IRS CX Efforts Come With a New Acquisition Office

The IRS plans to launch a new acquisition office as it progresses on various taxpayer experience initiatives with new digital tools as part of an eight-year plan released last year, noted Deputy Chief Procurement Officer Guy Torres. The new office expected to be completed by October will implement an agile method that removes inconsistent guidance from procurement personnel.

“With the new alignment, customers will see increased customer service, increased contracting officer engagement with the customer base, and increased procurement bench strength,” Torres said during a Washington Technology event. “It will rebrand us in a way that identifies procurement not as a roadblock in the supply chain, but rather procurement officials being viewed as credible business advisors.”

The agile model will allow more checkpoints for end users to voice their opinions on products and services throughout the process, according to a Treasury Department spokesperson. User-experience designers and researchers from the IRS and vendors will work in tandem.

Since the agency’s new customer experience plan, the IRS has launched its free online direct file, received 1 million documents through the document upload tool, and saw a 30% increase in the use of the “Where’s My Refund” tool. Additionally, it has received more than 70,000 submissions of mobile-friendly, non-tax forms since September, according to a Thursday press release.

“This filing season, we answered over 1 million more phone calls than we did last year, and we’ve reduced the average call wait time from 28 minutes in 2022 to an average of three minutes this year,” Torres said.

The plan came after the agency was granted nearly $80 billion through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to transform taxpayer services and update aging technology. Agency tech leaders have consistently cited wanting taxpayers to feel confident using the IRS website and other features in its modernization efforts and increasing push to self-service channels.

“The way in which online services at large is so deeply entwined to the various initiatives that come out of IRA, it really gives us a foothold … if we’re not offering those digital service options to taxpayers if they can’t do these things digitally, we’re not realizing the promise of IRA to meet those objectives,” said IRS Chief of User Experience and Design Brandon Szabo.

Szabo added the agency wants taxpayers to feel confident using the IRS website and other features, rather than frustrated while waiting on the phone or in an office.

“We need to understand that when people are trying to complete these transactions, if your confusion and anxiety is compounded by not being able to find what you need, when you need it or not knowing how to resolve this, not being able to reach somebody who can support you in handling the issue that you’re trying to handle — that’s a real burden on the taxpayer,” said Szabo.