U.S. Postal Service: New Delivery Performance Measures Could Enhance Managers' Pay for Performance Program
Highlights
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) pay for performance (PFP) program for managers includes quantitative performance indicators. PFP ratings are the basis for salary increases and lump sum awards for nearly 750 Postal Career Executive Service (PCES) executives and about 71,700 other participants, mostly Executive and Administrative Schedule (EAS) employees. GAO was requested to provide information about USPS's PFP system. This report (1) describes the key features of USPS's PFP system, (2) provides information on the weight of its performance indicators in determining PFP ratings, and (3) identifies opportunities for USPS to incorporate delivery performance indicators into its PFP system. GAO obtained USPS documents and data, interviewed USPS officials, and primarily based its assessment on laws related to timely delivery and interviews with senior USPS officials.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| United States Postal Service | The Postmaster General should incorporate new delivery performance indicators into the PFP program--such as indicators that cover Standard Mail and bulk First-Class Mail--once the necessary measurement systems are successfully implemented, including the actions that mailers must take to permit meaningful performance measurement. |
Closed – Not Implemented
In 2009, USPS has initiated an effort to incorporate First-Class Commercial Mail, Standard Mail, and Periodicals into its PFP program. Because the PFP program relies on data from the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb)as the primary method of service measurement for its marke-dominant products, the program could not use these data until mailers IMb usage had increased to the level where the data sufficiently represents delivery performance for these products. Over time, IMb data for First-Class Commercial mail became sufficiently representative. As a result, USPS has incorporated First-Class Commercial mail into the PFP for Fiscal Year 2012.
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