The Policy Owner should complete Form 13764,e-help Customer Engagement Request Form, and send it to designated EPSS staff members.

EPSS will review the request and contact the business for a project planning meeting, usually within 10 business days. The meeting will serve as a forum to discuss help desk services, product details, resources, and expected delivery dates.

EPSS will develop a project plan that will detail tasks to be completed prior to the support start date.

An MOU will be prepared which outlines the business, training, and funding agreements between EPSS and the Policy Owner. The MOU must be approved before the EPSS support start date.

Check voice-mail – Check personal voice-mail for important messages. This is especially important at the beginning of the shift when employees may call in if they are unable to come to work.

Check e-mail– Check e-mail throughout the shift. You may wish to set Microsoft Outlook to notify you when messages are delivered.

Attend conference calls – Since the e-help Desk sites are in different locations around the country, conference calls are one of the primary means of communication. Attend calls promptly and submit agenda items when appropriate prior to the meeting.

Reply to items requiring a response – Items requiring a response may be received in meetings. Most frequently they are received by e-mail. Respond within the requested time frame, even if the response is "none," "NA," "no comment," or "negative."

Sign Online 5081 requests – Employees can request access to a system, have a profile unlocked, or a password reset through the Online 5081 system. When an employee makes a request, you will receive an e-mail notification. Signing these requests is a priority. For instance, if an employee is locked out of the EHSS system, the password must be reset through the Online 5081 system. Per IRM 3.42.7.4,Introduction to the e-help Support System (EHSS),Assistors are required to open an e-case for each telephone contact, so signing these requests promptly is the highest priority.

Maintain attendance roster – Attendance and leave usage should be recorded daily to help identify developing problems. When a problem is detected, counseling and documentation should be initiated.

Review e-cases/Monitor Telephone calls – Review and complete documentation for e-cases and telephone calls for each employee. You may wish to do some each day. Annotate information onto a weekly log. Use this information to track employees' performance. See IRM 1.4.18.6.4.1, Evaluative Call Monitoring.

Review and Share Centralized Quality Review System (CQRS) Defects – If you disagree with the defect charged, ensure your rebuttal is submitted no later than ten business days from the date that the call was reviewed by CQRS. If you agree with the defect, share the review with the employee. See IRM 1.4.18.6.4.3., Centralized Quality Review System (CQRS).

Monitor WebView – Use this tools to manage lunches, breaks, confirm the number of assistors on the telephone, and reassign staffing as needed. Communicate to management any obstacle that will prevent adherence to telephone schedule. See IRM 1.4.18.8.2.4, WebView.

Review Daily Aspect Reports – Use these tools to identify and address areas of concern, such as extended or frequent idle periods and excessive wrap times. See IRM 1.4.18.9.2, Aspect Reports.

Monitor EHSS – Monitor EHSS for open e-cases, ensure EHSS worklists, Leads worklists, and e-mail Response Management System (ERMS) items being assigned timely and issues elevated are being resolved. Respond to escalation e-mails in ERMS. See IRM 1.4.18.9.1, EHSS Reports, and See IRM 1.4.18.7.5, Monitoring the e-mail Response Management System (ERMS).

Counsel employees – Complete performance and conduct counseling as required. See IRM 1.4.18.6.3, Conduct Counseling, and See IRM 1.4.18.6.4, Performance Counseling.

Review Forecast Staffing Requirements – Review the forecast upon receipt and daily, if necessary, to ensure adherence. Inform your department manager of any obstacles that will prevent you from meeting the schedule such as scheduled meetings or training, or competing paper inventories.

Review Ultra Intelliquality Inbox – Review the Contact Recording Inbox to ensure that all employees appear in the list of team members and calls are populating for each employee.

Complete strength report– Give to the department manager timely; report any changes to staffing (i.e. details, furloughs, etc.).

Request any overtime or compensatory hours – The request needs to be made by the 2nd Tuesday of the pay period prior to the pay period the overtime or compensatory hours are needed.

Review and enter Form 3081, Employee Time Reports – Check all entries (functions, programs, time codes, hours and volumes) for each employee. From WebSETR (Single Entry Time Reporting), print the Employee Summary report the first Tuesday of the pay period (especially when there is a major change in staffing) to ensure that all employees are included. Check tours-of-duty (TOD) for accuracy. This allows you to detect errors and identify problems early so that there are no surprises when validating.

Validate employee time reports on SETR– Form 3081 must be checked, input, and final validation done by 10:00 a.m. Monday morning.

Perform Auto 2787 Overtime Reconciliation – Overtime, compensatory and holiday hours worked, must be requested, authorized and funds approved in advance on Form 2787, Authorization and Report of Overtime Worked. After it is worked, the Form 2787 report must be input and completed no later than Tuesday following the end of the pay period. Two complete and accurate copies of the report should be given to the department secretary. Keep one copy for your files. A separate report must be prepared for comp time worked. Be sure to use the correct authorization number for each report.

File Forms 3081– File employee time reports by individual employee name and Social Security Number (SSN). Store within the unit for one year; then send to the Operation's records coordinator.

Prepare annual evaluations – Annual ratings must be issued on a monthly basis between October and June. The due date is determined by the last digit of the employee's SSN. Develop a listing of all team employees based on their SSNs to ensure that no employee is omitted.

Consider employees for career ladder promotions – Employees in career ladder positions should be promoted in the first pay period after they become minimally eligible to be promoted and they are capable of satisfactorily performing at the next higher level. It is the manager's responsibility to track career ladder promotions and submit personnel actions timely. The Employee Resource Center (ERC) has a link to a Career Ladder Promotion Calculatorto help identify when the promotion is due. If there are questions about an employee’s eligibility date due to prior experience, temporary promotions, etc., the manager may submit an ERC ticket and request verification of eligibility. See National Agreement, Article 13, Section 8 at http://hco.web.irs.gov/lrer/negagree/natagree/index.html.

Prepare progress reviews – All employees must receive at least one progress review before the end of the rating cycle. See National Agreement, Article 12, Sections 4M and 9, at http://hco.web.irs.gov/lrer/negagree/natagree/index.html. Use data from e-case and telephone call reviews to complete documentation and share it with employees. A signed copy of the documentation should be placed in the Employee Performance File (EPF). Mail a copy of the documentation to employees who are in non-work status.

Correct personnel/payroll problems – Promptly address any employee concerns regarding personnel or payroll. Employees may initiate an inquiry themselves or contact you for assistance. Contacts (calls or online requests through OS GetServices) to the Employee Resource Center (ERC) should be diligently followed. Provide detailed information on the Service Ticket to better assist the Human Resources technician who will respond to your inquiry.

Direct Travel – The manager is responsible for directing travel, approving travel expense estimates, and the expenses incurred. Official travel must be consistent with the assignment and not for personal preference or convenience. Travel questions and concerns should be resolved prior to beginning a trip.

Submit release and return-to-duty schedules – When several employees are being released, prepare schedule as soon as possible and submit to the department secretary. Return-to-duty schedules cannot be input until the employee actually reports, but ensure they are prepared timely.

Request vacation schedules – Request vacation schedules from all employees. Annual leave requests made by seasonal employees are subject to the same considerations as requests made by other employees. However, requests may be denied if approval would cause a severe workload interruption. See IRM 1.4.18.6.2.1, Leave Scheduling Process, and the National Agreement, Article 32, Section 3C at http://hco.web.irs.gov/lrer/negagree/natagree/index.html.

Prepare for operational review – Your department manager will conduct an operational review some time during the year. He/she will look at your record keeping, review random EPF and drop file folders, and review your entire operation. Begin the season with all required forms completed, signed, and filed as required. Make sure you are consistently documenting performance and leave. Follow-up performance and leave letters when necessary.

Prepare commitments and self-assessments – At the beginning of the rating period you will need to prepare commitments. Keep a drop file of your achievements. Prepare a self-assessment based on the Performance Management System's (PMS) critical performance expectations for your mid-year and annual evaluations. Your department manager will provide guidance as needed.

Conduct Expectations Meeting – Meet with employees annually to share your expectations. All Service employees are subject to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Standards of Ethical Conduct. Document 12011, "Plain Talk about Ethics and Conduct," provides an overview of the most common conduct and ethical issues facing Service employees. A receipt for the expectations should be signed and placed in the employee's drop file, along with other conduct documentation. The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) should be notified of the meeting.

Assign employees to a performance plan – Give employees a copy of their performance plan (which includes the Retention Standard and Critical Job Elements) annually, usually in an Expectations Meeting. Ensure Form 6774, Receipt for Critical Job Elements and Retention Standard, is signed and kept in the employee's EPF. Meet individually with leads to communicate additional expectations for them. Provide training on managerial duties so that they can act for you in your absence. Keep a drop file of employees' accomplishments as you observe their performance.

Conduct Mandatory Employee Briefings – The IRS is using online delivery tools for six mandatory employee briefings: Information Management which includes Unauthorized Access (UNAX), Computer Security Awareness, and Privacy/Disclosure. The additional briefings are Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH), Ethics, and Safety and Health. Direct employees to complete the briefings accordingly. After all employees have completed the Ethics briefing, schedule a formal discussion. The traditional "in person" method of delivery for any of these briefings is considered a formal meeting and managers must follow the procedures in the National Agreement, Article 8, Section 1. Contact your local Labor Relations specialist on any questions concerning formal discussions. See National Agreement at http://hco.web.irs.gov/lrer/negagree/natagree/index.html

Provide employees with a yearly calendar identifying workload peaks when leave should be limited.

If using a yearly calendar, request that employees submit completed calendars no later than February 1st.

If using a quarterly calendar (January – March, April – June, July – September, October – December), provide the calendar at least 3 weeks prior to the beginning of each quarter and request that employees submit completed calendars within 2 weeks.

Consider atypical conditions on a case-by-case basis no matter which method is used.

Ask seasonal employees to submit leave requests within 5 workdaysof return to duty status.

Limit approval to no more than 25% off on any given day (the percentage may change during peak periods).

Leave Reminders – After recognizing that a problem exists, bring the problem to the employee's attention in an informal discussion. Use a memo to ensure that the employee understands your expectations. Explain the reason for the expectations as well. Encourage the employee to participate in developing a solution to the problem.

Memorandum for the Record – If satisfactory improvement is not made, counsel the employee again. Reiterate your expectations and explain how the employee is not in compliance.

Leave Restrictions – If the problem continues, discuss the situation with your department manager and contact your Labor Relations specialist for guidance. A "Leave Restriction" letter may be necessary.

Monitor each employee a minimum of two (2) complete calls each month.

Review documentation in appropriate systems (e.g., e-case documentation in EHSS) at the same time.

Develop a monthly schedule that lists all employees and the date their reviews will be conducted.

Annotate the reason on the schedule if unable to complete the required number of reviews.

Retain and file review sheets in each employee's contact monitoring folder for operational reviews by department managers.

Under "Data Range," select the dates or number of days to be searched.

Under the "Contact Data Section" go to the "StopOnDemand" box, and highlight StopOnDemand.

Under "Site," select the desired site.

Click on Search.

Managers will receive a spreadsheet showing all calls reviewed by CQRS reviewers. If a manager disagrees with a defect, they should complete the attached rebuttal sheet and adhere to the due dates provided in the e-mail with the daily DCIs from Policy and Training. This will ensure rebuttals are received in CQRS timely. More guidance regarding rebuttals to CQRS can be found in IRM 21.10.1.8.1, CQRS Defect Rebuttal Procedures.

If the manager agrees with the defect, they should share the review (good or bad) with the employee. When sharing reviews with employees it is a good idea to have the e-help Phones Quality Job Aid available. The e-help Phones job aid can be found on this link http://eq.web.irs.gov/qualityJobAids.htm.

Submit an initial training schedule to Policy & Training (PT) Analyst by August 1st.

Notify PT Analyst of any and all changes to the initial training schedule at least 1 week before the proposed change.

Maintain a record of student rosters of all classroom training.

Verify that all required courses are listed as completed in their employees’ training history on the Enterprise Learning Management System (ELMS).

If your site is not listed, you did not have any training scheduled for the month.

Ensure that the information reported is accurate (i.e., training dates, training hours spent, number of employees trained, and type of employee trained).

Submit new training dates for all courses that are in "incomplete" status.

e-help Support System (EHSS) – EHSS uses the PeopleSoft Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Support Version 8.8 Application as the tool for customer interaction and ticketing.

Aspect Telephone System – The delivery of calls to the e-help Desk is done using the Aspect Telephone System.

Control-D/WebAccess Server - This system accesses reports via the Internet. It uses your Web browser to view reports using viewers, filters, and indexing capabilities.

Electronic Management System (EMS) – EMS provides protocol translation, telecommunication structure, security, and data management support for electronic commerce, including e-filing of tax returns.

ELF 15 Automated Reporting System (EARS) – EARS is a report repository used by e-help Desk managers. EARS receives and stores data FTP'd from ELF15, PAT15, ETD68 and PAT 68 Unisys runs (electronic filing) and displays data in a report format to a user's workstation (IMF only).

Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS) – IDRS is Real Time processing that uses various Command Codes, and daily, weekly, and periodic support processing for various systems (e.g., Centralized Authorization File (CAF), Fact of Filing (FOF)).

Tax Return Data Base (TRDB) – TRDB contains tax return source information for electronically filed tax returns. It also contains electronically filed tax forms. It is the legal repository for all electronically filed returns for Tax Year 1998 and beyond. Beginning with Tax Year 2002, it also contains transcribed portions of paper returns. Returns filed through the Modernized e-file (MeF) system may not show on TRDB and are accessed through EUP.

Third Party Data Store (TPDS) – TPDS is used to record and monitor the information about electronic return originators, transmitters, software developers, and Intermediate Service Providers, who have applied to participate in e-file.

Employee User Portal (EUP) – The EUP supports an Intranet portal that allows IRS employees to access business applications and data (e.g. Integrated Financial Services (IFS), e-services, MeF, and Customer Account Data Engine - Individual (CADE-I) in the future). Employees registration and authentication is required, which is supported by Enterprise Directory and Authentication Service (EDAS). The EUP consists of Web and Web Application Server platforms and Firewall/Load Balancer equipment. The EUP communicates with back-end Application systems (modernization and legacy) via Application Message and Data Access Service (AMDAS). The EUP infrastructure is located at MCC.

Transmitter Control Database (TCB)– The TCB contains data for transmitters/payers of information returns filed magnetically or electronically.