Koskinen meets with Employee Organization LEADERS

Commissioner Koskinen met with the leaders of 11 Employee Organizations and Employee Resource Groups last month. The leaders presented their group's recommendations to improve engagement and inclusion in the workplace, taking into consideration the 2014 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey responses to question 55,"Managers/Supervisors/ Team leaders work well with employees of different backgrounds."

The list of recommendations included:

Improve training for managers on the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as other regulations and technology requirements for visually challenged employees.
Create a positive work environment that uses praise effectively to help boost morale.
Work to create a climate where creativity and imagination are fostered rather than shut down.
Create a cross-functional team to review inconsistencies in policies (approval of administrative time, lack of partnering between business units and manager's commitment on upward mobility) and develop an action plan to improve them.

At its core, question 55 is about how well the IRS practices inclusion in the workplace. Koskinen said, "We work better if we have a diverse workforce. Diversity and inclusion is important in the IRS. Every so often we need these organizations to remind and educate the entire agency that diversity and inclusion is a critical part of how our organization operates."

He expressed how helpful it was to have the groups come together with a common focus and make recommendations to improve engagement in the workforce. "I also encourage everyone to continue to give us feedback. For employees to be engaged, they need to feel valued, involved and listened to. We want to address any concerns employees may have," said Koskinen.

Susan Greer, Acting Executive Director, EDI, thanked the Commissioner and EO and ERG leaders for their active participation in the meeting and their recommendations. She said, "The EOs have greater leverage working together on the common themes that were shared. As I've always said, 'Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable.'" EDI will review all the recommendations and meeting minutes to identify IRS stakeholders and an action plan, and provide feedback to the EOs.

To read more about the meeting, the EO and ERG leaders' recommendations and the slideshow, visit EDI's Leaders Toolkit Web page.

Koskinen meets with Employee Organization LEADERS

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