The IRS concluded that a low adoption was not worth the time spent by some 200 "coordinators" who reviewed suggestions. Image: AevanStock/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffAn inspector general report has questioned a decision by the IRS to end in 2021 an agency-wide employee suggestion program, saying that such a program “is a tool to promote employee engagement, improve employee morale, and in the long term, retain an adequate workforce to meet IRS workload demands.”
“IRS managers and executives should have a forum for employees to communicate their ideas and concerns and must have the willingness to listen to and engage with their employees,” it said, noting that in last year’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey report, only 63 percent of IRS employees felt encouraged to come up with new ideas and only 52 percent felt that the IRS was committed to providing the necessary resources to develop new ideas.
It said that in canceling the agency-wide program, which provided for cash awards to employees who made suggestions that were accepted, the IRS concluded that the low rate of adoption—about 2 percent of some 3,600 suggestions in the three prior years—was not worth the time spent by some 200 “coordinators” who reviewed them.
However, the IG said that in a closer look at 40 suggestions that were rejected, it found that 34 “were not properly evaluated”—for example being rejected because the suggesting employee did not project a potential cost saving, which the program did not require. “Program administrators lacked the training and expertise necessary to successfully conduct their job, which contributed to the ineffectiveness of the program. Additionally, the program lacked the support from leadership of the IRS business units in various respects,” it said.
Some IRS business units still have employee engagement forums but they “are not effective substitutes for the ESP in that they do not allow employees to submit their ideas or suggestions and to receive rewards for suggestions that are adopted,” it added.
It said management agreed with a recommendation to develop a new agency-wide employee feedback process after contacting comparable agencies with the highest levels of engagement and employee satisfaction for best practices in such programs.
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