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A Human-Centered FutureA guide to Economic Services Administration's strategic plan for the 2023-2025 planning cycle. |
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From expanding local access to services to modernizing IT systems, the future of reducing poverty for people and families in Washington state is bright.
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Read and download ESA's 2023-2025 Strategic eBook here> |
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ESA's 2023 - 2025 Strategic Plan
ESA's 2023 - 2025 Strategic Plan
In the strategic planning process, we identify three key components.
- The Strategic Objective: Sets the goal that we are striving to achieve.
- The Action Plan: Our action steps to get there.
- The Success Measure: The outcome that would let us know we have achieved that goal by 2025.
Read in detail below about all the components of ESA's strategic plan. To read about ESA's Strategic Plan Metrics, read the full report here.
Strategic plan index: Jump to a section of the plan by clicking the Strategic Objective.
- Strategic Objective #1: Include customer input and user experience in the design and delivery of programs, applications and processes.
- Strategic Objective #2: Cultivate ESA leaders by clearly defining, communicating and expanding upon professional development and advancement opportunities, ensuring equitable access for all staff throughout the employee life cycle.
- Strategic Objective #3: Engage staff in the design and delivery of ESA employee programs, offerings and supports to achieve work-life balance and influence programs at the department level.
- Strategic Objective #4: Promote ESA as a partner of choice by welcoming new partners and identifying innovative ways to collaborate for mutual, supportive relationships that work towards positive outcomes for shared customers.
- Strategic Objective #5: Actively measure programs and projects designed to meet our organizational objectives through continuous improvement, quality control and change management, with an EDAI lens.
- Strategic Objective #6: Modernize the performance, reliability and efficiency of our systems for employees and customers by migrating IT applications to newer platforms.
- Strategic Objective #7: Continue to improve on our modern, mobile work environment by optimizing telework options, supporting flexible work schedules and minimizing office footprints as appropriate.
- Strategic Objective #8: Champion and uphold the values of equity, diversity, access and inclusion at all levels through concrete action and accountability, in alignment with EDAI and PEAR best practices.
- Strategic Objective #9: Use innovative recruitment strategies that reach all broad geographic and demographic communities to find the best qualified employees.
Strategic Objective #1: Include customer input and user experience in the design and delivery of programs, applications and processes.
The Action Plan:
- Formally establish customer engagement committees where Washingtonians with lived experience, underserved customers and community partners can provide input to leadership.
- Serve customers where they live, work and play by increasing the presence in Washington communities through outreach and access points.
- Implement innovative solutions for service delivery through automation tools and services to improve the customer experience, including adaptive and responsive tools like Robotic Process Automation (e.g. Chatbots and Virtual Agents).
Success Measures:
- Increase the percentage of customers responding “always” or “usually” on the DSHS Client Survey question “Are you satisfied with program services?” to 85% by 2025.
- Increase the percentage of customers responding “always” or “usually” on the DSHS Client Survey question “Is it easy to get services from the program?” to 87% by 2025.
- Establish at least one customer engagement committee by June 30, 2025.
- Increase the number of mobile CSO units from three to at least five by 6/30/25.
Strategic Objective #2: Cultivate ESA leaders by clearly defining, communicating and expanding upon professional development and advancement opportunities, ensuring equitable access for all staff throughout the employee life cycle.
The Action Plan:
- Develop a program for supervisors and middle managers on how to keep new recruits engaged and help them advance through the development process.
- Develop supervisory, peer and client coaching and communication skill-building trainings to foster an administration-wide coaching culture that includes addressing bias, critical thought and anti-racism.
Success Measures:
- 95% of ESA employees are aware of the training opportunities and skill sets identified in the career progression blueprint and feel they have the opportunity to participate and engage in those opportunities by 2025.
Strategic Objective #3: Engage staff in the design and delivery of ESA employee programs, offerings and supports to achieve work-life balance and influence programs at the department level.
The Action Plan:
- Strengthen and continue to build workforce well-being initiatives with direct input from employees, including specific events to build well-being, promote resilience and educate staff.
- Incorporate wellness and lived experience knowledge and practices into staff training and staff events.
Success Measures:
- Improve positive employee responses to the Employee Engagement Survey questions “At my workplace, I feel valued for who I am as a person” and “I would recommend my agency as a great place to work” by 2025.
- 75% of statewide staff events and meetings such as statewide all-staff meetings, expanded leadership meetings, recognition events and conferences incorporated wellness and lived experience knowledge into the content from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2025.
Strategic Objective #4: Promote ESA as a partner of choice by welcoming new partners and identifying innovative ways to collaborate for mutual, supportive relationships that work towards positive outcomes for shared customers.
The Action Plan:
- Strengthen communication and collaboration with WorkFirst Local Planning Areas to administer, deliver and share resources that are responsive to local needs.
- Continue building partnerships with all 12 local Workforce Development Councils.
- Increase community outreach and availability with tribes by implementing 7.01 plans and the Tribal Eligibility Demo expansion in coordination with our tribal partners.
- Increase opportunities for community-based organizations to receive state and federal funding to provide direct services to refugees and immigrants.
- Support collective groups dedicated to addressing the needs for newcomer communities, such as the Washington Ukrainian Welcoming Task Force and others.
Success Measure:
- Grow the number of existing ORIA community partners that provide culturally responsive services, resources to welcome and support arriving refugees including immigrant communities from 65 to 68 by June 30, 2025.
- CSOAs continue to serve as representatives with each of the 12 WDCs and attend 90% of meetings to inform, develop and participate in the implementation of each local workforce development plan.
Strategic Objective #5: Actively measure programs and projects designed to meet our organizational objectives through continuous improvement, quality control and change management, with an EDAI lens.
The Action Plan:
- Train bill analysts and policy review staff to implement and embed use of the Multi-Dimensional Equity Assessment tool or equivalent tool used for analyzing inequities and disparate impacts of policies.
- Fully implement Disability Case Processing System (and utilize new business intelligence features within the system.
- Continue implementing the ESA Type 3 Incident Management Team project through training IMT members, conducting exercises and other developmental opportunities.
- Enable continuous agility in fraud prevention tactics by building upon DPI’s program integrity infrastructure established during the successful SNAP Fraud Framework grant period by securing state funding to permanently establish the Integrity Assurance Team.
Success Measure:
- DDS decisional accuracy is 97% or above and DDS initial processing time is lower than the national average during the 2023-2025 biennium.
- Increase the number of staff trained to use the MDEA tool or equivalent tool by June 30, 2025.
- DPI Integrity Assurance Team is 100% funded and permanently established by June 30, 2025.
Strategic Objective #6: Modernize the performance, reliability and efficiency of our systems for employees and customers by migrating IT applications to newer platforms.
The Action Plan:
- Design, test and implement ESA shared applications and processes in coordination with the state’s Health and Human Services Enterprise Coalition integrated eligibility and enrollment initiative.
- Convert DCS forms to modern format for greater accessibility and enhance website functionality for customers.
- Modernize ESA systems such as ACES, eJAS and Barcode, including activities to decouple programs from the mainframe to scalable, modular and distributed platforms.
- Submit decision package requests to increase capacity to modernize ESA systems.
- Implement project roadmap to migrate ESA platforms to Microsoft Azure.
- Collaborate with the Office of Financial Management and other state agencies to replace old platforms with a cloud-based solution for our finance, procurement, budget, HR and payroll processes.
Success Measures:
- Increase the number of DCS forms converted to a modern format from five forms to 25 forms by June 30, 2025.
- 50% of ESA platforms are migrated to Microsoft Azure by June 30, 2025.
- 10% of eJAS and Barcode modernization tasks are complete by June 30, 2025.
Strategic Objective #7: Continue to improve our modern, mobile work environment by optimizing telework options, supporting flexible work schedules and minimizing office footprints as appropriate.
The Action Plan:
- Continue to evaluate opportunities for staff to perform tasks while teleworking and evaluate current and future office needs for staff, contractors and customers.
- Conduct a needs assessment to ensure work environment changes are still meeting the needs of the customers, ensuring underserved customers and demographics that have difficulties accessing services are identified.
- Identify and address equipment needs that are required to support a more mobile, flexible work environment, including laptops, cameras and ergonomic equipment.
Success Measures:
- Decrease the amount of leased office space by 7% from SFY 2021 to SFY 2025.
- Increase the percent of employees responding positively to the employee survey questions “How satisfied are you with your mobility?” and “How satisfied are you with you flexibility?” by 2025.
Strategic Objective #8: Champion and uphold the values of equity, diversity, access and inclusion at all levels through concrete action and accountability, in alignment with EDAI and PEAR best practices.
The Action Plan:
- Include and embed EDAI best practices in new training content and communications created for staff.
- Create a mechanism for leaders to hold facilitated discussions about EDAI and PEAR with employees, including the purpose, how it is reflected in our work, and understanding how to leverage best practices to strengthen our future work.
- Design a plan and process to identify inequities and conduct an in-depth analysis of the root causes of disparity in ESA provided services.
- Design a simplified tool based on the existing MDEA tool that can be applied to policies in a timely manner so that all policy reviews can include an equity analysis.
Success Measure:
- Percentage of staff engaged in EDAI training or events including the IDEA Community of Practice, facilitated discussions with leaders and listening sessions.
- Complete the pilot for the modified MDEA tool by successfully applying it to one policy.
- Root cause analysis workgroup progress on designing the process is included in ESA Leadership Team conversations at least once per quarter from June 2023 through July 2025.
Strategic Objective #9: Use innovative recruitment strategies that reach all broad geographic and demographic communities to find the best qualified employees.
The Action Plan:
- Use recruiting videos to share information about the work done at ESA and allow potential employees to see the work culture in our different programs.
- Conduct a comprehensive evaluation and overhaul of recruitment postings and position-required qualifications to ensure we are assessing potential employees for the required skills and abilities, and reducing or eliminating elements that cause disparities and inequities.
- Develop and strengthen relationships with Community-Based Organizations and Washington Business Resource Groups to leverage their capacity for sharing recruitment postings.
- Identify new methods to capitalize on the applicant pool for the best recruits to keep pace with changes in the job market and increase applications of diverse individuals.
- Assess the process of how class, compensation and salaries are decided and address issues in pay, so they are competitive with the private sector and other public sectors.
Success Measures:
- Retention rate of employees in their first three, six, 12 and 18 months working for ESA.
- Reduce variance between demographics of our job applicants and our employees to promote inclusion and equity.
- Develop three partnerships with organizations that will help promote ESA job opportunities to underrepresented communities in each DSHS region by June 30, 2025.