SAS Principal Social Innovation Manager I-Sah Hsieh joins FTA COO Ryan Minnick for an exciting and at times philosophical discussion of AI and how the intersection of trust and credibility will play a central role in how this rapidly advancing technology continues to be harnessed and used by organizations. This discussion goes into the ethical considerations regarding AI’s operational uses, and how tax administrators – being the fierce defenders of data privacy they are – might hold the key to the AI governance model other public-sector and even private-sector organizations will follow.

The Utah State Tax Commission is taking an associative approach to meeting customer needs by understanding the customer journey from the beginning. It’s part of Utah’s “Voice of the Customer” project that takes into consideration several elements from understanding the customer’s issue by knowing not only the immediate concern but what brought them to that moment and how the agency can best help them through their entire journey and relationship with the agency.

In this competitive labor market, businesses and organizations of all types are looking for every advantage when it comes to recruiting and retaining talented people. This is especially challenging for tax administrators and other government agencies that have the additional challenge of filling positions that pay less compared to their private sector counterparts. But overcoming that hurdle and the many other staffing challenges is possible and we have evidence it is being done and done well by two FTA member agencies that have received multi-year best place to work awards. 

In this episode of the FTA Tax Breaks podcast, Ryan welcomes Arizona DOR Director Rob Woods and Indiana DOR Commissioner Bob Grennes for an upbeat and enlightening conversation about the amazing work cultures that dwell within these two agencies. These leaders share their thoughts, concepts, and insights into what goes into their agencies’ recipes for success and what brought them to be top workplaces. Please Enjoy!