it doesn’t seem to know which problems most need solving.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the internal revenue service wants to do a better job. it really does. it got an infusion of funds (though it seems some might get taken back), and it’s got a strategic operating plan with objectives for improving the taxpayer experience and modernizing operations.
more: must the irs be a dark hole? | 10 tips to the irs for beefing up staff | eight ways the irs can speed up processing tax returns | irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones | ten irs problems that need solutions | treasury ig sees progress at irs | with fresh funding, irs shows service improvements
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and it’s made a lot of progress. but it’s still got wide open spaces to accommodate improvement.
los? lol
the irs tries to track its performance with a level of service measurement. regarding the phones, for example, they measure how often a customer service representative answers and how long the callers had to wait.
and by the phone call los metrics, they’re doing a pretty good job! during the 2023 tax season, they answered a good 85 percent of the incoming calls and cut wait times in half.
but there’s a problem, says national taxpayer advocate erin m.collins. just answering the phone isn’t enough. among the critical factors that don’t enter into the los metric are:
- whether the csr at least seemed to try to help
- whether the csr succeeded in helping
- whether the the problem was solved, the customer satisfied
- how many subsequent phone calls were necessary
- whether the interaction increased confidence in the irs
- whether the solution, if any, was simple, easy or quick
- whether the customer was treated fairly
without these metrics, the irs can’t really know whether it is measuring los or lol, whether the progress is substantive or illusory.
human-centric design
trouble is, the current los metrics – for phones, anyway – are quantitative, not qualitative.
what really counts is quality.
in her annual report to congress, released this january, collins called for “human-centered design.”
“human-centered design creates products and services around the needs, wants, perspectives and behaviors of people. it uses empathy and understanding to meet the needs of users, looking more at the nuances of individuals’ behaviors and experiences than opinions. a core component of human-centered design is to learn what customers need using qualitative research methods such as interviews, firsthand observation and focus groups … the irs needs a focused approach to improve the taxpayer experience, as some segments of the taxpaying population face unique challenges in getting access to the information and services needed to comply with their tax obligations.”
the lack of a strategic human-focused design may be one cause of a tactical error that created a service problem by solving the phone problem. to meet the goal of an 85 percent los, the irs moved thousands of csrs from processing returns to answering the phones.
1.27 million idle hours
csrs were able to dedicate 3.73 million hours staffing the phones. but with the rate of calls ebbing and flowing, the csrs spent 1.27 million idle hours just waiting for the phone to ring. meanwhile, the work on tax returns lagged. the result: dissatisfied customers (and more phone calls).
to call this shift an error isn’t quite accurate. short on funds and staff, the irs was forced to shift rather than hire.
still, with some forethought, creative problem-solving and human-centric design, irs management might have been able to enable csrs to work on returns during lulls in phone traffic.
better technology would help, too. csrs can’t access the answers that are elsewhere in the system. for example, they can’t even see the notices and letters the irs has sent to a given taxpayer.
the irs has a lot to grapple with to improve service to a point where taxpayers aren’t frustrated, angry and distrustful. the u.s. tax systems depends on taxpayer cooperation. the irs needs to do some human-centric research to identify the problems that actually need to be solved.