Conner Using Students - TaxAdmin.org · call volumecall volume 400 000 450,000 500,000 call...
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MSATA 2012 Kevin M Conner MSATA 2012 Kevin M. Conner
Transcript of Conner Using Students - TaxAdmin.org · call volumecall volume 400 000 450,000 500,000 call...
MSATA 2012Kevin M Conner
MSATA 2012Kevin M. Conner
I t F I tImpetus For Improvements
• Director goal ‐ no busy signals on toll‐free taxpayer assistance p yphones
• Reduce queue time disparity during breaks/lunchesduring breaks/lunches
• Be cost effective
Types Of Calls
• Individual Income Tax• Sales TaxSales Tax• Withholding Income Tax
C I T• Corporate Income Tax
Call VolumeCall Volume
400 000450,000500,000
CALL ATTEMPTS AVERAGECALL ATTEMPTS
150,000200,000250,000300,000350,000400,000
CA
LLS
050,000
100,000,
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
MONTH
AT & T Busy SignalsAT & T Busy Signals
300,000
350,000
AT&T BUSY SIGNALSAT&T BUSY SIGNALS
100 000
150,000
200,000
250,000
,
CA
LLS
0
50,000
100,000
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
MONTH
ACD Busy SignalsACD Busy Signals
25 000
30,000
ACD BUSY SIGNALSACD BUSY SIGNALS
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
CA
LLS
0
5,000
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
MONTH
Average Queue TimeAverage Queue Time
12.0
AVERAGE QUEUE TIMEAVERAGE QUEUE TIME
6 0
8.0
10.0
TES
2.0
4.0
6.0
MIN
UT
0.0JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
MONTH
Average Level of Access
90.0%
AVERAGE LEVEL OF ACCESSAVERAGE LEVEL OF ACCESS
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
0.0%
0 0%
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
MONTH
Phone System li• 104 lines
• 58 ports for Interactive Voice Response (IVR) unitp
• Calls directed to employee groups • Calls directed to employee groups for individual income tax, sales tax and business/withholding tax and business/withholding income tax
Phone System StaffingPhone System Staffing
20
25
AVERAGE # OF REPS ON PHONEAVERAGE # OF REPS
10
15
20
REP
S
0
5
JAN FEB MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
MONTH
Ph S t St ffiPhone System Staffing
• Average number of representatives available to ptake calls – 22
• Average number of t ti th h representatives on the phones
taking calls – 16• Average number of call g
attempts in a year – 2.4 million
Phone System Staffing
• Call center staffed by Revenue Tax Specialists – union positionsTax Specialists union positions
C ll d f • College degree or seven years of direct tax experience
lifi ti t t k qualifications necessary to take Revenue Tax Specialist test
Phone System Staffing
• Retired employees utilized for 75 day period and only take day period and only take individual income tax calls
• Retired employees limited to 75 d k i d t i t i day work period to maintain pension benefits
Phone System Staffing
• Retired employees must complete their 75 day work complete their 75 day work within six month period (Januarythrough June)through June)
Queue Time vs. Average Number of Reps On Phones
Avg. # of Agents vs. Avg. Queue TimeM 2007
20 0
25.0May 2007
15.0
20.0
5.0
10.0
0.0
(8-8
:30)
(8:3
0-9)
(9-9
:30)
(9:3
0-10
)
(10-
10:3
0)
(10:
30-1
1)
(11-
11:3
0)
(11:
30-1
2)
(12-
12:3
0)
(12:
30-1
)
(1-1
:30)
(1:3
0-2)
(2-2
:30)
(2:3
0-3)
(3-3
:30)
(3:3
0-4)
(4-4
:30)
(4:3
0-5)
( ( ( ( ( AVG # OF AGENTS
AVG QUEUE TIME (MINS)
Problems IdentifiedProblems Identified
ll l h h d• Call volumes were highest during individual income tax (IIT) filing season
• Additional staff needed
• Better coverage needed during breaks and lunchesbreaks and lunches
P bl Id tifi dProblems Identified
• Call volumes in second half of year didn’t merit additional full time staff
• Couldn’t use traditional “temporary” Couldn t use traditional temporary non‐union employees
Addressing The Problem(s)Addressing The Problem(s)
• Finding supplemental staff during the IIT filing staff during the IIT filing season without violating the union contractthe union contract
• Finding supplemental staff during breaks & staff during breaks & lunchesC t ff ti l ti• Cost effective solutions
Options Pursued –Intermittent EmployeesIntermittent Employees
• Already utilized by Department of Labor
• Establish titles that will be used for discontinuous, recurrent work at the discontinuous, recurrent work at the Department not to exceed 1,500 cumulative regular work hours per cumulative regular work hours per employee in a fiscal year
Intermittent Employees
• Union positions
• Hired from same list as full time Revenue Tax Specialist TraineesRevenue Tax Specialist Trainees
• Trained on IIT, sales tax and withholding income tax
Intermittent Employees
• Scheduled for full time work January – April concurrent with IIT filing p gseason
• Remainder of the year work 10 ‐ 3 thereby providing coverage during thereby providing coverage during breaks and lunches during second half of calendar yearhalf of calendar year
Oth O ti P dOther Options Pursued
• “Temporary” employees can’t be used because job titles are “professional” with trainee titles lasting a year
• Requirements for Revenue Tax Specialist Trainee – college degree Specialist Trainee college degree and completion of test with satisfactory gradesatisfactory grade
Oth O ti P dOther Options Pursuedb l d h• Labor Relations determines that
Union contract permits seasonal ff ( d l lstaffing (75 day personnel previously
allowed)
• Provide additional seasonal assistance through University of Illinois ‐Springfield Applied Study Term p g pp y(AST) internships
Applied Study TermAST id d i ll • AST provides an academically sponsored learning experience that
i ll t d t t it t gives all students an opportunity to learn from the community about
d t k f i l lif everyday tasks, professional life, problems, and unmet needs. The
h i lf di t d process emphasizes self‐directed learning, providing extremely useful
t iti f t d topportunities for students
Applied Study Term• AST is a program in which
undergraduate juniors and seniors g jparticipate in an internship, with a concurrent class, to earn academic ,credit required for graduation
Applied Study TermApplied Study Term• Student interns are drawn from:
accounting, biology, business administration, chemistry, communication, computer science, criminal justice, economics, English, history, legal studies, liberal studies, management, management information systems, math, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology/anthropology and visual arts
Applied Study Term• AST interns must be engaged in g g
college level learning while on their internship. Interns must be gaining p g gprofessional experience.
Applied Study Term Criteria
To be considered a legitimate internship by the NACE definition, all p y ,the following criteria must be met:• The experience must be an extension of the
classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained i h l I b i l in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
Applied Study Term Criteria• The skills or knowledge learned must be
transferable to other employment settings.• The experience has a defined beginning and
end, and a job description with desired lifi iqualifications.
• There are clearly defined learning bj ti / l l t d t th f i l objectives/goals related to the professional
goals of the student’s academic coursework. [The AST class fulfills this requirement ][The AST class fulfills this requirement.]
Applied Study Term CriteriaApplied Study Term Criteria• There is supervision by a professional with • There is supervision by a professional with
expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the p gexperience. [The UIS Supervisor fulfills this requirement.]
• There is routine feedback by the experienced supervisor. [Provided by the Fi ld S i h l ]Field Supervisor at the placement.]
• There are resources, equipment, and f iliti id d b th h t l th t facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.
Applied Study Term Criteriad k l k h f h• Students must work 50 clock hours for each
credit hour they seek to earn and most students need either 3 or 6 credit hours students need either 3 or 6 credit hours. This means that most students will be working about 10 or 20 hours a week, o g about 0 o 0 ou s a ee ,minimum, at their internship.
• Students often reach an agreement with their employers to work more than the
i i b f h i d b th minimum number of hours required by the AST program.
Applied Study TermApplied Study Term• The university has a strong preference for its
AST interns to be paid.
M t id i t hi b d • Most paid internships are based on an hourly wage. $12 to $16 an hour is competitive for higher paid majors competitive for higher paid majors, minimum wage is competitive for others.
• In 2012, hourly wages paid to AST interns was $12 an hour; Revenue Tax Specialist T i id h i l f b Trainees are paid the equivalent of about $20 an hour plus benefits.
Applied Study TermApplied Study Term
l k d d l ll• Interns only take individual income tax calls
• Interns receive same individual income tax • Interns receive same individual income tax training as Revenue Tax Specialist Trainees
• Interns have six month period in which they can work (February – July)
AST R ltAST Results• Creates a win win situation for • Creates a win‐win situation for both Department of Revenue and iinterns
• Interns provide coverage during breaks and lunches of full time b ea s a d u c es o u t eemployees during IIT filing seasonseason
AST Results
• Interns gain valuable, real life experience with individual experience with individual income tax and dealing with customerscustomers
C ff i f dd i • Cost effective means of addressing problem
AST R ltAST Results
• Communication skills of interns are enhanced
• Work experience is great for • Work experience is great for resume of interns
• Some interns apply for Revenue Tax Specialist positions
AST Intern CommentsAST Intern Comments“I thought the experience was fantastic. I realized you can’t I thought the experience was fantastic. I realized you can t really let it bother you when people call in yelling.”
“This real life experience helped me much more than my college classes ever could.”
“Taxpayers are extremely difficult to deal with and the people h h h b f d l h h d l b bwho have the job of dealing with them on a daily basis are brave,
brave souls.”
“Overall this was a great experience I enjoyed learning the ins Overall, this was a great experience. I enjoyed learning the ins and outs of the department and income taxes. I feel doing tax work is something I can see myself doing in the future but the phone job is not really for me ”phone job is not really for me.
AST Intern CommentsAST Intern Comments
“The experience was fine. It made me realize I want to stay made me realize I want to stay in school as long as possible and that I don’t want to work with taxpayers for a living.”with taxpayers for a living.
AST Intern CommentsAST Intern Comments“Not only did I receive college credit for this internship it also was a great learning experience for me personally This was a great learning experience for me personally. This internship made me realize where my strengths and weaknesses lie and what I need to do to improve upon my weaknesses. When I started this internship I was very shy and timid and was When I started this internship I was very shy and timid and was absolutely terrified to get on the phones. I know the first couple weeks I was very shy and this came across to the taxpayers that I was not confident in the answers that I was giving. As the weeks g gwent on though I could tell that I was gaining more confidence and that my shyness over the phone was going away. I just want to personally thank you guys for giving me this opportunity and also for having faith in me that I would overcome my shyness.”
U Of St d tUse Of Students• Union filed grievance – advanced • Union filed grievance – advanced to fourth level but never pushed t bit tito arbitration
• Attempt to hire students who qualify to take Revenue Tax q ySpecialist Trainee test
AT & T Busy SignalsAT & T Busy Signals
350 000
AT&T BUSY SIGNALS
2011 AT&T BUSY SIGNALS
AVERAGE AT&T BUSY SIGNALS
250,000
300,000
350,000
S
100,000
150,000
200,000
CA
LLS
0
50,000
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
MONTH
ACD Busy Signals
ACD BUSY SIGNALS2011 ACD BUSY SIGNALS
AVERAGE ACD BUSY SIGNALS
20 000
25,000
30,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
CA
LLS
0
5,000
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
MONTH
Average Queue Time
AVERAGE QUEUE TIME
2011 AVERAGE QUEUE TIME
AVERAGE QUEUE TIME
10.0
12.0
4 0
6.0
8.0
MIN
UTE
S
0.0
2.0
4.0
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DECJAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
MONTH
Average Level of Access
120.0%
AVERAGE LEVEL OF ACCESS2011 AVERAGE LEVEL OF ACCESS
AVERAGE LEVEL OF ACCESS
80.0%
100.0%
%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
0.0%JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
MONTH
Queue Time vs. Average Number ofQueue Time vs. Average Number of Reps On Phones May 2007
# f Q
25.0
Avg. # of Agents vs. Avg. Queue TimeMay 2007
15.0
20.0
5 0
10.0
0.0
5.0
8:30
)
30-9
)
9:30
)
0-10
)
0:30
)
0-11
)
1:30
)
0-12
)
2:30
)
30-1
)
1:30
)
30-2
)
2:30
)
30-3
)
3:30
)
30-4
)
4:30
)
30-5
)
(8-
(8:
(9-
(9:3
(10-
1
(10:
3
(11-
1
(11:
3
(12-
1
(12: (1
-
(1:
(2-
(2:
(3-
(3:
(4-
(4:
AVG # OF AGENTS
AVG QUEUE TIME (MINS)
Queue Time vs. Average Number of gReps On Phones May 2011
Avg # of Agents vs Avg Queue Time
35
40
Avg. # of Agents vs. Avg. Queue TimeMay 2011
20
25
30
35
10
15
20
0
5
8-8:
30)
8:30
-9)
9-9:
30)
30-1
0)
10:3
0)
30-1
1)
11:3
0)
30-1
2)
12:3
0)
2:30
-1)
1-1:
30)
1:30
-2)
2-2:
30)
2:30
-3)
3-3:
30)
3:30
-4)
4-4:
30)
4:30
-5)
(8 (8 (9 (9:
(10-
(10:
(11-
(11:
(12- (1
2 (1 (1 (2 (2 (3 (3 (4 (4
AVG # of AGENTS AVG QUEUE TIME (MINS)
Questions?Questions?
