United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-01-30 monographic deposited born digital 41 p. GA 1.13:GAO-01-144 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-144 P0b002ee18037a1eb f:d01144 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-144 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-144 GAO-01-144 Customer service Personnel management Telephone Human resources utilization Performance measures Strategic planning Private sector practices Letter Report Each year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determines the staffing level for its toll-free telephone customer service operations. GAO found that the IRS lacks a long-term telephone customer service goal that reflects the needs of taxpayers and the costs and benefits of meeting that goal. Rather, IRS annually determines the level of funding it will seek for its customer service workforce, using its judgment of how to best balance service and compliance activities. IRS then calculates the level of service that funding levels will provide. This approach is inconsistent with the Government Performance and Results Act and the practice of selected public and private call centers that field questions. IRS recognizes the shortcomings of its personnel management and will include performance measures and goals in its 2002 strategic plan. According to IRS officials, IRS also faces challenges in recruiting, training, retaining, and scheduling customer service representatives. IRS is developing a strategy to address each of these issues. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-144/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-144.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-144/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-144.pdf GAO-01-144 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-144 Letter Report GAO-01-144; IRS Telephone Assistance: Opportunities to Improve Human; Customer service Personnel management Telephone Human resources utilization Performance measures Strategic planning Private sector practices