Strategic plan

In July 2023, we updated our plan to reflect new commitments to customer service and to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The entire plan is as follows:

Our purpose statement

Helping every Washington resident live, work, drive, and thrive.

Our value statements

Growing a culture of belonging through our values:

• RESPECT – We treat each person with dignity and respect.
• TRUST – We earn your trust through our actions.
• DIVERSITY – Our differences are our strengths.
• EQUITY – We meet each person's unique needs.
• INCLUSION – Your voice informs and influences.

Strategic plan structure

• Priorities – We have reduced our priorities from the previous agency strategic plan and have expanded on a few of them (such as “Safer data” to “Safe and secure data”).
• Goals – Many goals have been rewritten to reflect the new or revised priorities.
• Strategies – As with goals, many strategies have been rewritten to reflect our future vision.
• Initiatives – Because the goals and strategies are largely new, many of the initiatives have been created for the new plan.

Priorities overview

Engaged and prepared employees

We know our employees are the heart of our agency. We support their ability to develop and thrive, all while fulfilling our purpose, living our values, and advancing our strategic plan. (Contains 3 goals.)

Equity and inclusion

We believe the best way to serve all Washingtonians is by removing barriers to our services. We continually ask how we can improve accessibility for everyone. (Contains 3 goals.)

Safe and supported communities

We recognize our critical role in preserving roadway safety and professional integrity. We fulfill our mandate by ensuring Washingtonians understand and follow the laws that impact them. (Contains 3 goals.)

Safe and secure data

We take the protection of Washingtonians’ private information seriously. We employ the latest tools and techniques to safeguard data and prevent fraud. (Contains one goal.)

2023-26 Strategic Plan

Engaged and prepared employees

Goal 1: Our employees demonstrate diversity, equity, inclusion, trust, and respect

Strategy

• Improve the agency’s DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) maturity through competency development, education, and training.

Initiative

1. Develop a comprehensive DEI training, recognition, and education program based on enterprise DEI competencies.
   • The program will include developing a competency matrix, creating recognition for demonstrating agency values, and updating our performance assessment process.

Goal 2: Build an Employee Experience Program as a model for growth and development within the agency

Strategy

• Build an Employee Experience Program as a model for growth and development within the agency

Initiatives

1. Deliver the I-LEAD program to all our supervisors, focusing on developing inclusive leadership competencies.
   • Our supervisor training program will create and foster a DEI- and belonging-centered, people-first leadership culture at the agency.
2. Develop and publish an Employee Development Plan, identifying training needs, priorities, goals, and key performance indicators.
   • The Employee Development Plan will identify agency workforce development priorities, gaps in employee training, and specific measures of success to reach the agency’s workforce development goals.
3. Develop staffing models that provide all employees with dedicated time to participate in annual professional development training.
   • The agency will facilitate equal opportunities for field and office staff to further their professional development.

Goal 3: Our reputation for engaged employees makes people want to work for us

Strategy

• Support a modern work environment with tools, training, and facilities updates.

Initiatives

1. Adopt technologies, policies, flexible work structures, and tools to modernize our workforce.
   • To support our workforce and retain top talent in a hybrid work environment, provide a modern workforce that achieves customer and business needs.
2. Develop and deliver a mentoring program for supervisors to cultivate a people-first, agency values-based leadership culture.
   • The agency-wide mentoring program will engage agency leadership in the development of the next generation of leaders.
3. Create a central location for all policies, procedures, forms, and templates to provide employees with clear and consistent information.
   • The repository for all key agency documents will support the delivery of clear and consistent information across the enterprise.
4. Update Olympia area facilities to support changes in workforce and service delivery.
   • Modernize our workspaces to create more touch-down and collaboration spaces, supporting a hybrid workforce.

Equity and inclusion

Goal 1: All residents will have equitable access to DOL services

Strategy

• Improve culturally and linguistically appropriate services and communications.

Initiatives

1. Revise the agency’s language access plan and policy.
   • The agency will incorporate language access and accessibility best practices and standards into DOL business operations to create an equitable service delivery to all Washingtonians regardless of language preference.
2. Establish a dual language performance, testing, and planning model.
   • The dual language program will provide standards and requirements for DOL to utilize and provide compensation to dual or multi-lingual employees when serving customers.
3. Develop a standardized tagline document for language access and assistance with agency letters and correspondence.
   • The document will ensure agency publications are interpreted or translated for customers upon request.

Goal 2: We will eliminate barriers in the services we provide

Strategy

• Identify and remove service barriers in the agency's internal business practices, procedures, policies, and rules.

Initiatives

1. Identify and update high priority external forms and letters using plain talk principles.
   • We will determine vital documents and publications and update them with plain talk principles to ensure that they are easily understood by our customers.
2. Procure natural language processing tools and environment to assess customer feedback.
   • We will deploy technology to aid the agency in processing and understanding customer open text feedback received from our website and survey tools.
3. Conduct regulatory improvement efforts to identify and eliminate barriers in the agency’s rules, policies, and business practices.
   • We will catalog policies and regulations and identify potential regulatory improvements to enhance access to our services.

Goal 3: We will address systemic inequities in staffing, budgeting, and program and policy development.

Strategy

• Create and implement a standardized stakeholder and community engagement model and process for developing policies and agency request legislation, reforming program regulations, and hiring diverse candidates.

Initiatives

1. Create a stakeholder engagement toolkit with resources on best practices and guidelines on culturally appropriate engagement.
   • We will adopt business standards for seeking community and stakeholder feedback.
2. Create a standardized community and stakeholder feedback process for agency requested legislation, decision package development, and agency communications.
   • The process will ensure that stakeholder and community voices are incorporated in agency legislation, requests, and outreach.

Safe and supported communities

Goal 1: All customers will receive efficient, effective, and timely service

Strategy

Improve access to online services.

Initiatives

1. Conduct Phase 1 of the website improvement project.
   • Phase 1 of the website improvement project will improve readability and digital accessibility according to WCAG standards.
2. Conduct Phase 2 of the website improvement project.
   • Phase 2 of the website improvement project will improve access to online services and provide more digital service options.

Strategy

• Ensure timely service for the public.

Initiatives

1. Develop standardized constituent request and customer feedback process.
   • We will create agency-wide processes and standards for handling and resolving customer emails, phone calls, messages, and constituent requests.
2. Develop agency standards for customer experience based upon customer feedback.
   • We will understand the customer experience and create expectations of timeliness and quality of service.

Strategy

• Improve existing in-person and phone channel offerings to ease interactions with our agency.

Initiatives

1. Modernize the agency’s customer contact centers.
   • We will deploy modernized telephone systems to support its contact centers.
2. Modernize the agency’s licensing service offices.
   • We will modernize its queuing technology, allowing efficient, in-person customer service.
3. Deploy DOL2Go services.
   • The agency will create a mobile office to provide customers with greater access to our services.

Goal 2: We will consistently and equitably apply rules and policies across programs

Strategy

• Identify and implement opportunities for rule and policy improvements.

Initiative

1. Inventory agency public safety rules and policies, conduct crosswalk mapping exercise, and create recommendations for improvement.
   • By creating an inventory of all our public safety rules and policies to understand the landscape, conducting a mapping exercise that compares policies and rules, and creating recommendations that seek to provide clarity, we will eliminate barriers to our customers and update outdated language.

Goal 3: Reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities on Washington roadways

Strategy

• Implement DOL’s portion of the state’s highway safety plan, Target Zero.

Initiatives

1. Create an implementation plan for key agency actions identified in the Washington Traffic Safety Commission Highway Safety Plan.
   • We will convene agency subject matter experts to develop a multidivisional prioritization plan that builds upon legislation and other sources of research to support our actions identified in the WTSC Highway Safety Plan.
2. Revamp the Driver Guide, skills exam, and scoring methodology.
   • Updating the driver skills exam, Driver Guide, and scoring methodology will increase awareness of rules of the road and enhance driver skills when operating a motor vehicle.

Safe and secure data

Goal 1: All DOL data meets the highest standard of privacy and security

Strategy

• Continually implement best practices to improve stewardship and standards for the management of data.

Initiatives

1. Establish quality standards and enhance policies to govern the agency’s use of data.
   • Utilize our Data Governance Committee to adopt standards and enhance policies for supervisors and technical staff regarding the our data practices in the collection, use, sharing, retention, and storage of our data.
2. Implement secure data standards.
   • We will follow industry best practices for handling and storing sensitive data.
3. Implement best practices for the encryption of confidential data being processed, stored, and shared.
   • We will develop and follow business processes to ensure encryption is used by our staff when sharing data.
4. Implement multi-factor authentication with our online services.
   • We will enable additional steps to verify identity in Secure Access Washington to protect customer information.
5. Conduct an independent third-party audit of our internal data protections.
   • We will undergo an independent review of our data practices and protections to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.

Strategy

Protect our customers’ personal information.

Initiatives

1. Implement customer alerts for online high-value transactions.
   • We will implement a customer alert system that will provide notifications to customers when an online change is made to certain records on their account in applicable DOL applications.
2. Evaluate login settings in DOL applications against industry best practices.
   • Our evaluation will create recommendations to mitigate security concerns.
3. Conduct a feasibility analysis on technology solutions that will decrease occurrence of dishonored payments.
   • We will review business practices against potential technology solutions in its analysis.
4. Conduct a feasibility analysis on the Office of the State Treasurer approved digital payment methods for increased customer payment options.
   • We will review potential technology solutions with approved providers that would allow additional customer payment options.
5. Conduct a feasibility analysis of authentication options for improved security in DOL applications and provide recommendations to our leadership.
   • We will review logon options and offer recommendations on how to improve security.

Additional resources

We created the following downloadable documents that explain and support our strategic plan.

• Strategic Plan poster
  • A 36” x 27” printable poster that lists priorities and goals
• Graphical document
  • A printable, 25-page presentation-style document with priorities, goals, and initiatives, with brief descriptions of each initiative
• Text document
  • A smaller version of the above, with fewer graphics