IRS

Question 1

What is the problem?

Answer 1

• Dated technology
• Poor customer service (due to tenured employees being lazy, process of the call center with no specialist, not having specific departments based on call)
• Processing forms (needed a digitalized way of processing forms, payments)
  -Law’s put in place which make it difficult for change

Question 2

Stakeholders:

Answer 2

• Taxpayers (Individual customers, small businesses, large businesses, mid-sized business, Tax exempt and government entities (school/nonprofit)) Anyone who has to pay taxes.
• The National treasure employee’s union
• Employees of the IRS
• Lawmakers (new law)

Question 3

What was targeted for change?

Answer 3

*Organizational structure changed from geographic to customer type (customer-focused divisions)
*Job design shifted from generalists to specialists (clear responsibilities)
*Centralized cost center
*IT upgrade and reorganization
*Flatter hierarchy (fewer mgt positions)
*Additional items from the Presidential task force (improve complaint tracking, ↓ notices, simplify forms, ↑ electronic filing, ↑ new payment options). Want to have a higher compliance rate

Question 4

Kotter’s model applied to the IRS

Answer 4

*Sense of urgency – Act of Congress! Executives and managers competed for new job;

New law RRA98: restructuring and reformat of the IRS

Focus on serving customers rather than just collecting taxes

*Guiding coalition – Steering Committee of managers, employees, union reps to provide input/oversee changes, process, and communicating a mission statement carfuling delineating a phase program of changes

*Visible progress – continued visibility into progress on initiatives

- Driving the change  

The steering committee developing a way to track the progress

*Communication – Rossotti implemented frequent and extensive communications across the IRS

-Communicating the vision by a factor of 10 

A detailed communication plan was created to make sure IRS employees felt aware and involved whenever a major change was occuring. Bi weekly news letters, national meetings, interactive broadcasts (zoom meetings), moderization guides for managers, break news emails and training videos.

Question 5

Issues

Answer 5

We can see employees being resistant to the change. Many tenured employees won’t be open to digital change.

Communicating with the union and making sure they are onboard and have employees work based off performance of customer service and compliance increase

To have something passed in Congress is more complicated than having a private company. There are more people involved and a longer process.

Consistency and expense: the IRS rolls out new plans before the old plans are delivered. They need to anchor their cultural change and focus on their biggest issues first which is focused on serving the customers and their experience.

Question 6

What to consider?

Answer 6

*Logistics

*Bring in more tax revenue

*Image/trust (impacted by non-IRS employees)

*% of voluntary compliance

- Team KPI  

*Education of IRS customers and customer service

Survey at the end of a call

Survey at the end of digital form to see if the form is effective

Question 7

How would you increase voluntary compliance

Answer 7

Normative control – civic mindedness

Or

Instrumental control – treats and enforcements