AREA with THE SAME JOB TITLE–JUST A LEVEL ABOVE, then they report to HEADQUARTERS. Each level has to make a spreasheet to justify keeping their position, which either corresponds or contradicts another employee’s spreadsheet, while the lowly Postmasters and Supervisors are required to log into the district programs and area programs to enter data (multiple times daily sometimes) while ignoring the customers and employees. Training is done by tele-con but district and area training staff exist, usually for the sole function of monitoring the training records for discipline purposes. Retail and sales staff have the same function for failed mystery shops. And the biggest offendeer is this employee’s district is the district manager. His sole function is harrassment and intimidation. If the Postal Service does not intend to consolidate additional districts or areas, it should convert all of the district and area staff employees to labor relations employees. That appears to be their sole duty anyway.
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I think that the post office needs to become more efficient to avoid bankruptcy. I hate to say it but most of the people (not all) that work at the post office are extremely, intentionally, slow and it is such an unpleasant experience to have to go to the PO. Maybe cutting down service to five days will help but eliminating more post offices so that others become even more annoying to visit will just drive folks to use private companies. The PO needs to stop raising prices too. With every price hike, there is a loss of business that probably isn’t worth it.
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In the past station managers/postmasters and supervisors were responsible for the day to day decision making in an office. Now all decisions, regardless of how minor, are made by the district manager and the district manager only. The PM’s and supervisors have zero input in the operations of their offices. In the majority of cases the DM and POOM make the WRONG decisions (usually because they are only basing them on computer generated numbers projections) which causes the individual offices to perform poorly vis-a-vis customer service. I recommend the daily operations be managed by people at the local level and the district level could be reduced or eliminated completely.
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