IRS Human Resources Reform: Improving Customer Service
This paper examines the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as an organization in need of meaningful human resources reform, focusing specifically on improving the quality and frequency of positive customer interactions. Drawing on the landmark Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, the paper identifies systemic failures in IRS employee conduct and proposes a multi-pronged HR strategy. Recommendations include revising staff training content, recording and monitoring customer calls, broadening recruitment to include candidates with strong interpersonal skills, and implementing structured performance appraisal systems. The paper argues that proactive internal reform is preferable to federally mandated change and that a motivated, well-trained workforce will produce better outcomes for both the organization and the millions of Americans it serves annually.
- Introduction: The IRS and the Case for Change: IRS background and legislative reform context
- Why Improved Customer Relations Are Essential: Urgency of civil, ethical IRS customer service
- Proposed HR Solutions: Training and Monitoring: Staff training updates and call monitoring proposals
- Rethinking Recruitment and Workforce Diversity: Hiring candidates with stronger interpersonal skills
- HR Planning, Development, and Performance Appraisal: Performance appraisal, retention, and employee motivation
- Conclusion: Employee well-being linked to better service outcomes
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- It grounds its argument in a real legislative event — the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 — giving the policy recommendations historical and legal credibility.
- It moves logically from problem identification to concrete, actionable HR solutions, making the argument both descriptive and prescriptive.
- It applies standard HR concepts (recruitment, training, performance appraisal, retention) to a specific federal agency, demonstrating how theoretical frameworks translate to real organizational contexts.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper effectively uses applied policy analysis: it identifies an organizational deficiency, links it to documented evidence (Senate hearings and published law review scholarship), and then proposes a phased HR intervention. This technique — diagnosis, evidence, prescription — is characteristic of strong public administration and organizational behavior writing.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief contextual introduction establishing why the IRS matters to ordinary Americans. It then defines the specific change needed and explains its urgency. The middle sections develop concrete HR strategies, covering training reform, call monitoring, expanded recruitment criteria, and performance appraisal systems. The paper closes by connecting employee well-being and self-esteem to improved service outcomes, linking individual motivation to organizational effectiveness. Two academic sources are cited throughout in APA format.
Introduction: The IRS and the Case for Change
Tax season is upon Americans every year, and every working American knows that interactions with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are inevitable and often profoundly displeasing. Citizens may feel powerless against the institution of the IRS because it is a part of the federal government — as if they must accept poor treatment and that the organization will not be held accountable. That assumption is untrue. In 1998, a piece of legislation was passed in response to charges brought against the IRS by a Senate Finance Committee. This paper identifies the IRS as an organization ripe for change with regard to human resources. It proposes a specific change in the IRS and hypothesizes both the implications and the implementation of that change.
The change that needs to be made is improved quality and frequency of positive customer interactions. This change is necessary because the IRS is an organization with which millions of Americans interact annually. Participation in taxation is mandatory in America, with severe penalties for tax fraud and tax evasion. As an organization that serves millions of Americans from all walks of life, it is critical that interactions remain as professional and civil as possible, since taxation is a delicate issue for many. It is furthermore important that the IRS make this improvement proactively rather than waiting for federal mandate — as occurred in 1998, when the IRS was required to make significant changes to its human resources departments and procedures (Henning, 1999, p. 405). Representatives of the IRS admitted before a Senate hearing committee to gross violations of human resources codes regarding ethics and morality, both internally and in dealings with customers (Henning, 1999).
Why Improved Customer Relations Are Essential
The IRS is responsible for the acquisition and management of every American's tax returns each year, as well as significant quantities of funds and other financial collateral. It is therefore critical that an organization bearing such enormous responsibility — and in direct contact with most of the domestic population — be consistently courteous, ethical, and professional in conducting its business. The IRS is part of the federal government and is, by definition, an institution of civil service. Antagonism and civil service are counterintuitive to one another. It is illogical for civil servants to be hostile; those who cannot conduct themselves appropriately should consider a different field.
If improvements are not made in customer relations, the consequences could be severe. Staff could be dismissed; there could be significant restructuring of the organizational hierarchy; and the public could revolt. Americans have a well-documented history of rebelling over taxation issues. The stakes for meaningful reform are, therefore, both institutional and political.
Proposed HR Solutions: Training and Monitoring
The IRS has clear options when addressing this issue. First and foremost, the IRS needs to modify the training content and procedures for its workforce. Educating the workforce makes employees at least partially responsible for the change in service culture. When all staff members have been trained under the same standards, no individual can claim ignorance of the policies, procedures, or penalties associated with inappropriate customer relations.
Many federal agencies claim or imply that calls between customers and staff are recorded, but verification is often unclear. These calls should not only be recorded — they should be actively monitored by the IRS's human resources department. When exemplary customer interactions occur, staff should be informed and recognized. When patterns of inappropriate behavior emerge, employees should be notified, retrained, and, where necessary, penalized. This kind of systematic oversight creates accountability and reinforces the behavioral standards the organization seeks to promote.
Conclusion
The Internal Revenue Service occupies a unique and powerful role in American civic life. Its reach extends to virtually every working American, and the quality of its customer interactions carries real consequences — for individuals, for public trust in government, and for the institution itself. As the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 demonstrated, external mandates for change are possible and politically viable. Proactive internal reform through modernized training, expanded recruitment, and structured performance appraisal offers the IRS a path toward lasting improvement. A sense of self-esteem can lead to compassion and contentment, both of which go a long way when dealing with anxious and/or irate Americans during tax season.
References
Henning, B. (1999). Reforming the IRS: The effectiveness of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998. Marquette Law Review, 82(405), 405–427.
Thompson, J. R. (2006). The federal civil service: The demise of an institution. Public Administration Review, 66(4), 496–503.
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.