Cored

It feels a little like Apple has just been cored. This morning, I don’t think I was alone in shedding a tear. The difference between a geek, a nerd, and everyone else, was probably actually how you felt this morning. Because you see, for the nerds among us, he was more than a genius, anRead… Read more »

Lauren Reid: Why I’m Coding for America.

First, let’s be clear, I’m not a coder. Not even close. I’m a some-time racquetball player, part-time marketer, and full-time activist. The later two being the reason why I joined up with Code for America. Ever since I realized that America, land of liberty, was an entirely preconceived notion — I’ve found myself pondering theRead… Read more »

Recruitment 411: Acknowledging Abilities of All Employees

Recruiting people with disabilities is an important part of our work at the IRS. Not just because it’s the law, but because we believe in the abilities of all people. This month marks the 24th National Disability Employment Awareness Month. This event is in an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of employees with disabilities whileRead… Read more »

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month through History, Numbers and Public Service

Did you know that we are in the midst of Hispanic Heritage Month? In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson established an annual week-long celebration of the culture and traditions of those who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan expandedRead… Read more »

Connecticut launches Startup Connecticut

Governor Dannel P. Malloy and business leaders from throughout Connecticut have partnered to launch Startup Connecticut, a new initiative to support entrepreneurship throughout the state. Startup Connecticut is the latest in a national effort coordinated by the Startup America Partnership to help small businesses create jobs. Connecticut is the third state to adopt a StartupRead… Read more »

Netzwerk Bürgerbeteiligung: New German Online Community for Public Participation

Late last month, a new online community launched in Germany for people and organizations that “want to advance citizen participation in political decision making and shape the future of public participation” (translation mine). From the website (in German): Die Partizipation der Bürgerinnen und Bürger an gesellschaftlichen und politischen Entscheidungsprozessen ist ein elementarer Grundpfeiler der Demokratie:Read… Read more »

How does external communication through customer service improve the reputation of the organization?

What is a reputation? It’s basically a preconceived expectation of behaviors based on previous direct experience and indirect assumptions. What is the reputation of your favorite restaurant, how about your doctor, or the last place you decided never to go back to? Every person you come into contact with every day is forming an impressionRead… Read more »

How do internal communications affect the ability of an organization to provide good service?

Picture great service as a three-legged bar stool. Your customer is sitting on top. What happens if one of the legs isn’t strong, or is flat out broken? That’s right, the customer falls off the stool and has a bad experience. Each of the elements represented by the bar stool can be given its ownRead… Read more »

Is there an NAO community?

At the moment we are spending some time helping colleagues launch this year’s graduate recruitment campaign – branded as Big-on. We are quite proud of our contribution including the branded Big-on Facebook page which my colleague Alex Mueller does a lot of work on. We also have a dedicated Big-on area of our website IRead… Read more »