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Service Excellence Tax Office
Regional Revenue Office 7, The Revenue Department of Thailand
Thailand

The Problem

Internal Problem

Regional Revenue Office 7 has a lot of revenue officers with highly skilled and experienced staff who are capable of performing their duty. However, the organization and hierarchy structure which create age gaps between officers combined with the culture within the organization of the Regional Revenue Office 7 that force revenue officers to work on their own. In addition, there is also a lack of communication among their peers or lack of integrated methods of administration that is vital to quality of service rendered whether in terms of output or duplication or quality of service itself.

Despite having the above quality, the staffs fail to adapt and apply their knowledge and skills to provide satisfactory service to taxpayers or pass on their own knowledge to other people at a satisfactory level. For instance, less experience officers who usually are front office officers cannot answer or not comfortable to answer questions related to laws or regulations that are often specific and complicated.

To improve the efficiency and quality of work in all revenue offices within Regional Revenue Office 7, the Director of Regional Revenue Office 7 initiated that, knowledge management (KM) practice should be applied. Less senior staff should work alongside the more experienced staff to allow staff at all levels to communicate and exchange ideas and experience. Thus, with good and experienced mentor, less experienced staff will be more comfortable in carrying out their duty as they will be working and trained on real life cases with assistance of the mentor. The idea of launching “Service Excellence Tax Office” project started to allow them work together and to improve efficiency and effective.

External Problem

The image of services provided by the revenue offices related to taxpayer service have been tarnished by the bad impression felt or perceived by taxpayers. This is due to the fact that, services take a long time to process and in Thai culture people still question whether why they should pay taxes. In almost all cases taxpayers will have to pay more taxes after the assessment and they do not get anything in return, hence leave bad impression to taxpayers. Moreover, there are problems of lack of consistency in taxpayers service which is often caused by the decision made by officers are different even though the questions or problems are similar. This often triggers complaints in inconsistency in service standards provided by the revenue officers.

The Regional Revenue Office 7 took up the initiative to launch project of “ Service Excellence Tax Office” for the citizens by developing and managing human resources to ensure that the staffs can adopt and apply their knowledge and experience to better serve taxpayers and be able to pass on their knowledge and experience to other people. The “Service Excellence Tax Office” project launched to improve the image of the revenue officers and re-brand Regional Revenue Department 7 services. 2009 announced as “year of awareness” that focused on Public Management Quality Awards (PMQA) and in 2010 set as “year of action” to launch the project “Service Excellence Tax Office”. These projects were initiated to ensure that, Revenue Department’s human resources are ready to use ICT to facilitate taxpayer service and able to apply their existing knowledge, skills and experience effectively in a real situation.

“2011 Year of Customer Satisfaction” the process to implant service culture by applying “SMILE-Revenue” service concept and maintain high level of service standard.

“2012 Year of Service Excellence”, continue to improve and maintain service standard by applying total quality management concept(TQM) until good service practice has been instilled and become culture of revenue officers.

Solution and Key Benefits

 What is the initiative about? (the solution)
Problem solving and success

In trying to solve the problems above have led to the initiative of improving the quality of output through the adaptation of PMQA which emphasized on personnel development and delivering of services to public, led to the initiation of “Service Excellence Tax Office” project. It is the continuous personnel development project which integrated the idea of Public Sector Management Quality Award (PMQA), shifting paradigm of civil services and the principle of customer relation management (CRM) in order to substantially improve the quality of service provision of revenue units by changing service provision from passive to proactive roles and delivering services that meet the demands of the general public through hands on human resource training which is based on real cases encountered by tax officers. This has led to the introduction of the project “Service Excellence Tax Office” (refer to as Project from now on). The Project attempts to continuously improve human resources through the application of PMQA.

In order to change customer’s perspective and to improve the quality of services delivered to taxpayers to ensure customer satisfaction. Regional Revenue Office 7 shall improve 3 aspects including the following priorities; 1) Modernization of the work place 2) Optimized use of IT 3) Focusing on customer centric.

In order to ensure service excellence, the Regional Revenue Office 7 implemented the following 5 approaches as follow:

1) Enhance professionalism of revenue workforces by emphasizing on knowledge management through surveying and gathering knowledge related to service receivers and stakeholders and searching for both explicit and tacit knowledge. In addition, community of practice shall be established by organizing training activities, meetings and workshops in order to create the body of knowledge and to pass on and exchange the obtained knowledge for collective learning in the most efficient manner.
2) Encourage the participation and mutual understanding among revenue workforces to determine the directions and create brand personality and work towards common goal throughout the organization. Help set future direction as well as maintain high service standard culture within the organization.
3) Develop quality workforces by building up distinctive teams of strong talented officers within the Regional Revenue Office 7 to improve and ensure that work procedures are suited with problems encountered.
4) Promote public participation by creating networks, organizing activities, receiving comments and recommendations, standardized premises and facilities and providing manuals for the general public.

5) Apply new technologies to the service provision by using latest technology to better serve taxpayers, Regional Revenue Office 7 not only provides hardcopy of handouts, leaflets and practical tax manual but it also provide electronic version of the above information sheets, automatic queuing system and create tax compasses for the purpose of personal income tax calculation
Achievements:

The improvement in efficiency and effectiveness helped us to successfully convinced our taxpayers that our new service standard have improved as officers becomes more customers oriented, thus, taxpayers perception towards the Revenue Offices have changed into a positive zone. In the perception of taxpayers, officers become more responsive to the needs of taxpayers.

Actors and Stakeholders

 Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
Initiator, supporters, stakeholders

Initiator: Ms. Pawana Tammasila, Director of Regional Revenue Office 7 who studied, identified and analyzed internal and external problems encountered by the Regional Offices and came up with solution to solve such problems by introducing “Service Excellence Tax Office” strategy to eradicate these issues.

Supporters: Revenue Officers under administration of Regional Revenue Office 7 These include officers of Area Revenue Office in 8 provinces of Lower North of Thailand which are Pitsanulok, Pijit, Tak, Sukhothai, Nakhon Sawan, Petchaboon, Uttaradit and Kampaengpetch.

Stakeholders: Taxpayers, other governmental organizations and the general public which adds up to approximately 428,000 persons under the supervision of Regional Revenue Office 7 which covers 8 provinces and 77 districts of Lower North of Thailand.

(a) Strategies

 Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
 a.      What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The objectives of “Service Excellence Tax Office” project were to;

1) Improve competency of revenue officers to ensure that each officers are able to use and adapt knowledge, experience and capability to better serve taxpayers, hence, ultimately become proficient service provider.
2) Apply knowledge management concept into practice for all work processes to transform the Revenue Offices into an organization of integrated learning.
3) Build up high service quality image for taxpayers by providing a warm friendly unique service experience to taxpayers that will reflect in the service quality of the Revenue Offices through the application of customer experience management (CEM) in every touch point.
Strategy used to implement “Service Excellence Tax Office” project;
1) Continuously and systematically integrate knowledge management concept via the application of Public Management Quality Awards (PMQA) in every level of work procedures. At the same time, establish community of practice (Cops) to exchange ideas and experience with the public through seminars organized by the Revenue Offices.
2) Adopt Customer Relation Management (CRM) into practice by;
- Arranging experienced staffs to design questionnaires, interview their actual needs get from the public, to be used for setting new direction and service standard accordingly.
- Launch the project and reassure the public of the Regional Revenue Office 7’s commitment in providing higher quality service.
3) Adopt staff participation principal by organizing activities that officers can actively participate such as;

- Publicize the project by encouraging workforces at all levels to join the contests which can be divided into 4 categories including slogans, poems, articles and logos with the purpose to create pride, raise awareness on unity, and enhance faith of the organization;

- Design the standard of service provision by organizing seminars for revenue workforces to share their ideas regarding the design of the standard of service provision to generate acceptance of new patterns of service provision among workforces;
- Create warm welcome unique personality that is distinctive to the Revenue offices by decoding “SMILE” Revenue concept.
S : Service Mind
M : Marvelous
I : Impress
L : Lively
E : Excellence
4) Utilize ICT to facilitate taxpayers services; electronic queuing system, tax compasses for easy calculation of personal income tax, communication through the intranet/internet, provide tax manuals, handouts and leaflets in both hard and soft copies and use other web technology to communicate and exchange information. In addition, the Regional Revenue Office 7 also produced simulation of short films to show the standard of service provision of maintaining the standard of service provision and encouraging personnel development through the use of web technology in communication and exchange of knowledge.

(b) Implementation

 b.      What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
Operational Procedures
Announce the budgeting year 2009 as “year of awareness ”and carry on the improvement in management of public services in accordance with PMQA guidelines in every steps of work procedures. Eight working processes in performing given responsible duties and expertise were improved. Prize-winning contests are organized to motivate the revenue workforces and prepare them for the next stage of personnel development.

Set the budgeting year 2010 as year of action by implementing the new service standard.
1. Preparation for 3 readies procedures
1.1 “Mind ready” Process
1.1.1 Service mindset training. This process has the purpose of developing potential and adjusting attitude of revenue workforces for excellent performance; as a result, all members of the revenue workforces have positive attitudes towards service provision and realize the significance of the delivery of good services to taxpayers.

1.1.2 Head of customer service involvement. This process is to create the participation of the executives in order to determine the directions of project implementation.

1.1.3 Workshop and design service standard. This process is to create the participation at the operational level by organizing activities for workforces under the revenue units to join the contests divided into 4 categories which are slogans, poems, articles and logos. These activities were used as tools for implementation and promotion of the project, and to create channels of participation through communication among workforces via Intranet.

1.2 “Team ready” Process
1.2.1 The executives cooperated with the revenue workforces to determine guidelines, construct a plan for project implementation and evaluate the satisfaction of taxpayers before adjusting the standard criteria and designing the standard of service provision, which is proper for the nature of each working process, as well as providing manuals for electronic service provision in order for the workforces of the revenue units to learn and develop the delivery of standardized services.

1.2.2 Prepare the premises for service provision by installing automatic queuing system and using tax compasses to facilitate personal income tax calculation.

1.3 “Personal ready“ Process
1.3.1 Encourage the revenue workforces to have good personality, well-taught manners and polite grooming which indicate the enthusiasm and willingness of the workforces to provide services and create impression to the general public.

1.3.2 Create “brand personality” in order for the general public to experience unique qualifications of local revenue officers at the Revenue Office, Regional Revenue Office 7, by decoding “SMILE-Revenue” leading to the culture of good service provision;

2. Implementation of Service Standard in order for the general public to see, touch and feel the determination of all revenue officers in carrying out their duties and delivering standardized services to the people; consequently, the revenue units shall be popular the public’s view. Therefore, the “Service Excellence Tax Office” is established at all local revenue offices within the Regional Revenue Office 7.

3. Evaluation and Development shall be carried out as follows;

3.1 Build up strong team of quality service provider

3.2 Follow up and evaluate the project after the launch

3.3 Improve customer service area

“2011 Year of Customer Satisfaction”, The process to implant service culture by applying “SMILE-Revenue” service concept and sustainable development will be implemented.

1. Improve service quality of all officers and set our goal towards the best service provider by providing professional service

2. Organize “Smile and knowledge” activities for the public to strengthen friendship and connections with stakeholders.

3. Arrange service standard improvement project contests and provide practical service standard manual

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

 c.      What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
Problems/Obstacles and Solutions

Problems/obstacles within the organization

After the launch of the “Service Excellence Tax Office” Project, there were still numbers of officers who did not understand the idea of “change” and were still reluctant to change and stick to former service culture.

Solution

1. Make every effort to change officer’s perception and try to instill these officers that customers are the most important (customer centric)

2. Provide practical manuals of service provision for standardization and implant service culture to workforces within the organization;

External problems/obstacles

Bad impression of previous service is still at the back of their mind, Some taxpayers do not know how much effort has been put into by the Regional Revenue Office 7 to improve such services.

Solution

1. Create a new dimension of practical and standardized service provision. The new image of “SMILE-Revenue” shall remove negative image as recognized by the public;

The principle of customer relation management (CRM) and enhancement of good relationship with the public shall be carried out, as follows

- Customer Relation Management: CRM

- Customer Satisfaction Survey Form;

- Service work blueprints;

- Standard role of service provision;

- Facilities;

- Tax knowledge and information;

- Obligations with taxpayers;

2. Create Brand Personality, to let the public experience the unique quality of service rendered by Regional Revenue Office 7 by applying “SMILE-Revenue” service concept.

(d) Use of Resources

 d.      What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
Resources used

The project used up 3 million baht or approximately $ 100,000 US in 2009 to deliver services to some 428,000 taxpayers and spent on training of 1000 officers and other services that include;
- Organize 12 workshops on taxpayers service
- Organize slogans, poems, articles and logos contest with 500 pieces of work submitted;

- Provide taxpayer service manual
- Launch the project and commit high service quality to the public in 8 provinces; the number of participants: approximately 5,000 people;
- Use ICT to facilitate taxpayer services and to communicate and exchange information both within and outside the organization;

Sustainability and Transferability

  Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
Continuity and Sustainability of the Project

1) Taxpayers survey are being carried out periodically to review their satisfaction level and feedback of their problems and needs to improve and tailor the quality of service to the need of the citizens.
2) Encourage officers to strictly follow taxpayers service standard and instill good service culture to the officers through public private partnership (PPP).
3) Encourage officers to innovate unique service standard though contests within and outside our department
Promotion of Project Achievements

1) The project was publicized on the Revenue Department’s website allowing every bureaus within the revenue department to learn about the initiative as well as apply and adapt the project to suit each Revenue Office.
2) Demonstrate the project at the head office of Revenue Department to facilitate knowledge sharing and exchange within organization
3) The project was publicized to the general public; consequently, the Regional Revenue Office 7 received good feedback and was invited to give lectures about the methods and idea of the project to various governmental organizations.
4) This project was received award from the Office of Public Sector Development Commission and later sent to compete at the Ministry of Finance.
5) Continue to organize publication activities about “Service Excellence Tax Office” both within the Revenue Department and to the public.

Lessons Learned

 What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
Expected Benefits
The “Service Excellence Tax Office” administration concept aims to create happiness for officers in Regional Revenue Office 7. The new interactive friendly working environment that allows staff to freely express their ideas, participate and stimulate them to be creative helped to create good atmosphere in the working environment. The Director of Regional Revenue Office 7 places great emphasis on transparency by the use of reliable and communication channel and human resources development through practical seminar to improve skills and experience of every staffs.
“Service Excellence Tax Office” is an administrative practice initiated by the Director of Regional Revenue Office 7 who brought about the change and standby to support in all aspects, for instance, budget, training apparatus, time and her knowledge. The new administration concentrates on good communication, planning, sharing knowledge, continued assistance and follow up which has led to the success of the project.
The small interactive group activities practice helped individuals to participate actively in expressing their thoughts and share it with their peers. It also encourage officers to think out of the box through the application of knowledge management which ultimately led to self improvement of officers in Regional Revenue Office 7 and the success of the project.
To ensure that the project will continue on the right track, the Regional Revenue Office 7 carried out surveys to gather feedback both internal and external problems. Assessments were made to follow up the overall satisfactory rate of stakeholders both prior to and after the launch of the project to ensure the long run success of the project and to help Regional Office to set goals, direction and strategy.
In summary, the project should be promoted to revenue units nationwide, as well as to other government agencies in order to adjust the attitude of the workforces, which reflects the vision, value and working philosophy of the organization. As a result, the project will gradually help the government workforces to change their attitude and personality, and ready to move toward the new era public service which focuses on customer centric allowing smart organization to be successful in the future.

Contact Information

Institution Name:   Regional Revenue Office 7, The Revenue Department of Thailand
Institution Type:   Government Agency  
Contact Person:   Pawana Thammasila
Title:   Director of Regional Revenue Office 7  
Telephone/ Fax:   +(66) 0 5524 2324
Institution's / Project's Website:   +(66) 0 5523 2545
E-mail:   secretary.region7@rd.go.th  
Address:   1/1 Singhawat Road
Postal Code:   65000
City:   Muang District
State/Province:   Phitsanulok
Country:   Thailand

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