United States: Evolving toward Next-Level Taxpayer Service. Accenture Digital Taxpayers Research and Insights

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Frederica Burke
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1 United States: Evolving toward Next-Level Taxpayer Service Accenture Digital Taxpayers Research and Insights

2 In its second year, Accenture s Digital Taxpayers Research focuses on how revenue agencies are taking the taxpayer experience to the next level. Analysis of the United States results has identified opportunities for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to match the needs of digitalminded taxpayers, while expanding access to services, reducing operating costs, and realizing incremental gains in voluntary compliance. 2

Citizens want to interact with revenue agencies via digital channels, but they are not satisfied with the speed, ease of use, or range of services available today.

3 Citizens want to interact with revenue agencies via digital channels, but they are not satisfied with the speed, ease of use, or range of services available today. This is a global trend that Accenture has identified through surveying taxpayers over the past two years. 75% express an interest in using digital services Change is under way, however. Advances in digital technologies are creating many opportunities for revenue agencies to provide the simplicity, speed, and personalized experience that taxpayers are looking for. In the United States, three key trends emerge from analyzing the views of taxpayers, clearly signaling the next steps on the IRS s path to digital transformation. 1. Taxpayers of all demographics desire a digital taxpayer experience that is personalized to their needs. 2. Taxpayers desire an omnichannel customer service experience, where they are able to consistently and seamlessly move between traditional and digital channels. 3. Taxpayers are accustomed to interacting with banks, tax preparers, and third-party software providers to manage their taxes. The opportunity exists for the IRS to further serve the taxpayer by expanding the scale of its customer service reach through the tax ecosystem. 3

4 1. Deliver a digital experience that is personalized to taxpayers' needs Taxpayers of all ages are ready to shift from traditional to other, more cost-efficient channels. Yet simply providing taxpayers with different channel options where they can access information is not enough. To achieve sustained high adoption of digital channels, the IRS can develop a delivery model that enables taxpayers to have a personalized customer experience providing a highly convenient service they can access at will through their preferred channels. Online and mobile services can also be used to better facilitate traditional channel delivery by providing more effective ways to schedule Taxpayer Assistance Center appointments and alert taxpayers when assistors are available through the display of phone and walk-in wait times. 72% want to go paper-free 60% want personalized updates 68% would be willing to pilot new online account services A Service Design approach enables the IRS to gain a deeper understanding of taxpayers needs before designing and building services. This is accomplished through the use of specific Design Research methodologies that involve direct input from the taxpayer. Service Design empowers the agency to truly become taxpayer-centric by taking an outside-in perspective during the process of designing and building services. By gaining clarity on taxpayers needs and preferences from the start, the IRS can tightly align its plans with service expectations. The introduction of digital services brings challenges, including driving taxpayer adoption and maintaining high customer satisfaction. It s not enough to simply offer digital services, the critical elements to high customer adoption include providing the right depth of information on the right channels, ensuring that the information presented is trustworthy and accurate, and providing ease of access and use. 4

59% of US respondents want to receive personalized information updates, such as reminders on due dates and legislative changes 41% who call the IRS have first tried and failed to find the information

5 59% of US respondents want to receive personalized information updates, such as reminders on due dates and legislative changes 41% who call the IRS have first tried and failed to find the information or service they needed on its website Content and systems should be tailored for digital consumption delivering relevant, simple, and helpful experiences for both the taxpayer and customer service agent. Integration of data and systems across customer service applications and platforms is essential, including internal CRM and knowledge management tools as well as external online, mobile, and social media channels. Differentiated customer care model: Customers who feel treated and cared for as individuals are more satisfied with their experience and this could boost taxpayer compliance. To deliver a differentiated, personalized experience, the IRS can look to define unique taxpayer segments based on who they are, what their query is, and their service preferences by combining the information from taxpayers channel usage, tax history, and social media activity. Effective search capabilities: Recent trends in search capabilities digitally assisted search, automated fill-in, and drill-down navigation of information on websites can make it easier for taxpayers to find what they are looking for. 5

6 2. Create a seamless omni-channel experience Enabled by technology, taxpayers expect to easily control and vary their routes within and across digital and traditional channels to suit their needs. By integrating these channels and making it easy for taxpayers to switch between them, the IRS has an opportunity to meet the speed expectations and service preferences of multiple taxpayer segments. Staff skillsets can also be upgraded in line with rapid digital advances to offer taxpayers new services. 90% of US citizens expect experiences and customer service to be as good or better than commercial 58% who have contacted the IRS by phone state a digital channel would be their first preference next time To ensure a seamless experience for the customer, consistent and integrated messaging on all channels and devices is critical. The IRS has an opportunity to strike the right balance between high customer satisfaction and cost to serve by funneling taxpayers to the right channel based on the complexity of their query. Fundamental to enabling a great omni-channel experience across all channels is the creation of a master customer record that provides an institutional memory of the customer. As taxpayers move between channels, there is a real-time update to the master record about the context of previous interactions. This data is integrated across channels to facilitate a single source of truth, empowering the next customer service agent (real or virtual) to provider better, faster, and more efficient delivery of service. 6

7 63% want greater transparency around the IRS s customer service standards, and 78 percent want real-time publishing of its current phone wait times and correspondence response times Analytics can be further infused into the culture of customer care. Gathering and consolidating data at each taxpayer interaction can help the IRS understand customer behaviors, driving a unified customer experience across channels and sustaining channel adoption. 40% are interested in question wizards that could lead them through difficult tax issues 34% are equally as interested in using a virtual agent as they are in having agent-assisted services over the phone help line A majority of customer service at IRS today is provided using mainly human or static responses, making limited use of automation and artificial intelligence smart platforms that learn over time. Intelligent learning platforms are increasingly being used through both online and phone virtual agents to enhance user search capabilities and answer simpler customer queries. This can reduce the demand being placed on live agents within the contact center. With emerging technology customer service becomes more accessible and cost-effective. 7

8 70% would like to ask questions through the use of live online chat while navigating the content of the IRS website Designating a Customer Care Executive is essential for delivering integrated services across multiple customer channels. This role is typically responsible for designing and implementing the omni-channel service delivery model and setting customer service standards and delivery performance metrics across channels. Customer service agents become multi-skilled problem solvers that handle complex situations and manage all channels and content. New workforce skills can deliver an improved customer experience. Such skills include the ability to move interactions seamlessly between channels, excellent written communication, and being able to communicate on digital channels in an informal, yet respectful tone. Contact center processes may need to be reengineered to provide agents with the agility to handle queries across multiple different contact channels. This includes rethinking how channel demand is managed, how the workforce is allocated, how customers are routed, how quality is monitored, and how employees are trained and evaluated. 8

3. Take full advantage of the tax ecosystem to gain scale The tax ecosystem represents an opportunity to create an endto-end experience across taxpayers, tax intermediaries (e.g., return preparers and third-party software providers), and information providers.

9 3. Take full advantage of the tax ecosystem to gain scale The tax ecosystem represents an opportunity to create an endto-end experience across taxpayers, tax intermediaries (e.g., return preparers and third-party software providers), and information providers. There are both human and technological resources the IRS can employ to create this seamless experience. 67% would be interested in using third parties such as return preparers, banks, or investment companies for taxrelated activities 62% use a tax intermediary for their personal and/ or business tax affairs. The main reasons cited were their lack of tax knowledge (65 percent) and fear of making a mistake (59 percent) Taxpayers who contacted the IRS six or more times in one year would like to see increased data sharing between the IRS and third parties if it simplifies tax filing and prevents errors Customer service extension: The IRS can extend its brand and enhance customer service by providing third parties with access to account-level information including refund status, payment status, and access to information return documents. Tax intermediaries can send notifications to their customers, easing the burden of taxpayers searching for this information or contacting the IRS to resolve issues or answer questions. 9

10 84% who frequently contact the IRS would be willing to allow the IRS to access their financial data 65% want to collaborate with other stakeholders of the tax ecosystem. The same number would like an online forum where taxpayers can post questions and get advice from other taxpayers, return preparers, or the IRS itself Integration of tax services within third-party software applications. By integrating tax reminders, useful content, and real-time withholding transactions within individual and small business accounting and tax software, the IRS can offer taxpayers an effective way to keep up with their taxable activities throughout the year, thereby reducing the compliance burden during tax filing season. Return preparer online forum: Through the use of a crowdsourcing service, the IRS could answer most non-confidential taxpayer requests and reduce the number of contacts requiring agent assistance. 63% are worried about identity theft and phishing The proliferation of data breaches is causing many to rethink identity trust and system access, including how a user s identity is proved, verified, and authenticated. The widespread use of the Reputational Proofing Model, which is based on using public or third-party personal data to prove an identity during system registration, is under scrutiny due to the high incidence of data compromise and social engineering involving personal data. The IRS should consider a public-private partnership identity proofing approach, where an Out of Band Claimant Proofing Model is used. Within this model, a user provides verifiable information to a trusted broker to prove identity. Once the trusted identity is proofed, multiple methods can then be used to establish, issue, and authenticate a user s unique credential for system access, including digital certificates, time-based passwords, and biometrics. 10

Knowing how to interact with taxpayers in the digital age, meeting taxpayer demands for new services, and integrating traditional and digital contact channels, are all key to evolving

11 Knowing how to interact with taxpayers in the digital age, meeting taxpayer demands for new services, and integrating traditional and digital contact channels, are all key to evolving taxpayer service. With the Future State Initiative, the IRS is undoubtedly on the right path it must now expedite the delivery of new services to deliver the next level in customer care. 11

12 About the research The Accenture Global Taxpayers Survey 2015 was conducted in June/July 2015 among 6,500 taxpayers aged 18+ who have contact with the national revenue agency in their country. The online survey was executed by Market Knowledge Online (MKO) in 12 countries: Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, U.K. and U.S. We surveyed 500 taxpayers in each country, apart from in the U.S. where the sample was 1,000. Respondents were surveyed in their local languages, with English used in Singapore. Respondents included employees, retirees, the selfemployed, and small business owners. Digital taxpayers: Taxpayers who had digital contact with their tax agency in the last 12 months. This could be only digital contact or a mix of digital and non-digital contact. Non-digital taxpayers: Taxpayers who have only used non-digital channels to interact with their tax agency in the last 12 months. Contact Vanessa Godshalk Managing Director Accenture Federal Services Keyatta Orlena Managing Director Accenture Federal Services Michael Kelly Senior Manager Accenture Digital Connect with us to learn more on delivering public service for the future on About Accenture Federal Services Accenture Federal Services is a U.S. company, with offices in Arlington, Va., and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture LLP. Accenture s federal business has served every cabinet-level department and 30 of the largest federal organizations with clients at defense, intelligence, public safety, civilian and military health organizations. About Accenture Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions underpinned by the world s largest delivery network Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately 373,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at Copyright 2016 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture

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