USPS' eIDEAS Gets Poor Score

The U.S. Postal Service's Web-based program to collect employee ideas on customer service, productivity and revenue generation lacks transparency, leaving submissions in limbo, according to the USPS inspector general.

In a report released Tuesday, the IG found that employee feedback took more than two years to evaluate, rather than the seven-day turnaround outlined in the program's guidelines.

Our survey of employees who submitted ideas revealed that untimely evaluations, insufficient management commitment and communication, and insufficient program transparency were perceived as inhibitors to the program's success. Program management indicated that system limitations such as electronic reminders and employee separations contributed to the backlog in open statuses.

The seven-day promise may have been a bit ambitious, but the IG report found that NASA and the Defense Department have similar programs and complete idea evaluations in 20 to 45 days, much faster than the two-year process for eIDEAS.