U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Transforming the Notice Processing Operating Model
The Challenge
IRS Notice Processing operated through a team structure that created significant handoffs, fragmented ownership of work, and activities that did not directly contribute value to the customer.
Work frequently moved between specialized teams before it could be completed. These dependencies slowed delivery, made it harder to see where work was getting stuck, and limited the organization's ability to increase production simply by asking individual teams to work faster.
The opportunity was bigger than improving individual processes. The operating model itself needed to change.
What We Did
We examined how work moved through Notice Processing from beginning to end, focusing on the value being delivered rather than the existing organizational structure.
Using that perspective, we redesigned the team architecture around the flow of customer value.
- Created more cross-functional teams capable of completing work with fewer external dependencies.
- Reduced unnecessary handoffs between teams.
- Organized teams around the value delivered to customers rather than individual functions.
- Identified and eliminated non-value-added work.
- Improved ownership of work from intake through completion.
- Created a stronger foundation for continuously identifying and addressing constraints to flow.
Rather than optimizing individual teams in isolation, the redesign focused on improving the performance of the entire system.
The Impact
The redesigned operating model produced significant improvements in both throughput and speed.
200%+
Increase in Production Rate
54%
Decrease in Lead Time
By changing how teams were organized and how work flowed between them, IRS Notice Processing was able to substantially increase production while simultaneously reducing the amount of time required to move work through the system.
The engagement demonstrated that significant performance improvements don't always require adding more people or technology. Sometimes the greatest opportunity comes from redesigning the system in which people already work.
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