TS2012 Operate Your Tax School Manual FINAL

Operate Your

Tax School Manual

Prepared by the Learning Group of Jackson Hewitt Inc.

To offer feedback and/or suggestions, please contact

The Learning Group via e-mail at [email protected]

Copyright 2012, Jackson Hewitt Inc.

All Rights Reserved.

mailto:[email protected]

Table of Contents

Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1

GET READY FOR TAX SCHOOL ......................................................................................... 2

UPDATE CONTACT INFORMATION ................................................................................................................. 2

Update Phone Numbers and Email Address by Office ................................................................... 2

Update Local Web Page ............................................................................................................................. 2

Update Answering Message ..................................................................................................................... 2

COMPLY WITH REGULATIONS ........................................................................................................................ 2

REVIEW IRS RTRP REGULATIONS ................................................................................................................. 3

DETERMINE YOUR GOAL ................................................................................................................................ 3

CREATE A BUDGET .......................................................................................................................................... 3

DESIGN CURRICULUM .................................................................................................................................... 4

Analyze Data to Determine Learning Needs of Existing Tax Preparers.................................... 4

Determine Course Formats, Dates and Times and Locations ...................................................... 4

SET UP CLASSES.............................................................................................................................................. 5

Document classes in Employee Education eService: ...................................................................... 5

Prepare Locations for Classroom / Lab Sessions .............................................................................. 6

CREATE STUDENT PACKETS ............................................................................................................................ 6

Create Registration Packets ...................................................................................................................... 6

Create Welcome Packets ........................................................................................................................... 6

Purchase Material, Equipment and Supplies ...................................................................................... 6

HIRE AND TRAIN TAX SCHOOL STAFF ........................................................................................................... 7

Assess Staffing Needs ................................................................................................................................. 7

Assign & Communicate Tasks to Tax School Team: ........................................................................ 8

Conduct and Monitor Training ................................................................................................................ 9

MARKET AND MANAGE LEADS ....................................................................................... 9

LAUNCH AN EFFECTIVE MARKETING CAMPAIGN .......................................................................................... 9

Analyze Prior Year Results ......................................................................................................................... 9

Design Marketing Plan ............................................................................................................................... 9

Establish Codes in Local Promotion Management eService ..................................................... 11

Order Tax School Marketing Materials .............................................................................................. 11

Monitor Effectiveness of Marketing Efforts ..................................................................................... 11

MANAGE LEADS ............................................................................................................................................ 11

Establish Process for Tracking and Managing Leads ................................................................... 12

Prepare and Communicate Schedules ............................................................................................... 12

Respond Effectively to Inquiries ........................................................................................................... 12

Mystery Shop to Evaluate Effectiveness ............................................................................................ 12

FILL CLASSES .................................................................................................................... 13

CONVERT LEADS TO STUDENTS ................................................................................................................... 13

Practice and Perfect Techniques to Encourage Registration .................................................... 13

Use the Call Campaigns eService to Follow-up .............................................................................. 13

Host Free Information Seminars .......................................................................................................... 13

Assist Candidates with the Process to Secure PTINs .................................................................... 14

Monitor Results/Status ............................................................................................................................ 14

PREPARE STUDENTS FOR CLASS................................................................................................................... 14

Provide Inactive/Terminated Employees with Access .................................................................. 14

Facilitate the Registration Process ...................................................................................................... 15

Distribute Welcome Packets & Textbooks ....................................................................................... 15

Communicate With Students Before They Begin Class ............................................................... 15

RETAIN STUDENTS .......................................................................................................... 16

FACILITATE EFFECTIVE LEARNING ................................................................................................................. 16

Use Instructor Best Practices ................................................................................................................. 16

Use Tools and Resources to Make Classes Engaging .................................................................. 16

MONITOR PERFORMANCE............................................................................................................................ 16

Track and Monitor Student Attendance and Performance ........................................................ 17

Monitor Instructor Performance .......................................................................................................... 17

ASSIST STUDENTS ......................................................................................................................................... 17

Use Strategies to Support Students ................................................................................................... 17

COACH TALENT ............................................................................................................................................. 17

Educate, Motivate and Support Instructors ..................................................................................... 17

Provide Corrective and Reinforcing Feedback on Performance .............................................. 18

RECRUIT TAX PREPARERS .............................................................................................. 18

PROMOTE JACKSON HEWITT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES ................................................................... 18

IDENTIFY TALENT........................................................................................................................................... 18

EVALUTE AND REPORT RESULTS ................................................................................... 19

COMPARE TAX SCHOOL GOALS TO RESULTS ............................................................................................. 19

SUBMIT GROSS VOLUME REPORT ............................................................................................................... 20

TS 2012 Jackson Hewitt: Operate Your Tax School Manual Page 1 of 20

Introduction

A Jackson Hewitt Tax School should be conducted annually in every territory you own during

the fall and winter timeframe.

Operating Tax School benefits your business in the following ways:

Promotes Jackson Hewitt as a leader in the income tax industry to the general public.

Educates students about income tax preparation, the tax industry, tax law updates and how

to prepare individual income tax returns.

Provides an effective curriculum for PTIN holders to attain their Continuing Education (CE)

requirements.

Prepares interested students for the IRS RTRP Test.

Encourages tax preparer retention by providing returning employees with an opportunity to

enhance their tax knowledge and tax preparation skills.

Helps grow your business by supplying you with a pool of qualified candidates to consider

for employment for the coming tax season.

Note: The completion of any tax preparation course is neither an offer nor

guarantee of employment. Your students should understand that additional

training, experience, or skills may be required.

About This Manual

This manual provides a comprehensive overview of the tasks involved in operating a successful

Tax School. These tasks are grouped into the following categories:

Get Ready for Tax School

Market and Manage Leads

Fill Classes

Retain Students

Prepare Student for the RTRP Test

Recruit Tax Preparers

Evaluate and Report Results

Additional Tools & Resources

The Operate Your Tax School site on the Learning Center is your primary resource for

everything you need to plan, operate and monitor your Tax School successfully. Visit this site

frequently to view the vast list of tools and resources available, especially the Tax School

Master Task List.

Throughout this manual specific resources are identified in bold text. Each of these resources

can be located on the Operate Your Tax School site, most conveniently in the Master Task List.


GET READY FOR TAX SCHOOL

Launching a successful Tax School requires planning and preparation. There are several tasks

that need to be executed during late spring and early summer to offer a Tax School that begins

in late August / early September.

Update Contact Information

Update Phone Numbers and Email Address by Office

There are fields in Location Settings eService specifically designated for Tax School. Be certain

to update the contact information for each office, providing callers the opportunity to speak

with a well informed person capable of discussing Tax School registration.

Update Local Web Page

Use the features of the JH.com Tab in Location Settings eService to update your local web

page.

Update Answering Message

Use the nationally recommended scripts to re-record your answering message to promote Tax

School.

Comply with Regulations

In certain states, operating a Tax School is subject to legal requirements, including licensing,

bonding, and certain restrictions on advertising. Jackson Hewitts Regulatory Affairs Analyst

coordinates the licensing of Tax Schools in each state. Before offering a tax course in any state,

visit the Regulator Requirements page on JHnet to determine what requirements apply to the

state in which you plan to operate a Tax School.

If you have questions or need help understanding the general requirements for operating a Tax

School, contact the Regulatory Affairs Analyst via email at [email protected] or your

Franchise Service Manager/ Operations Director.

IMPORTANT: Do not take any action to obtain a license to operate a Tax School without first

contacting the Regulatory Affairs Analyst at [email protected]. Once licensing has been

obtained, you may have ongoing reporting and compliance requirements in order to operate

your Tax School and may need to provide additional information each year you maintain your

license.


If you have a legal advisor for your business, consider adding the Tax School state requirements

to their duties.

Review IRS RTRP Regulations

Considering new regulations have been imposed into the tax preparation industry that impact

both existing tax preparers and new tax preparers, its important that you remain current about

this topic and determine how it impacts your tax school offerings.

Jackson Hewitt helps by monitoring the situation and communicating updates via JHnet.

To locate additional information refer to irs.gov and the Preparer Registration / PTIN

Information page on JHnet.

Determine Your Goal

A primary goal for Tax School is to acquire enough students to create a pool of qualified tax

preparer candidates to staff your offices for the coming tax season. There are several factors to

consider to determine your goal, such as the number of new offices you plan to open, the

estimated number of returns you plan to prepare, the number of tax preparers that will be

returning next year, etc.

For your convenience, we suggest using the Determining Staffing Needs Worksheet and

Instructions. Upon entering details about your operation, the worksheet will automatically

calculate the estimated number of inquires needed to generate and the number of registered

students needed to fulfill your specific staffing goal for the upcoming tax season.

Create a Budget

Tax School plays a critical role by providing a pool of qualified tax preparers and as a resource

that helps retain existing tax preparers. As such, consider Tax School to be an investment in the

growth of your operation.

Begin creating a budget by reviewing expenses and revenue generated from the previous year's

Tax School. In addition, use the Tax School Budget Worksheet to:

Identify expenses for the current-year Tax School

Determine your break even number

Use the 'break even' number to help determine your registration, tuition fee, and/or book fee, if

applicable. Important Note: You must comply with state tax regulations when determining your

fees.


Design Curriculum

Your tax school curriculum; the number and types of classes to offer, should accommodate both

new students and existing tax preparers. The following steps help you make selections that

benefit your business.

Analyze Data to Determine Learning Needs of Existing Tax Preparers

Determine which types of courses to offer returning tax preparers to keep them engaged, help

them fulfill their continuing education (CE) requirements and ensure they are ready to return to

work in your offices next year. Use the following resources to analyze data to determine if and

where knowledge gaps and needs exist:

Red Flag Report

Risk Analysis Report

Employee CE Report

Supervisor reports on the Learning Center to review training already completed by

existing preparers and plan accordingly

Results from the Mock Test and the Remediation Index to determine the areas to

focus on in your RTRP Study Group

Gold Guarantee Claims Analysis Report

Also, communicate with existing tax preparers to evaluate the level of interest for an Enrolled

Agent Study Group session.

Determine Course Formats, Dates and Times and Locations

There are several course formats to choose from. Offering more than one format increases your

opportunities to register students by ensuring you have a format that interests them.

The formats for delivering the Basic Income Tax Course:

Traditional Classroom: This textbook-based course is led by an instructor in a

traditional classroom environment at a Jackson Hewitt Tax Service location. To enhance

the learning experience and make the course more engaging, instructors can use the BIT

PowerPoint presentations (no audio) to teach the class.

Online at Taxschool.com (non-employee students) or the Learning Center

(employees): Students learn on their own time, at their own pace from any computer

connected to the Internet. Instructors answer students questions via email. Although this

course is completed remotely, it is important to reach out to students participating in the

Online Course on a regular basis. You should combine this delivery method with visits to


your office for scheduled lab work, assessments, follow-up, etc. (The online Basic Income

Tax Course is not available in all states. Check your states page on JHnet for regulations).

Facilitated Classroom: This course is designed to be held in a traditional classroom

environment and is taught using previously-recorded modules with a facilitator/proctor

on hand for each class. The facilitator/proctors role is to take attendance, monitor the

sessions, and facilitate Knowledge Check Questions, homework exercises, assessments,

etc., as well as deliver state tax information and reinforce the tax concepts as they are

presented in the sessions. The Facilitated version is the same as the online version.

Refer to the Basic Income Tax Rollout Guide for more information on each delivery method.

In addition to the Basic Income Tax Course, there are a variety of CE-eligible Intermediate and

Advanced courses, and EA Study Group etc. Visit the Tax Education Center Page for a

complete list of these courses available.

Conduct classes in all office locations where you need staff for the tax season, rather than at

only one central location. This strategy ensures that students recruited as tax preparers for the

specific office will be comfortable with the driving commute.

If you have a large volume retail location with no other offices nearby, consider alternative sites

such as the local community center, a church hall, or even a community college.

Anticipate that recruited students availability will mirror the timeframes they attended class.

Therefore, analyze the anticipated work schedules of returning tax preparers and identify

specific timeframe gaps. Once identified, offer classes at varying times during the week that

include the timeframe gaps. For example, if you need evening employees, offer evening classes.

If you need daytime employees offer daytime classes.

Set Up Classes

Once you have determined the course locations, dates and times, take the following steps to get

ready for classes.

Document classes in Employee Education eService:

Document your new Tax School classes as well as Off Season Access courses in Employee

Education eService so you can register students, monitor their performance and evaluate your

Tax School efforts.


Prepare Locations for Classroom / Lab Sessions

When using a tax office as a class location, its important to transform the space to look as much

like a classroom as possible. Rearrange the office furniture and/or use additional furniture,

otherwise, students may feel distracted and uncomfortable when they are asked to sit at

someone's workstation. Its a small but important detail that makes a big difference!

There are several factors to consider such as size of the room, number of students, layout of the

furniture etc. that are involved in creating a conducive learning environment.

Refer to the Basic Income Tax Course Rollout Guide for further details on this topic.

Create Student Packets

Prepare to respond timely to inquiries by creating the following correspondence. Note: For your

convenience, editable templates for several of these documents are available on the Operate

Your Tax School site.

Create Registration Packets

This package of documents should be distributed to leads that would like to register.

Enrollment Agreement

Schedule of Classes / Course Catalog

Other items required by your state law and regulations

Create Welcome Packets

This package of documents should be given to leads that have registered.

Welcome Letter

Schedule for course and lab work

Basic Income Tax Course Participants Manual, or instructions on where to purchase

the Participants Manual if youre not providing it as part of the course fees.

Purchase Material, Equipment and Supplies

Jackson Hewitt partners with vendors to make ordering tax school material (e.g. text books,

participant manual) convenient and cost effective. You can choose to order and distribute books

to your students or permit your students to order these resources directly from the vendor.


Availability, ordering instructions and special offers are communicated on the Operate Your Tax

School site.

Additional equipment and supplies (e.g. state, city specific forms, pens, note pads, projector,

etc.) may need to be purchased locally. A list of recommended items is documented in BIT

Rollout Guide.

Hire and Train Tax School Staff

Assess Staffing Needs

Identify your staffing needs by reviewing the Tax School Task Checklist and determine where

you need assistance.

The following positions are not required, and some operators, especially new operators, assume

responsibility for all the tasks associated with Tax School. As your business grows and the size of

your Tax School increases you may want to consider identifying staff members in your

organization to fulfill one or more of the following roles.

Tax School Coordinator:

Role: This role varies depending on the size of the operation and the experience of the

Coordinator. A well-trained and experienced Coordinator should be able to handle most if not

all the operational aspects of Tax School.

Recommended Skills and Knowledge:

Supervisory experience

Interpersonal and communication skills

Computer skills

Ability to multi-task, delegate and remain organized

Training and sales experience

Tax School Recruiter:

Role: The Recruiter handles incoming phone calls, drop-ins and Internet leads, as well as

outbound mail and call campaigns in the effort to market your courses and turn registrations

into students. They are the primary point of contact for your organization and provide leads

with the information they need to register for Tax School including facilitating the registration

process.



Client care and /or sales skills

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills

Ability to multi-task and remain organized

Instructor:

Role: Tax School Instructors are the face of Jackson Hewitt to students. Therefore, its

important they have the necessary skills and personality to retain as many students as possible

by delivering the course in an organized, knowledgeable and engaging manner. Additional

responsibilities include:

Inputting performance data

Monitoring student progress

Identifying and helping students that need additional assistance

Evaluating students and providing recommendations to the Operator about

potential candidates for employment with Jackson Hewitt.


Excellent oral and written communication skills

Upbeat and outgoing

Strong presentation skills

Tax knowledge (recommend a candidate that is an Enrolled Agent or Registered Tax

Return Preparer)

Tax preparation experience (recommend minimum of 3 years)

Ability to learn new techniques and teaching practices

Ability to work independently and be self-directed

For additional details about these specific responsibilities, please consult the Tax School

Checklist on.

Assign & Communicate Tasks to Tax School Team:

Once you have identified your Tax School team, review the Tax School Task Checklist to assign

and communicate specific tasks to each member of the team.


Conduct and Monitor Training

Conduct and/or assign training programs and identify resources for all members of your Tax

School team. Monitor the completion rate and evaluate test scores to ensure they are mastering

the skills necessary to perform the tasks assigned to them.

Note: The Tax School Master Task List identifies the appropriate training and resource material

available for each task.

MARKET AND MANAGE LEADS

Generate interest by promoting Tax School to existing tax preparers and the general public,

using an effective marketing campaign. Every inquiry generated by the campaign is considered a

lead and an opportunity to gain a student. The methods used to manage leads impacts the

rate of success youll experience in turning inquiries (leads) into registered students.

Launch an Effective Marketing Campaign

Analyze Prior Year Results

Start designing your current year Tax School marketing plan by analyzing prior year efforts to

determine the most effective strategies to use again and those to discontinue. Simply put, which

efforts generated the most leads and students and which ones were not cost effective.

Use the Employee Education Marketing Report with date parameters for the previous year to

analyze results. This report lists results for each type of advertising such as the number of:

Leads

Students

Students converted to employees

Design Marketing Plan

The Marketing Department supports Tax School by providing Operators annually with the Tax

School Playbooks. These resources contains detail about approved materials to include window

posters, illuminated window box signs, brochures, TV commercials, newspaper and radio ads,

press releases, direct mail, Refer-a-Student certificates, and more. Use the Playbooks to select

the marketing material that suites your local campaign and to update existing marketing

materials.

The objective of a successful marketing plan is to generate enough leads to meet your Tax

School student goal. Remember, not every lead will register for Tax School. Leads may register


and not show up, may show up but drop out, or may successfully complete the course but are

not interested in employment with Jackson Hewitt. Therefore, strive to register significantly

more students than your staffing needs, which mean generating an even higher number of

leads.

As you create your Marketing Plan consider using these best practices:

Identify target groups of people who may be receptive to registering for Tax School and

customize your marketing strategies accordingly. For example, you can reach out to active

retirees with a postcard mailing sent to a local senior housing complex, or leave a stack of

flyers geared toward stay-at-home mothers at an area child care facility.

Place posters and banners in areas with heavy traffic, such as check cashers, retail stores, and

Laundromats.

Display Tax School signage, with a phone number listed, in every office location from May to

November.

Update your voicemail and/or on-hold messages to remind callers about Tax School and

encourage registration.

Advertise in community newspapers.

Make sure someone is in the office to answer inquiries on the day of and day after the ad is

placed. Youll have better recruiting results when callers reach a live person who can answer

their questions when they call. It is acceptable to have an answering machine on when the

office is closed provided you follow up on all inquiries promptly.

Distribute flyers to the local hotspots, such as supermarkets, coffee shops, Laundromats

and check cashers.

Attend job fairs and visit with local area colleges to generate interest.

Place information on Craigslist

Include any prior year lead, not just last year, in your marketing efforts.

Use the Employee Education Contact Report to generate mailing labels for prior year leads

in your database.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Most states impose restrictions on the marketing and advertising of Tax

Schools. As with all marketing, the representations in the materials promoting your Tax School

must be truthful. In addition, you must be careful not to make any direct or implied offer or

guarantee of employment in your marketing materials. Please submit a copy of any locally

created Tax School marketing materials to the Corporate Marketing department for review and

approval before you place the ad. Complete the Advertising Approval Form and submit your

proposed advertisement via email to [email protected].


Establish Codes in Local Promotion Management eService

The Local Promotion Management eService provides a method of tracking the results of

individual advertising placements. The system assigns a specific code for each promotion

entered (e.g. newspaper, radio, television, direct mail). The specific code can then be included in

any print media promotion.

Once established, the assigned codes appear in Employee Education. When Jackson Hewitt

employees manage inquiries and collect information from the lead, they simply select the code

to indicate which promotion prompted the person to inquire about Tax School. If the source of

the inquiry is not print media or is not available, a few questions concerning station or

newspaper can narrow the source to the correct entry.

Order Tax School Marketing Materials

The Tax School Order Form contains ordering information for approved materials from various

vendors in one centralized and convenient format. Additional information about Tax School

marketing materials can be located on the Market Your Business Business Center on JHnet.

Monitor Effectiveness of Marketing Efforts

The Employee Education Marketing Report uses promotion codes created in Local

Promotion Management to track individual advertising efforts and provides a count of the

inquiries, registrations, and employees generated by the particular ad promotion. Use this report

to routinely monitor and evaluate the results of your marketing efforts and make changes where

necessary.

Manage Leads

Every lead is a potential student. Therefore, each lead must be managed meticulously using a

well defined process. Be prepared to manage leads from the following sources:

Prior-year

Leads

People that inquired about Tax School but did not register. Note: A prior

year lead refers to a person that inquired about tax school in any prior year,

not just last year.

Current-year

Leads

Inquiries generated by the current marketing campaign.

ProFiler

Leads

Clients that stated they were interested in Tax School during the ProFiler Tax

Interview.

Public

Website Leads

People that request further information about Tax School from the

Jacksonhewitt.com.


Establish Process for Tracking and Managing Leads

Track leads using a standardized process that includes:

Collecting information and completing the Registration Form for each lead.

Using the Employee Education eService to input the information into the database.

Forwarding correspondence

Using the Call Campaign to follow-up with leads and encourage registration

Facilitating a standard registration process

Additional detail is documented in the Recruiting Tax School Students Manual.

Prepare and Communicate Schedules

Connecting with a live person is a critical component of success in turning a lead into a

student. When people call or visit your office to inquire about Tax School, they should connect

with a person rather than an answering machine. To ensure this happens, prepare and

communicate schedules to your Tax School Team using a format that is right for your operation.

For example, you may schedule staff to sit in the office by the phone /computer to answer

incoming calls or decide to have the phone routed to a staff members cell phone, allowing

them to answer inquiries remotely.

Respond Effectively to Inquiries

Beyond connecting with a person rather than a machine during the initial inquiry, how the

inquiry is handled can have a huge impact on the outcome. Its important that staff responsible

for managing leads possess the skills and knowledge to make a good impression, answer

questions and promote the benefits of Tax School to encourage registration.

Note: When responding to inquiries from the Internet, ensure your response is professional,

informative and timely.

Additional detail is documented in the Recruiting Tax School Students Manual.

Mystery Shop to Evaluate Effectiveness

Periodically conduct mystery shopping calls to monitor your staffs effectiveness in managing

leads. Simply have employees, friends or family use the Tax School Recruiting Students Role

Play Exercises and call your office(s) to inquire about Tax School and provide feedback about

their experience. This will give you the opportunity to address any issues that could be

negatively impacting your business and retrain Tax School team members if necessary.


FILL CLASSES

Convert Leads to Students

Converting leads to students often requires following up with leads multiple times to promote

Tax School and encourage registration.

Practice and Perfect Techniques to Encourage Registration

If a lead is interested but has not registered, one of more of the following may be the reason for

hesitation:

Cost

Time Commitment

Course dates and/or timeframes are not compatible with work/personal schedule

Location of class is not convenient

Lack confidence about being able to comprehend the course content

When Tax School team members follow-up with leads they need to have the skill and

knowledge necessary to encourage registration by alleviating concerns and removing obstacles.

Several resources providing instruction about how to respond effectively in these situations can

be located using the Operate Your Tax School site.

Use the Call Campaigns eService to Follow-up

The Call Campaigns eService combines Tax School inquiry contact information and call scripts

to help make, track, and report outbound calls to Tax School leads.

In the Call Campaign interview, users move through dynamic scripts of questions and

statements that change depending on the response of the lead. This script assists the users

ability to communicate and ultimately turn the lead into a student.

Host Free Information Seminars

Free Information Seminars are one-hour events that give you the opportunity to invite

prospective students into your office so they can meet the Instructor, evaluate the teaching

environment and review the materials. These events are a great way to encourage registration.

Plan to hold one each week during the month before Tax School starts.

For additional information about launching an effective Free Information Seminar, refer to the

Free Information Seminar Rollout Guide.


Assist Candidates with the Process to Secure PTINs

The regulations governing tax return preparers require all paid tax preparers to receive, and

update annually, an authorized preparer tax identification number (PTIN) before completing tax

returns. Therefore, be prepared to provide guidance to candidates about the process they must

follow to acquire a PTIN. Anticipate providing individualized guidance depending upon the

students status as follows:

Has a PTIN

Does not have a PTIN

Is an Enrolled Agent, CPA, or attorney

To locate additional information about the process to obtain a PTIN refer to irs.gov and the

Preparer Registration / PTIN Information site on JHnet.

Monitor Results/Status

Continually use the Tax School Dashboard to evaluate your process toward your student goal

by:

Monitoring lead-to-registration conversion rate

Comparing the number of registrations to your target number of registrations

Tracking registrations by course

Reviewing the daily activity of your Tax School Call Campaign

Based on your analysis, decide if you need to add more courses to your Tax School curriculum

to accommodate higher-than-expected lead activity, or if you need to alter your marketing

activities to generate more leads.

Prepare Students for Class

Follow a standard procedure to ensure students are registered and prepared for class.

Provide Inactive/Terminated Employees with Access

Use the Employee Education eService to provide inactive and terminated employees with

access to RTRP test preparation materials and the continuing education (CE) courses available

on the Learning Center. Functionality within this eService allows you to save time and effort by

registering inactive /terminated employees as a group rather than individually.


Facilitate the Registration Process

Distribute Registration Packets to potential students and use these steps to facilitate the

registration process:

Complete the Enrollment Agreement

Review other items required by your state law and regulations

Accept and (if you charge tuition or book fees)

Use the Employee Education eService to register students for the classes theyve

selected, record payment, etc.

Distribute Welcome Packets & Textbooks

Distribute Welcome Packets containing the following documents:

Registration Letter: This document can be printed from Employee Education eService and

serves as both a receipt for the students payment and information sheet with class detail and

login information and detail for TaxSchool.com.

Welcome Letter: This document contains detail about class location, dates, time, contact

information for the Instructor and other detail.

Course and Lab Schedule

Basic Income Tax Course Participant Manual or instructions about where to purchase the manual

if you are not providing this document as part of the course fees.

Distribute textbooks or provide detail about how students can obtain their books. (Use the Issue

Books link on the Students Tab of Employee Education eService to document this action).

Communicate With Students Before They Begin Class

Provide Instructors with student contact information so they can connect with each of their

students before they begin the course, especially students that are taking only the online version

of the course. This communication can take place face-to-face or simply over the phone.

Instructors can use this time to welcome them to Tax School and begin to build rapport by

learning more about each students expectations, background, learning preferences etc. It also

provides Instructors with an opportunity to reinforce their commitment to their students

success.


RETAIN STUDENTS

Not every student that registers will complete class. Student attrition can happen for a variety of

reasons and several can be directly related to the actions of the Tax School Instructor. Therefore,

providing Instructors with the tools, resources and guidance they need to retain students can

have a positive impact on your Tax School.

Facilitate Effective Learning

Instructors must commit to facilitate effective learning by using strategies and tactics to make

learning fun, exciting, engaging and rewarding.

Use Instructor Best Practices

Instructors motivate students to learn and complete Tax School when they deploy ARCS

strategies:

Attention Grab and maintain students attention

Relevance- Ensure the course is aligned with students objectives

Confidence-Build confidence that they can learn the material

Satisfaction-Make the learning experience rewarding

As such, Instructors have the ability to reduce student attrition simply by what they say and do.

While they may not be able to save every student, there are tactics they can use to increase

student retention. These tactics are outlined in the Best Practices for Retaining Students Job

Aid.

Use Tools and Resources to Make Classes Engaging

Instructors should leverage Instructor tools and class resources that are available on the

Learning Center to create a productive learning environment. The Instructor's Toolkit site

contains all the course materials and items Instructors need to effectively deliver their Tax

School classes such as Facilitator and Rollout Guides, Lesson Plans, Updates, Pre-made games,

game templates and much more.

Monitor Performance

Evaluating student and Instructor performance on a routine basis provides an excellent

indication about whether or not the Instructor is facilitating effective learning.


Track and Monitor Student Attendance and Performance

Instructors should use the Employee Education eService on a timely basis to input student

attendance. This enables persons in a supervisory position to review and evaluate the

information on the Tax School Dashboard and identify students and or classes with less than

ideal test scores and/or attendance that are at risk of not completing the course.

Monitor Instructor Performance

Observe Instructors periodically to ensure they are meeting expectations and projecting the

appropriate image of the business. Formally evaluate their performance by physically attending

class sessions and using the Instructor Evaluation Form.

Additionally, distribute the In-Progress Student Feedback Form to students during your visits

to gather feedback regarding the course and the Instructor directly from the students.

Assist Students

Use Strategies to Support Students

When students exhibit less than ideal test scores and/or attendance they are typically at risk of

not completing the course. Instructors must react quickly when they identify students that are

struggling to learn more about the reason(s) the student is having difficulty and to provide

solutions.

Strategies to help struggling students are documented in the Best Practices for Retaining

Students Job Aid.

Coach Talent

Support your Tax School Instructors by providing an appropriate level of motivation, education

and guidance.

Educate, Motivate and Support Instructors

Beyond ensuring they have completed the applicable curriculum for Instructors on the Learning

Center, use strategies to motivate instructors. Ideas include:

Celebrate your Instructors achievement once they have completed their curriculum

and are ready to deliver their first tax class of the season by presenting them with a

Tax School Instructor Training Certificate of Completion

Provide an incentive program for achieving student retention rate that exceeds goals

https://www.jhnet.com/Library/Download/?InstructorEvaluationFormhttps://www.jhnet.com/Library/Download/?InProgressStudentFeedbackForm


Promote the All-Star Instructor Award program

Provide Corrective and Reinforcing Feedback on Performance

Share your feedback and the student comments about your Instructors performance in a timely

manner so they have an opportunity to improve. Provide positive reinforcement for a job a well

done and constructive feedback and guidance if you identify specific areas that require

improvement.

RECRUIT TAX PREPARERS

After months of planning, marketing, recruiting, and delivering classes, you should now have a

pool of potential candidates to hire. Use the following process to select the best candidates for

your open positions.

Promote Jackson Hewitt Employment Opportunities

Attend course sessions as often as possible to meet students and provide information about

your organization and employment opportunities. At a minimum, you should visit your classes

at least twice.

For example, for a 12-week course, you can visit the class during the 2nd or 3rd week to

welcome students and get to know them.

During the 9th or 10th week talk about your organization, the benefits of working for

Jackson Hewitt and employment opportunities. Customize and use the Tax School In-

class Presentation to help communicate your message.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You are not obligated to hire a student simply because they completed the

tax course. Enrollment in or completion of a tax course is neither an offer nor guarantee of

employment. Explain to the students that additional training, experience, or skills may be

required.

Identify Talent

When filling any open position in your tax office, you want to carefully select the best

candidates. To help you decide which Tax School students may be qualified candidates for

filling your open Tax Preparer positions, ask your Instructors for recommendations and review

your students scores. Your Instructors should use the student evaluation tab in the Employee

Education eService to note the students' interest in employment and their recommendation.

After you identify qualified candidates, follow state and local laws for interviewing and hiring

your staff. Use the Tax Preparer Structured Interview Score Sheet to help you assess the


potential of the applicants and keep your interviews consistent. This score sheet helps you

conduct behavioral interviews so you can better determine a candidate's knowledge, skills, and

abilities by asking them for specific examples from their past experiences. Since past

performance is one of the best predictors of future performance, using behavioral interviews

increase the likelihood that your newly-hired employees have the necessary competencies for

the job.

In the Employee Education eService, you can convert students to employees using the Hire

function located in Employee Information eService. Once you complete this step, the

information in the Employee Information eService will populate the Learning Center, and the

employees will be assigned a Development Plan to continue their tax season training.

EVALUTE AND REPORT RESULTS

Compare Tax School Goals to Results

As you prepare to close the books on Tax School, complete one last task evaluate its success.

After months of hard work hopefully you have been able to hire enough tax preparers to meet

your Tax School goals. While the Tax School season is still fresh in your mind, evaluate whether

you yielded the results that you expected. This evaluation will allow you to identify areas that ran

smoothly, as well as areas that will require adjustments for next year.

Compare your Tax School goals to your results to include the number of:

Inquiries generated

Registered Students

Students Retained

Students that were recruited as tax preparers

Evaluate your marketing plan:

Identify successful marketing strategies

Identify unsuccessful marketing strategies

Consider alternatives for next years plan

Evaluate your budget and expenditures:

Identify Tax School expenses that were within budget

Identify Tax School expenses that were greater than the budgeted amount and

whether or not they were warranted

Consider alternatives for next years budget

Evaluate the performance of your Tax School team:


Instructors

Recruiters

Take the time at the end of tax school to document ideas for improvement for next year while

the information is fresh in your mind.

Submit Gross Volume Report

During this time of year your Gross Volume Report (GVR) is due on a monthly basis. Use

Revenue Management to report tax school income and submit your payment.

Documents

TS2012 Operate Your Tax School Manual FINAL