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IRS Boosts Workforce Amid Challenges

With significant backing from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) expanded its workforce by nearly 53,000 new employees during the fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

Of these new hires, approximately 33,800, or 64%, were brought on board within the agency’s target of 80 calendar days. However, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) scrutinized the remaining 36%, which represents close to 19,000 individuals, and identified several factors that contributed to the delays in hiring. These included difficulties with workload management, miscommunications within the agency, and challenges related to the IRS’s hiring management system, all of which hindered timely security checks.

The report highlighted that extended delays in hiring could jeopardize the IRS’s resources, as lengthy processes might lead applicants to pursue other job opportunities. Investigators noted, “Delays in the hiring process can put the IRS at risk of wasting resources due to losing prospective employees.”

In their analysis, TIGTA found that human resources specialists were taking an average of 44 days to review applications, which is 29 days longer than the agency’s target. Furthermore, officials responsible for candidate selection took an average of 28 days to return their recommendations to the Human Capital Office, exceeding their goal by 13 days. A key issue contributing to these delays appeared to be inadequate training for the staff involved in the hiring process.

The findings pointed out that many of the reference materials used by HR specialists were outdated; notably, the IRS hiring manual had not been revised since fiscal year 2010.

Among those hired later than the planned 80 days, a sample of 106 individuals was used for statistical analysis. Most of these candidates requiring security checks significantly outstripped the desired 10-day completion target, averaging a delay of 40 days. The time-consuming process of obtaining fingerprints from applicants was highlighted as a major contributing factor to this issue.

The investigation also revealed deficiencies in the IRS hiring management system. A considerable amount of data had to be entered manually by HR specialists, and the lack of unique identifiers for candidates with identical names added to the complications in processing applications.

In light of these findings, TIGTA made several recommendations for the IRS to implement:

• Create a strategic plan to enhance training, communication, and coordination between hiring representatives and HR specialists to lessen delays.
• Update reference materials related to the hiring process.
• Inform applicants about deadlines for the fingerprinting process.
• Request further automation improvements from the Office of Personnel Management for its hiring management system.

The IRS has acknowledged the findings and agreed to all recommendations, stating that steps are already being taken to address the highlighted issues.

As of the end of fiscal 2023, the IRS’s workforce totaled approximately 89,800 employees, representing an increase from around 80,200 in fiscal 2020. Nonetheless, this figure remains below the 94,300 employees recorded in fiscal 2010, indicating ongoing challenges in fully restoring the agency’s workforce strength.

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