Sponsored by:
Columbia Insurance GroupPCC Representatives
We promised answers to the five key elements that were common thoughout the Postal Co-Chair webinars conducted in late June. Below are the answers to those:
1. Need for greater / consistent local postal support: As demonstrated recently by the personally signed Postmaster General letter to the PCC industry co-chairs informing them of upcoming local meetings planned by the district manager, we are committed to our partnership with the PCCs. The PCCs are the eyes and ears of the mailing community at the local level. The roles of postal officials are outlined on the web under our PCC Program Policies and Rules. We have been asked to review, update / clarify them and disseminate to all involved postal officials. You will hear on National PCC Day the commitment the Postal Service has to the PCCs. Moreover, each Postal Service Headquarters PCC Team member is adopting 5 - 7 district PCCs to encourage and mentor postal co-chairs as needed.
2. Ability to pay the expenses of speakers: We have research the payment of speaker fees and expense extensively. Paying for either of these would require the Postal Service to file a Form 1099 with the IRS for any speaker for whom fees and expenses from the PCCs are $600 or more in the aggregate in a tax year. At the present time, neither the USPS nor the PCCs have any way of tracking payments to individual speakers annually (some of whom may speak on multiple occasions to more than one PCC group) or of filing the requisite forms. Consequently, for the time being, PCCs should continue to avoid making any payments to speakers. The Postal Service is in the process of exploring possible solutions to the administrative and other difficulties surrounding speaker payments. The USPS is working toward a final resolution by the end of its current fiscal year, September 30, 2011.
3. Social Media: With respect to social media involvement on the part of PCCs, the Postal Service is still formulating a policy on this matter. We are looking into the use of Listserv, Facebook, LinkedIn, and / or Twitter that many organizations used to communicate with their membership. Our objective is to establish a social media policy that will be most effective for PCCs. This might include selecting one or more of the social networking tools listed herein. In the meantime, PCCs should follow the advice and guidelines provided in the PCC Management Insights article, Use of Social Media / Networking by PCCs, that was emailed to PCCs on 01/11/10 (see attachment).
4. Better / updated workshops in a box: Industry Engagement & Outreach has a process to update the workshops that will give you options for your educational sessions. For National PCC Day, two videos are being supplied to every PCC sponsoring an event. By supplying these videos, the need for a subject matter expert is alleviated. In the future we will supply PCCs a workshop in a box presentation along with a video where appropriate. The video can be used to train a local speaker to present the information or you can use the video and have someone who is knowledgeable on the subject present to answer questions. It will be up to you.
We will also continue to supply you with short video from our executive leadership when they are available. These video clips will be similar to the one recently sent to you featuring the Postmaster General. We are committed to sharing major policy announcements / changes with local mailers through the PCC Network.
5. Communicate changes in a timelier manner: Presently, we have a monthly PCC Insider and periodic email blasts to the PCC representatives. The communication vehicle that we are developing will revamp the way we communicate to the mailing industry in order to supply you with quicker and more relevant news. We understand there may still be a need for a PCC Insider as a “special edition.” We want to see industry news sent to the mailing industry on a weekly basis. This redesign will take a few months and should be in place by the end of the calendar year. Until that time you will continue to receive the PCC Insider.
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