Company: Optima Tax Relief, LLC, Santa Ana, CA
Company Description: Optima Tax Relief is the leading nationwide tax resolution firm helping people solve their IRS tax problems and is the largest of its kind in America. We work to build relationships with our thousands of clients and the IRS alike so that we can offer representation to taxpayers with a variety of tax issues. We are committed to delivering an industry-leading experience to our employees and clients,
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Team Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year - Financial Services Industries
 Nomination Title: Optima Tax Relief, LLC Front-Line Customer Service Team
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the achievements since July 1, 2022 of the nominated team, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- Briefly describe the nominated team: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 198 words used.
Our Customer Service department plays a crucial role in making us the largest and most successful tax resolution company. From inception, we’ve successfully addressed the challenges of helping taxpayers navigate the complex tax system and its financial consequences.
In the high-stakes tax relief industry, delivering exceptional service is critical to fostering a high-trust relationship and reducing taxpayers’ anxiety. Our success stems from the team’s ability to adapt and innovate. Additionally, their unwavering commitment to learning has led to an impressive 86% uptraining rate, with team members advancing through promotions or even becoming licensed tax professionals. This commitment to growth ensures that we can adapt and meet our customers’ ever-changing tax needs.
At Optima, we believe that exceptional customer experience starts with upholding our core values: UNITED (Uplift, Nurture, Inclusive, Trailblazer, Ethical, Driven). These values have guided us toward earning local, regional, and national recognition for our ethical business practices. Our dedication has been recognized with prestigious awards including the Better Business Bureau Pacific Southwest Torch Award in 2021, BBB International Torch Award in 2023, Civic 50 Award for community impact for the last seven years, Forbes Advisor Best of 2024, and Accounting Today’s top 100 firms in 2024.
- Outline the team's achievements since July 1 2022 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
Since July 2022, our team remains dedicated to delivering exceptional service to clients by embracing continuous learning, integrating innovative technology, and evolving as a team. To better serve clients, we introduced a new role to handle specialized calls, such as welcome and graduation calls. This created new career paths for our CS agents, allowing them to take on more complex tasks. As a result, we achieved a 71% reduction in queue fail-over calls and a 16% increase in the average answer rate. This also led to an increase in one-call resolutions thereby reducing follow-up calls and transfers.
In 2024, we implemented a progressive dialing system to automate outbound calls, reducing time agents spent manually dialing and waiting for calls to be answered. This allowed our CS team to reach more clients, touching base with them during key service points, providing pertinent information, and easing their minds with any questions. Since introducing this system, we have re-engaged approximately 9,000 clients with payment issues, conducted over 12,000 introductory calls, and 2,500 present option calls. This resulted in approximately 25% increase in touchpoints and service from the prior year.
With a focus on knowledge expansion, we introduced a tool called Call Simulator, allowing trainees to practice through mock calls with a client avatar. This hands-on training helps to shorten the learning curve and better prepare our employees for a live call. After the introduction of Call Simulator, an internal survey showed 93% of CS agents felt more confident on calls.
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below.
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
Attached you will find:
- Short video summary of our CS team and culture.
- Screenshot of Nectar rewards dashboard
- Links to third-party client review sites
- PDF overview of Call Simulator
- Picture of Core Values Wall
Additionally, you will find graphs supporting the data mentioned in the submission:
- Average Case Age: The bar chart shows an improvement in our team's efficiency, with the Average Case Age decreasing by 115 days between 2023 and 2024. This means cases are resolved 115 days faster, demonstrating our team's enhanced ability to move clients through their program more quickly.
- Quarterly Answer Rate for 2024: The graph illustrates a positive trend in the CS Team's average weekly answer rate, with a consistent increase each quarter. This performance culminated in a 16% improvement when comparing Q4 of 2024 to Q1 of 2024.
- Queue Transfers (Failover Calls): The CS Team decreased their queue transfers by 71% from the beginning to the end of the year. This translates to a 71% increase in one-call resolutions, meaning our clients are getting the answers they need on the first call.
- Average Q4 Weekly Answer Rate for 2024: The CS team ended the year strong, showing an average weekly answer rate of nearly 92% in Q4 of 2024.
Lastly, website links showcasing our awards and accreditations received from 2022-2024, along with PDF attachments featuring the various award badges for each year. Our team's commitment to ethics and excellence, which is essential to earning these accolades, truly sets us apart in the industry.
- Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the team's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 247 words used.
Millions of taxpayers call the IRS each year with questions and concerns about their tax situation. Due to limited IRS resources, the experience doesn’t meet expectations. Which is why we are dedicated to delivering best-in-class service levels. From July 2022 through December 2024, our initiatives have led to approximately 3,000,000 service requests, ending the fourth quarter of 2024 with an average answer rate of 91.5% and increasing our service velocity by 115 days. This means we are providing our clients with the answers they need when they need them, allowing them to graduate from our program faster.
While our internal KPIs have shown improvement, external metrics that measure customer experience truly reflect our progress. We’ve seen a 39% increase in positive client reviews. Our A+ Better Business Bureau rating, 4.3 stars on Trustpilot, and a 4.6 out of 5 approval rating on Supermoney.com are clear indicators of our exceptional service. Additionally, the Business Consumer Alliance (BCA) has awarded us an A rating, and 90% of 1,018 BCA reviews rate Optima’s service with 5 stars, reinforcing our commitment to excellence.
The praise also extends internally with our innovative rewards program. Since July 2022 a total of 32,342 shoutouts from staff were shared across all departments through our peer-to-peer recognition program. We understand that customer satisfaction is directly related to employee satisfaction and this program has been a cornerstone of us being a Top Workplace for 10 years in a row.
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