For most people in the mailing industry, involvement with their local Postal Customer Council (PCC) has been a key component to their success. Industry members have the opportunity to learn from the US Postal Service (USPS) and their peers from other companies.
However, PCCs are an underutilized resource by larger mailers. There’s a misconception that PCCs are only for small to mid-sized mailers. After all, large companies have representatives on the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) and have USPS sales representatives assigned to their accounts. With these resources, the advantage of local PCCs are often overlooked.
Only a limited number of people are able to attend the quarterly MTAC meetings. A good association or company representative will find ways to share what they experience. For example, this week, the Postal Customer Council Advisory Committee will host a webinar reviewing the announcements from the August MTAC meeting.
In addition to these “after the event” briefings, participation in PCC events for local managers, supervisors and employees is a good idea. The meetings give your staff the opportunity to network with the USPS and other mailing professionals. Companies will reap rewards from these events, including a better understanding of new regulations, changes in service at the local facilities and improved communication with local USPS officials.
Whenever possible, organizations should expand their involvement with their PCC, supplementing regular attendance at events, with volunteering to work on committees and hosting tours. In addition to helping maintain a positive relationship with local USPS management, increased participation with PCCs will promote the company within the mailing community.
We’re just a few weeks away from national PCC Week – September 23 – 27, 2019. Over 100 PCCs across the country will have a variety of events – from luncheons, to half-day seminars to full-day conferences. At almost every event, a senior representative from the USPS will be present to discuss upcoming postal initiatives and field questions from the audience. Their presentation will be supplemented with training on subjects like networking, leadership and professional management.
To learn more about your local PCC and their fall event, check out the PCC Locator on the USPS website. Or, call your local USPS District Business Service Network representative for more information. Most of the events are more than reasonably priced, so bring some of your co-workers with you. The benefits far outweigh the expense.
This year, I’ll be supporting the Greater Boston and Central Massachusetts Postal Customer Councils at their event on Thursday, September 26th and the Connecticut Valley PCCs on Friday, September 27th. As always, I’m waiving my speaking fees for these PCCs – one way of giving back to the mailing community.
Hope to see you at a PCC event soon!
