Talent All-Stars

How the USPS Recruits and Develops a Workforce of 640,000


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The USPS delivers to 167 million addresses almost every day. That takes 640,000 employees, 30,000 post offices, 250 processing facilities, and one of the largest HR operations in the country. Jenny Utterback, VP of Organization Development at the United States Postal Service, is the person responsible for the people side of all of it.

She came in through recruiting nearly 20 years ago and never left, because the problems kept getting harder and more interesting. Today, she leads workforce development, succession planning, and a full modernization of HR infrastructure for an organization that competes with FedEx and UPS while also guaranteeing delivery to every address in America, every week, no exceptions.

In this episode, she gets into how you upskill a workforce where 35 to 40-year tenures are still common, how she thinks about internal versus external hiring decisions, and what it actually takes to lead people through change when the change isn't stopping.

You'll also hear:

  • How USPS rebuilt its recruiting and HR systems from the ground up
  • Why connecting with employees on a human level is the only way change management actually works
  • How she develops internal candidates for leadership roles before the seat is ever vacant
  • The framework she uses to cut through competing priorities when everything feels urgent
  • Connect with Jenny: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyutterback 

    Learn more about USPS: www.usps.com

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    Talent All-StarsBy ZipRecruiter