Kevin Nakaoka, Honolulu’s new U.S. Postal Service postmaster, prepares Oahu’s mail workers for an ambitious modernization plan.
What are the near-term and longer-term goals for you and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Honolulu?
My near-term goal is to continue to build upon the USPS legacy of exceptional customer service in Honolulu. My longer-term goal is to support the implementation of the Postmaster General’s Delivering for America 10-year modernization plan. This plan includes more than $40 billion in capital investments, including $20 billion toward our mail and package processing network; $19 billion toward our retail and delivery network; and $2 billion in technology upgrades. By implementing the strategies in the Delivering for America plan, we hope and expect to operate with a positive net income beginning in fiscal year 2023 or fiscal year 2024, and to reverse a projected $160 billion in losses over the next 10 years. These investments will enable us to modernize USPS, ensure that we can adapt to the changing needs of our customers, provide excellent services for both our mail and package products, and achieve our universal service mission today and for generations to come.
What should we anticipate regarding mail service to and from Honolulu this holiday season?
The holiday season is our time to shine. It’s our World Series, Super Bowl and March Madness all rolled into one. I have confidence that we are “holiday-ready” and prepared to deliver fast and reliable service to every address that we serve in Honolulu and across the state. Across the country, the Postal Service has added new state-of-the-art package processing machines, hired 28,000 seasonal employees and adjusted and expanded our transportation network in order to meet the anticipated surge in packages that we’ll see between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Every postal employee from Maine to Molokai takes tremendous pride in delivering a happy holiday to our customers across the globe.
What is the status of our postal workforce?
We’re extremely proud to be able to say that we retained the great majority of our workforce throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, our employees played essential roles in their communities, especially in the early lockdown phase of the pandemic. When people were confined to their homes, when stores and supermarkets experienced shortages or were shut down, we delivered medicines to house-bound seniors, household supplies to those unable to shop at stores, and COVID-19 tests to anyone who needed them. Our postal employees were and continue to be vital lifelines between our local communities and the outside world.
USPS jobs in Hawaii provide great opportunities for anyone seeking a fast-paced, rewarding work environment with good pay. As outlined in our Delivering for America plan, we’re modernizing and continually adapting to the changing needs of our customers. We need motivated, dedicated people to join us to deliver for our local communities and our nation. I encourage anyone who is looking for work to check out the currently available USPS jobs in Hawaii at www.USPS.com/careers.
What changes in services will postal customers see in the near future?
We’re continually evolving in order to meet the changing needs of our customers. The most recent new service that we rolled out was USPS Connect, a set of four affordable delivery solutions that helps businesses of all sizes meet growing consumer demand for fast delivery and convenient returns, including same-day delivery for USPS Connect packages that meet our delivery requirements. That service is one aspect of the Delivering for America modernization plan. That plan calls for an investment of $4 billion in our post offices to provide a world-class customer experience with improved retail training, modernized uniforms, refreshed lobbies, and expanded self-service and digital options.
We’d like to become a one-stop shop for a wide range of government services. We’re also investing heavily in a new vehicle fleet, equipping carriers with mobile technology to improve service and tracking and optimizing routes and processes throughout last-mile delivery. We plan to expand our core package products, namely Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, First Class Package Service and Parcel Select to offer a wide diversity of business solutions for micro- to large businesses with same-day, next-day and two- to three-day options. And we intend to drive greater value for the sender by developing new tools that leverage mail data and enable better integration with digital media channels, and by providing new programs, resources and offerings designed to enable greater use of the mail by businesses of all sizes.
In your 24 years of experience, what have you found to be the most misunderstood aspect of the postal service among the public?
A lot of people think we’re funded by taxpayer dollars. That hasn’t been the case, though, since 1971. The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
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The bio file
>> Title: U.S. Postal Service postmaster for the city of Honolulu
>> Previous experience: USPS Hawaii District manager of operation integrations, USPS Hawaii District HR manager, postmaster of Wahiawa, Kaneohe and Kailua post offices, mail carrier at Kapalama Post Office
>> Personal background: Born in Honolulu and raised in Mililani. Graduate of Mililani High School and University of Hawaii at Manoa. Married to wife Gerin, with three children, Skyeler, Kendal and Kaje
>> Outside interests: Spending quality time with my family, going to the beach, coaching baseball
>> One more thing: “I’m looking forward to engaging and supporting my 600 Honolulu USPS employees in the implementation of the our Postmaster General’s Delivery for America ten-year modernization plan. Our front-line clerks and carriers are the linchpin of the plan to ensure the future of USPS and the continuation of our customer service legacy.”
