WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is taking steps to reduce the amount of

time required to hire new employees, according to a report publicly released today by the

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

At the IRS's request, TIGTA reviewed whether the IRS has developed an adequate system to

monitor and improve the timeliness of hiring new employees.

TIGTA found that the IRS had taken action to speed the hiring process through system

improvements and the use of hiring timeline tools and had created appropriate performance goals

and measures.

According to the report, the IRS has simplified important parts of the hiring process by

eliminating time-consuming manual steps and sending automated e-mails reminding managers of

upcoming deadlines. For example, potential employees can now make appointments to have their

fingerprints taken at a local IRS or other Federal Government facility, instead of having local law

enforcement take their fingerprints and mailing or delivering them to the IRS for processing.

While improvements have been made, TIGTA determined hiring timeline tools (such as timeline

calculators and follow-up e-mail reminders to hiring managers) were not used in all Human

Capital Office Employment Operations offices to fully achieve their benefits. A timeline

calculator generates critical dates for planning hiring steps so managers would know when

individual steps in the hiring process need to be completed.

"Like many Federal agencies, the Internal Revenue Service is faced with the major human

capital challenge of replacing a large number of employees who are expected to retire or leave

for other jobs over the next several years," said J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for

Tax Administration. "As long as their efforts are accompanied by due diligence, the IRS is

moving in the right direction by taking steps to reduce the amount of time necessary to fill

vacancies," George added.

TIGTA recommended that the IRS Human Capital Office complete programming for web-based

status reports and provide guidance to ensure that its branch offices understand the use and

benefits of tools developed to speed up the hiring process. IRS officials agreed and stated that

they have taken action on TIGTA's recommendation to complete programming for web-based reports. They further said they will issue guidance to all employment offices on when hiring

timeline tools should be used.