Commuters passing through Boston’s bustling South Station were treated to a surprise during a recent morning rush — a flash mob of dancing postal workers.
The ensemble performed to the 1960s classic “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes on the station’s main concourse to draw attention to USPS hiring efforts.
Hundreds of positions in Massachusetts-Rhode Island District are currently open for carriers, retail associates, mail handlers and drivers.
Alison Maher, the district’s employee development manager, said she and her team brainstormed for weeks about how to get the word out about upcoming recruitment events.
“We have weekly meetings on recruitment and we were trying to think outside the box on advertising throughout the district,” she said. Maher credits Kim Nilson, human resources clerk, for the flash mob idea.
“I thought it was fantastic, so we ran with it,” said Maher, who then helped organize the event with Danielle Salamasidis, a training technician, who choreographed the dance.
The employee development group researched the song, which was released in 1961, and found its use to be in the public domain. District management, Corporate Communications and other groups provided guidance.
The group then got permission from South Station officials to hold the event.
When showtime came, more than a dozen postal workers from three carrier units — with one dancer wearing an eagle costume — stepped up. The performance included handing out invitations to hiring events throughout the district and banners advertising links to open positions.
The flash mob received local news coverage, including in The Daily Free Press, a Boston University student newspaper. The video has 2.8K views on YouTube, as of March 27, and has been shared extensively.
The Postal Service requires districts that wish to produce similar videos to get guidance from the appropriate groups within the organization, including Human Resources, Safety, Labor Relations, Brand Marketing and the Intellectual Property Law group.
Said Maher: “We definitely wanted to get people on the way to a job interview or to work who might be contemplating a job change. We really got the media attention for our hiring events that we wanted.”
