Department of Taxation Compliance Kaizen Event

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Department of TaxationCompliance Kaizen Event

• Compliance Pioneers going where no one has gone
  before

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Team Members

• Glen Sgobbo
• Bonita Davenport
• Lori Snowden
• Rodney Richberg
• Joanne Burke
• Tony Mayo
• Ella Battle
• Marina King

• Joe Hammond
• Dan Gayman
• Dianna Santo
• Don Starr
• Mike Lucid
• Facilitators
• Cathy Herron
• Steve Wall

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Why Compliance for a Kaizen?

• There is a concern from the taxpayers, senior
  leadership, and the tax practitioners regarding
  the timeliness of response to correspondence.
• Response to ALERT suggestions from the Employee
  and Stakeholder Feedback Program
• Strategic Importance
• To improve services to the taxpaying public
  based on the Tax Commissioner's Flexible
  Performance Agreement - Part II, section B, 2.

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What is the scope of our Kaizen event?

• The process from when correspondence is received
  by Compliance Support to resolution of the issue
  by the Compliance Agent.

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Out of Scope

• Mail room process
• New/additional staff
• Additional money
• Changes to Federal/State Regulations

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Objectives

• To reduce the aging of taxpayer correspondence
• To reduce the cycle time of resolving issues

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Kaizen ??? Kai To Break? Zen For the Better
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Approach
Celebration and Results
Schedule 30, 60, and 90 day follow-ups
TEAM people who do the work customers outsider
s with no knowledge but fresh perspective
At the end of the event, each Kaizen team has
achieved dramatic operational improvements and
results that are implemented immediately.
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Identify and eliminate waste

• Defects and loop-backs
• Hand-offs
• Unnecessary processing
• Decisions in process
• Excess transportation
• Waiting

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Current State Flow Map
87 Steps, 25 Decisions, 10 Loop backs
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Biggest Delay
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Brainstormed Ideas for Improvement

• Customer unclear of what we need
• Customer unsure if we got their information
• Customer assumes we are going to bill them
• Customer unsure their bill has been resolved
• Agent unsure how to respond to customer
  correspondence
• Holding correspondences too long waiting for TP
  to respond (no Mr. Niceguy)
• Inventory organized by post-mark date only
• Make all TP correspondences available to ALL
  agents everywhere at any time
• More specific billing notices
• Standardize business rules
• Eliminate/modify the billing notice and go
  directly to assessment
• No sorting in 27 categories
• Add people to staging
• More specific notices
• Why accept incomplete returns
• Scan all documents

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Brainstorming cont.

• Account not put on hold by agent
• Everyone has the same cheat sheet
• Correspondence distributed 1 audit type per
  agent and rotate monthly
• Let certain NRLs go straight to assessment
• Set up E-Fax check every day, agent t to give the
  E-fax when calling the taxpayer
• Change guidelines on assessment penalties if it
  goes to assessment increase to 50
• Get rid of silos in compliance/ cross train
  agents
• Deal with special cases differently
• Need access to DATS
• Raise price of Vendors license
• Create dedicated compliance database like
  spectrum
• Benchmark production standards
• Change Compliance area physical layout
• E-Fax on correspondence
• Agents dedicated to certified assessments
• Identify all the issues in one notice
• Standardize wait period for billing
• Organize work areas/work flow

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New Process Ideas
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New Desk File Room set up

• Correspondence visible no drawer philosophy
• 6 Sorts for File room
• Minimum Work Flow baskets
• In box
• Completed work
• Billing complete agent file
• Assessment complete file room
• Pending - not complete

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The New Process
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Before
After
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What are the main changes to the process

• Eliminate silos for work Two teams now for PIT
  Business
• Eliminate excessive use of holds let the account
  move through the collection process
• Empower Agents to manage their work collectively
  as a team- They will request/pull the work from
  support staff, copy supervisor on request
• Provide a more informative Billing Notice to get
  what we need the first time.
• Provide cross training for all compliance agents
  supervisors
• Reduce 27 sorts to 6

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Results
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Benefits of the New Process

• Prompt response to taxpayers correspondence
• Reduction in touching the same piece of paper
  more than once
• Potential reduction of assessments due to clearer
  billing notices
• Variety of work for agents
• Improve agent skill sets
• More efficient Compliance Division

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Implementation Schedule
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Lessons Learned

• There is no process big enough that can not be
  handled by a Kaizen event.
• Open to new ideas
• Let go of the control
• Think outside of the box
• Let go of the old
• Let go of the way we have always done it
• Trust the process/facilitators
• Duplication can be eliminated
• Focus on what is value added for the customer
• We can learn from each team member
• You dont have to do the job to contribute to a
  Kaizen
• Always ask why
• Always ask why
• Always ask why not?
• You can make the process better
• Always room for improvement
• You may gain 5 pounds due to Kaizen
• There are a range of emotions
• Kaizen can be six days Dianna needs therapy

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So you think you might want to be on a Kaizen
event team?
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Special Thanks

• Governor Strickland
• Jan Allen
• Tax Commissioner Levin
• Rick Anthony
• Mark Walker
• Becky Smith
• Ken Guttman
• Dolly Adams
• Crystal Young
• Sally Wood
• Karen Jones
• Paula Pontious

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What Questions do you have?