A11-20-15 Automated Collection System (ACS) Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Supporting Statement

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for Improving Customer Experience: OMB Circular A-11, Section 280 Implementation”

(OMB Control Number: 1545-2290)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Automated Collection System (ACS)Interactive Voice Response (IVR) – SOI Control #A11-20-15

PURPOSE OF COLLECTION: To identify what ACS Toll-Free staff and managers can do to improve customer service and taxpayer satisfaction.

TYPE OF ACTIVITY: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Research (Interview, Focus Groups)

[X] Customer Feedback Survey

[ ] User Testing

ACTIVITY DETAILS

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[X] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Who will you collect the information from?

Explain who will be interviewed and why the group is appropriate for the Federal program / service to connect with. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and if only a sample will be solicited for feedback, how you will select them(e.g., anyone who provided an email address to a call center rep, a representative sample of Veterans who received outpatient services in May 2019, do you have a list of customers to reach out to (e.g., a CRM database that has the contact information, intercept interviews at a particular field office?)

The ACS Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) survey is designed to measure taxpayers’ satisfaction with the service they received during a call in which they spoke with an ACS representative.

ACS is responsible for resolving Federal tax delinquencies that involve unpaid taxes and/or unfiled returns. ACS primarily interacts with taxpayers over the phone. Since ACS is empowered to take enforcement action to resolve delinquent accounts, many contacts are the result of taxpayers calling ACS in response to a proposed, or completed, enforcement action. Such actions can include issuing a notice of levy against a taxpayer’s property, wages, bank accounts or accounts receivable; or filing a notice of federal tax lien to secure the Government’s interest against the taxpayer’s property.

When taxpayers call, ACS employees attempt to secure enough information to resolve the tax issues. If the taxpayer does not provide all the required information, they may be instructed to follow up by mailing in documents or calling back at another time when the information is available. ACS employees must often walk a fine line in providing top-quality service to taxpayers while also fulfilling their responsibilities to resolve tax liabilities in an efficient and effective manner.

3. How will you ask a respondent to provide this information?

(e.g., after an application is submitted online, the final screen will present the opportunity to provide feedback by presenting a link to a feedback form / an actual feedback form)

The information is collected via an Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) survey after a taxpayer has participated in a phone call with the IRS.

4. What will the activity look like?

Describe the information collection activity – e.g. what happens when a person agrees to participate? Will facilitators or interviewers be used? What’s the format of the interview/focus group? If a survey, describe the overall survey layout/length/other details? If User Testing, what actions will you observe / how will you have respondents interact with a product you need feedback on?

Taxpayers who call in to the ACS telephone lines in response to notices mailed to them about their payment or filing delinquency are the potential population for the ACS survey. When taxpayers call the ACS telephone number, an IRS employee monitors the incoming calls that match the sampling pattern. Variables for selecting incoming call participants from the ACS line include hour of day, day of week, and time of year. At the end of each selected call, the IRS monitor notifies the IRS customer service representative that the call has been selected for inclusion in the survey. Taxpayers are asked if they would like to participate in a voluntary survey. Callers who agree to participate are transferred to the IRS monitor, who then transfers the customer into an automated survey. The survey takes approximately 6.25 minutes to complete.

5. Please provide your question list.

Include as an attachment the questions or prompts presented to participants in your activity. Make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

Attached [ACS SBSE QUESTIONNAIRE_082820]

6. When will the activity happen?

Describe the time frame or number of events that will occur (e.g., We will conduct focus groups on May 13,14,15, We plan to conduct customer intercept interviews over the course of the Summer at the field offices identified in response to #2 based on scheduling logistics concluding by Sept. 10^th, or “This survey will remain on our website in alignment with the timing of the overall clearance.”)

Upon approval from OMB/Privacy the new survey mandated by A-11 will be implemented. This survey will remain active in alignment with the timing of the overall clearance.

7. Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants?

[ ] Yes [X] No

If Yes, describe:

XXX

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden Hours
Individual Taxpayers (complete)	1308	6.25 min	136.25
Individual Taxpayers (partial)	6288	2.1 min	220.00
Totals			356.25

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collections are voluntary;

2. The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on considerations of total burden hours or burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents and the Federal Government;

3. The collections are non-controversial and do not raise issues of concern to other Federal agencies;

4. Any collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the near future;

5. Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained;

6. Information gathered is intended to be used for general service improvement and program management purposes; and,

7. Information gathered will only be shared publicly in the manner described in the umbrella clearance of this control number.

Name: _Kahoa J. Bonhomme/Robin Saunders________________

All instruments used to collect information must include:

OMB Control No. 1545-2290

Expiration Date: 07/31/2023

Sample PRA statement:

This report is authorized under the Paperwork Reduction Act.  The approval is OMB No: 1545-2290, expiration date 7/31/2023. Data collected will be shared with IRS staff, but your responses will be used for research and aggregate reporting purposes only and will not be used for other non-statistical or non-research purposes such as direct enforcement activities. The information that you provide will fully be protected as allowable under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 6.25 minutes. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Special Services Section, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:M:S, Room 6129, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20224.

HELP SHEET

(OMB Control Number: XXXX-XXXX)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the request. (e.g. Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)

PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.

CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.

Personally Identifiable Information: Agencies should only collect PII to the extent necessary, and they should only retain PII for the period of time that is necessary to achieve a specific objective.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following categories: (1) Individuals or Households;(2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected per row.

No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.

Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to participate (e.g. fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)

Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the participation time and divide by 60.

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