As the nation’s tax collector, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) isn’t a beloved institution for most of its constituents after all, no one enjoys filing their taxes. But when you add in the customer service challenges, from call center wait times measured in days – not hours – to tax refunds that take months to process, it’s no wonder that taxpayers are dissatisfied. However, the IRS has recently been investing in technologies to create not only a better customer experience but also a better working environment for their employees.
In a recent webinar hosted by GovCIO Karen Howard, Director of Online Services at the IRS, explained how their mission is to improve online accounts to increase security and help taxpayers to better meet their tax obligations. Howard described how the IRS is adopting a “customer-centric perspective” by identifying the problem that needs to be solved and then using user feedback and research methodologies to find the best solution.
Howard explained: “The underpinnings of a great technology solution is to really understand the user experience and to design the ultimate solution not in a way that reflects the current experience, but what you want the experience to be based on that user feedback.”
The IRS worked with Maximus to analyze data insights from customer surveys and determine the technology solutions that would best serve their customers’ needs. To better understand the current and future needs of the customer, the IRS analyzed customer behaviors, personas, and journey maps to validate which technology solutions to use and predict adoption and success rates.
As a result, the IRS deployed what Howard described as “the trifecta” of experience enhancing solutions, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) Machine Learning (ML), and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to streamline processes, anticipate customers’ needs, and improve overall experiences for both customers and employees.
In the webinar Elizabeth McCarthy, Senior Director Technology & Digitalization Lead at Maximus, explained how this technology can be used in partnership with human interaction to modernize the customer experience and improve productivity.
“RPA can really improve employee experience, not just taxpayer experience,” McCarthy explained. “Chat bots can be deployed to help navigate multiple windows that may be open at the same time, complete repetitive fields for every call someone takes, and analyze incoming emails [for] keywords to forward those emails to the appropriate recipient for a resolution. All of those things can save time, improve response times to the taxpayers, and improve the employee experience as well.”
The chatbots also provide valuable analytics and actionable insights for the IRS to improve its AI capabilities and modernization efforts. Howard noted that when an agency is modernizing the customer experience, they need to “[en]sure the technology is scalable and that you have the modern processes necessary to address customer needs, priorities, and pain points iteratively.”
McCarthy noted that a key point of the IRS success in modernizing the customer experience was that they instilled a sense of mission within their agency that created a positive culture of innovative thinking. “Technology is never going to have a finish line,” McCarthy explained. The IRS was successful because they focused on “finding the right solution, not the fastest solution.”
Rather than trying to solve their challenges with piecemeal solutions, the IRS took time to understand their customer’s needs and pain points to determine the best course of action for modernizing the customer experience. By doing this, they were able to deploy scalable solutions that addressed customer needs, enhanced workflows, and ensured the security of information, which is delivering a better customer experience to every taxpayer.
Learn more about modernizing the customer experience with technology solutions here.
