When you see the words “high-pressure job position,” what is the first professional role that comes to your mind? Politician? Fire-fighter? A fast-food worker on the midnight shift? These are all valiant suggestions for high-pressure professional roles; however, an obvious but oft-overlooked position that should be at the top of this anxiety-producing list is the mailroom manager’s role.

Mailroom managers bear the weight of maintaining vigilance and oversight over all incoming and outgoing mail and packages within the mailroom facility. Sorting, prioritizing, and distributing all mail and parcels may seem simple but involves insight into all of the machines and workflows required to run a mailroom. The grind of performing these actions can be outrageously taxing and often reveal inadequacies in both the mailroom and workforce processes. Despite these complex issues, there are often simple and effective solutions available to remedy these problems. Here are some common issues that mailroom managers face, along with some tips for addressing them.

Problem #1: Angry, “Where is my Package” Phone Calls

While many of the quandaries mailroom managers face are machine-based, the most annoying are often produced by other humans. Clients and employees who may not have a window into complicated delivery routes continuously bug you throughout the delivery process; This is where a package tracking workflow can really come in handy. Using that workflow, facilities can provide precise delivery estimates for each package in transit. Depending on the client/employee relationship, the facility may also be able to grant access to a tracking ID and a part of the platform that allows for live transit updates for any of their packages. Transparency for both the mailroom and client could be the cure for the ails of your – let’s call them passionate – package recipients.

Problem #2: The Sea of Paper Mail Taking Up Facility Space

Depending on your facility, space to store mail and packages could be at a premium, with a real need to maximize every square foot you have. Unfortunately, for many reasons, paper mail can build up over time within your mailroom and take up excessive space. Enter the digital mail workflow: Digital mail is a combined mail and scanning process; in this workflow, incoming white mail is converted into a digital format and is delivered to an addressee electronically or physically. This process allows for a quicker and more transparent mail turnover, ultimately reducing the amount of space that stagnant mail takes up.

Problem #3: Lost Packages

A lost client package is the stuff of mailroom managers’ nightmares. A missing package costs mailrooms time in reconnaissance and recovery, but it also damages the customer’s relationship. It’s easy to see why maintaining oversight over all receivables using a package tracking system is an easy remedy to this problem. However, lost packages are the product of a lack of package visibility and lack of accountability. Using a company-wide platform allows managers to see which staff members were assigned to the shipping or receiving of the package in question and understand how they interacted with it. If you can identify who lost sight of the parcel, you can begin to close the accountability loop and quickly track down the missing item.

Are you a mailroom manager? How are you navigating problems at your facility? Let us know! Email us at [email protected]