FY 2024-2027 strategic plan.

Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency
STRATEGIC PLAN
FISCAL YEAR 2024 2027

INTRODUCTION
The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA) helps individuals with disabilities find and maintain employment by connecting them with services. Every fiscal year, state agencies must reflect on their past strategic plans and develop new goals and strategies the agency hopes to accomplish in the next four fiscal years. To accomplish this task, GVRA had their FY 2024 strategic planning meeting. During the meeting, leadership and key staff members at GVRA reviewed their vision, mission, and values, and considered strategic goals for the next four years.

Vision, Mission, and Values

VISION STATEMENT
The GVRA is building a client-focused agency that partners with the community to expand opportunities for Georgians with disabilities.

MISSION STATEMENT
Serve Georgians with disabilities to empower them
to live independently.

VALUES
Collaboration
Empowering decisions through strong partnerships, active engagement, and teamwork.
Compassion
Demonstrating humanity through listening and action.
Integrity
Showing a commitment to honesty and transparency in doing what is best for our clients, customers, teammates, and community.

Innovation
Seeking continuous growth and improvement through creative solutions, empowerment, and participation.
Service
Providing a quality and meaningful experience to the individuals we serve and support.

Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency

STRATEGIC PLAN

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ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN
STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES, AND THREATS ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS
Statewide facilities/infrastructure Diverse staff Adaptable/flexible Dedicated staff Balanced talent New energy/ideas Target (better than ever) Strong fiscally One mission Technology Funding Customer care

WEAKNESSES
GVRA's current workforce, as of July 1, 2023, consists of 810 employees, compared to 1,170 employees on July 1, 2020, with a cumulative turnover rate of 30%. The average tenure of GVRA employees is 14 years. During this same period, GVRA conducted exit interviews with 156 separated employees, and 68% responded that they would be willing to work for GVRA again.
The factors contributing to the loss of GVRA's workforce include an agency-wide reorganization that eliminated noncritical positions; the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a significant number of GVRA employees electing early retirement; and a volatile workforce on the heels of the pandemic.
Although GVRA has increased the salaries of all employees an average of 30%, the agency continues to struggle to compete with private sector and federal employers in terms of competitive wages, especially in the counselor and adjudicator job series.
To address the retention concerns, the agency has established an enterprise training manager's position and individual training teams dedicated to delivering training to GVRA's two largest programs. GVRA has also identified multiple strategies for employee development.

OPPORTUNITIES
Leveraging technology Increase outreach Recruitment Increase client base Build retention Change management Partnerships Internal/external training Process mapping Positive communication/reputation building Streamline processes

THREATS
Elastic
Employee retention
Employee engagement
Workforce development
Information and technology
Knowledge transfer

Inelastic
Job market
Physical location of offices related to recruiting
Pandemic
Rural counties projected to lose population
Aging population

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OPERATIONS AND ACTION PLANS
The group developed operations and action plans using a challenges and solutions exercise. Critical issues and action items are listed below. A more detailed version of this list appears in the Office of Planning and Budget planning document.
STAFFING
Staff retention and recruitment as well as training and morale are key challenges for GVRA.
Broaden recruiting and outreach efforts.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES Attend statewide career events four per fiscal year beginning in January 2024. Host informational and educational sessions at colleges and universities four per fiscal year beginning in
October 2024. Expand internships to include two additional programs by June 30, 2024.
Create employee engagement opportunities and awards.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES Conduct quarterly surveys on agency initiatives beginning in January 2024. Launch an internal newsletter to engage and inform employees by September 2024. Launch a redesigned employee intranet site by December 31, 2025.
Invest in employee growth and offer professional development opportunities.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES Establish a minimum number of professional development opportunities for all positions and employees
by July 1, 2024. Implement a mandatory training track for each position by July 1, 2024. Develop leadership and mentorship opportunities for emerging leaders by July 1, 2024.

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CONTINUAL PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
Process improvement is critical for GVRA moving forward.
Enhance business processes.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES Identify all manual processes to transition to automated processes by July 1, 2024. Map out 25% of business processes transitioning to automation by each fiscal year to be completed
by July 1, 2026.
Evaluate standard operating procedures (SOPs) and job aid resources.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES Develop a standard timeline for periodic review and revision (as needed) of existing SOPs by July 1, 2024. Establish a policy review committee by December 31, 2023.
IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY
Improving service delivery will enable GVRA to maximize available resources for the public.
Increase the number of individuals served.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES Increase the number of annual claims in the Disability Adjudication Services Program by 10% annually until
July 1, 2026. Increase the number of eligible students served to 40,000 by July 1, 2026. Increase the number of clients served from 28,100 in FY 2023 to 60,000 by July 1, 2026.
Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of services.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES Reduce the average number of days from referral to service delivery to 45 days by July 1, 2026. Reduce the number of days for disability determination to 120 days by July 1, 2026. Establish unique caseloads and units by disability by December 31, 2023.
Increase the focus on customer services.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES Develop and conduct agency-wide customer service training programs by July 1, 2024. Establish quarterly services-related training opportunities by GVRA programs and specialty by July 1, 2024. Develop quarterly informational and public outreach events on GVRA service offerings for prospective clients
and stakeholders by July 1, 2024.

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ENHANCE PARTNERSHIPS
Developing new partnerships with other agencies and advocacy groups will increase GVRA's ability to better serve its clients.
Increase collaborative partnerships with providers.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES Create a quarterly newsletter for distribution to 150 providers, with a target of a 40% open rate for
the newsletter campaign by June 30, 2024 Expand quarterly outreach to providers to include "feedback sessions" designed to enhance service
delivery beginning in January 2024.
Increase collaborative partnerships with state agencies.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES Update the website to include links to additional resources provided by other state agencies by June
30, 2025. Identify and collaborate with other state agencies on quarterly outreach events by June 30, 2024.
Increase collaborative partnerships with other stakeholders
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES Identify and arrange annual outreach opportunities with the following organizations:
Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia by June 30, 2024 United Way of Coastal Empire Savannah by June 30, 2024 Georgia Superintendent's Conference annually for FY 2024FY 2026 Georgia Procurement Conference annually April 2024, April 2025, April 2026 United Way of Central Savannah River Area in Augusta, Georgia by June 30, 2025 United Way of Southwest Georgia by June 30, 2025 Georgia Chamber of Commerce by June 30, 2025 Blind/deaf services and advocacy organizations

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INFRASTRUCTURE
Developing and enhancing current infrastructure will allow GVRA to leverage and build upon existing capital assets to serve clients more effectively and efficiently.
Create a capital improvement master plan.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES Complete the needs assessment of current facilities and capital assets by July 1, 2024. Develop a 10-year capital outlay for facility and equipment needs by July 1, 2025. Develop an enterprise review process for equipment, capital, and facilities by June 1, 2026.
Enhance business applications and network infrastructure.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES Complete the case management re-implementation process by July 1, 2024. Integrate all program IT systems into the enterprise environment by July 1, 2025. Establish a review process to automate repetitive business functions by July 1, 2024. Provide biannual technology training to staff by July 1, 2025.

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