Education and training in the IRS today.

• Author: Izard, C. Douglass

IRS Efforts to Reengineer Training

Since 1986, the Service has conducted at least eight formal studies of its training function, organization, processes and priorities. Many of the recommendations in these studies were not implemented, for a variety of internal and external reasons; however, all resulted in the following conclusions and recommendations.

* The IRS must become a continuous learning organization in which ongoing employee skills development is recognized as crucial to achieving the Service's mission and business plan strategies.

* Education and training should be corporate assets and considered an investment.

* Involvement of the highest-ranking IRS executives is critical to the success of a Corporate Education system.

* Corporate Education should be elevated to a position of prestige in the Service hierarchy and participate as a full partner in all decisions affecting the education and training of IRS personnel.

* The Service's work force diversity should be evident in all Corporate Education decisions, products and services.

* All training is the ultimate responsibility of Corporate Education, through a macro-education system encompassing all aspects of training and continuing education--from initial orientation through the executive selection and development process.

* All training is based on desired competencies and skills, rather than on job services, position or organizational level.

Corporate Education

In 1994, the IRS responded to its organizational needs and concerns by establishing Corporate Education--essentially, a corporate university with special schools and institutes that support the Service's mission. Over the past decade, many practitioners and scholars have developed an evolving model of the corporate university; this model is well-supported by the body of knowledge related to adult education and continuing adult education programs. Key guidelines that have emerged as central to the success of training are now generally well-recognized, and include the following principles:

* Training starts with inculcating employees with an understanding of a company's values, culture and mission.

* Effective training is carefully tied to a business's strategic needs.

* Training must evolve from a one-time event to a continuous process of lifelong learning.

* State-of-the-art training extends beyond a corporation to include key constituencies in a company's customer/supply chain and beyond the traditional training delivery...