The organizational workforce strategy is an essential aspect of every workplace as it determines the short-term and long-term staff characteristics needed in the firm. In the case of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the performance of the organization depends on its employees meeting the goals and objectives of the organization, which includes enforcing tax laws at the federal level and ensuring integrity standards are upheld by staff in all the practices. It is the responsibility of the staff to uphold and maintain integrity in the organization, which is made possible through perfecting various organizational assessment areas. Some of the areas of assessments include the organizational strategy, style, staff, skills and the shared values between workers in a particular organization. The report explores how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) upholds the workforce organizational strategies to achieve the organisation’s objectives.
Strategy
The Internal Revenue Service has adopted a new strategy to increase the amount of taxes collected by reducing the number of unfiled taxes among the citizens. The organization has developed numerous ways by which the local citizens can be assisted while doing the taxation. The assistance strategy developed simplifies the process of paying taxes from the tedious queues and complicated online processes. Efficiency has been improved through the streamlining of processes by utilization of the new technological advancements toward achieving the objectives of the IRS. Taxpayer compliance has been improved through the offering of relief to both individuals and companies that are struggling to meet their tax obligations and therefore encouraging more people and businesses to pay their taxes (IRS Mission and Organizational Structure: Internal Revenue Service).
The workforce has been trained and is taken to workshops and seminars that teach them on dealing with customers to create a conducive and positive environment that encourages people to pay their taxes. The refresher training exposes the workers to the changing needs and environment, which prepares them to meet the objectives of the IRS of improving tax collection. However, with the introduction of Covid 19 and the increase in online and hybrid work, the workforce strategy has transformed from the initial in-person transaction to online interaction and customer self-service (Hou et al., 191).
Style
The leadership style that is most common in the Internal Revenue Service is participative leadership, where all the employees take part in the decision-making by voicing their views to their supervisors and superiors, which is later used in decisions. All IRS employees are required to make split-second decisions within their jurisdiction areas, and these valuable decisions help drive the organization forward. The participative leadership style is the most appropriate in the IRS environment in that the top management will need help grasping the customers’ specific needs. Therefore, by all employees participating, decisions are more likely to be evidence-based.
Staff
The Internal Revenue Service needs more staff members to handle the firm’s mandate. The lack of enough staff can be attributed to the layoffs during the Covid-19 pandemic and the country’s increasing need for revenue collection. As per a 2022 report, the IRS needed over 80,000 more staff members to function correctly and thus indicating a considerable shortage. There is a plan to fix the staff shortage as the IRS is planning to hire over 20,000 more staff within the next two years, and this will reduce the existing deficit. The government have allocated over $80 billion to be used in staffing to optimize the collection of revenue (Ermey).
Skills
With the increasing need for digitization, the IRS leadership has focused on training the existing staff and hiring new staff who understand digital device use. The leadership is focused on creating safe and secure platforms for taxpayers so they can self-serve and finish their endeavours as fast as possible. The competency required in the organization is adapting to new technological changes quickly and working without affecting the output. The requisite competencies of ICT use are well represented among the staff members. However, there is a need for continuous training in cases where technological changes are bound to occur, which may affect revenue collection (IRS Mission and Organizational Structure: Internal Revenue Service).
Shared Values
Integrity is the most essential virtue that the Internal Revenue Service staff members need. The employees at the IRS meet the requisite levels of integrity as the work heavily relies on truthfulness and public trust that can only be upheld when the staff respects and values the organization’s goals of openness and integrity (Ermey). The staff working at IRS have been trained and are taking to periodic assessments and learning that often remind them of the main objective of their organization. Teamwork and collaboration is also another vital aspect learnt by IRS employees. Since the organization is vast and has an important mandate, the staff have adapted to functioning as a team and coordinating with other departments and players to achieve their obligation.
With the introduction of a hybrid model, the revenue collection system has made it easier for employees of the IRS to meet the expected value standards. Automation reduces the instances where the integrity of the workers can be compromised, and thus, the values of the organization, like ensuring integrity is maintained, are upheld. The shift to an automated revenue system has boosted people’s confidence in the Internal Revenue Service, thus increasing employee morale (Ermey).
In summary, the Internal Revenue Service has a working workplace strategy that focuses on delivery to the clients through strategies that leads to efficiency; employees are also skilled in the required aspects of new technology. The shared values of the IRS also ensure that all the employees comply with the standards and form a framework that directs the behaviour of everyone in the organization. The participatory leadership style at the Internal Revenue Service is also very practical, given the nature of the organization. Therefore, the decision-makers may need more information to make informed decisions. However, participatory leadership keeps them in the loop for all the relevant decisions that affect the company.
References
Ermey, R. (2022). Don’t worry, the IRS isn’t hiring an “army” of auditors-here’s what’s really happening. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/31/irs-is-not-hiring-an-army-of-auditors-whats-really-happening.html
Hou, H., Remøy, H., Jylhä, T., & Vande Putte, H. (2021). A study on office workplace modification during the covid-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, 23(3), 186–202. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcre-10-2020-0051
IRS mission and Organizational Structure: Internal Revenue Service. 1.1.1 IRS Mission and Organizational Structure | Internal Revenue Service. (n.d.). https://www.irs.gov/irm/part1/irm_01-001-001#:~:text=The%20IRS%20mission%3A,integrity%20and%20fairness%20to%20all.
McCord, P. (2018). Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility. United States:Silicon Guild.
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