When my partner and I took over CIS 19 years ago, I was happy to lead the strategic planning process. Each year, working on the plan allows me to step back from the day-to-day challenges of our agency and think about how CIS can grow, change, and get better at what we do.

With some preparation and research, you can create a strategic plan to reach your social service agency’s goals efficiently. Here is the framework I use. I hope it enables you to develop strategies for success in your field.

Step 1: Start by Inventorying Existing Plans and Goals

Unless this is the very first strategic plan ever created for your organization, the first step is review. Look at your agency’s most recent plan and inventory past goals and objectives. Take note of when your organization last created a strategic plan. Research how goals and objectives were tracked or measured and note any evaluations or relevant scores.

In addition to evaluating the relevance of existing plans, review measurement procedures. Is the evaluation process adequate? Does it need tweaking or even overhauling? As the management consultanta , Peter Drucker says, “what gets measured gets managed”

Establishing confidence in a current plan and associated evaluations is the first step. If it is solid, you can build on it. On the other hand, if the plan is outdated, insufficient, or non-existent, don’t get discouraged. That may give you the opportunity to build a new plan from scratch.

2. Revisit the Mission Statement

When it comes to setting and achieving strategic goals, don’t forget to revisit the mission statement. It’s a reminder of high-level goals and can serve as a helpful guide for staying focused on the big picture. Reviewing the mission statement should provide clarity on what is working well and what needs to be improved.

Use your mission statement as a filter. Everything in the strategic plan should be aligned with the statement and directly support long-term goals.

Step 3. Complete a SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Strengths are things that already exist in some form within your organization, such as exceptional facilities, experts on staff, awards and recognition, or high success rates.

Weaknesses are internal challenges. They might include things like aging equipment, poor location, staff shortages, or conflicts within your organization.

Opportunities are outside factors that favor your organization. Examples include an increasing need for your services, government leaders who champion your cause, or a decline in providers offering the same services in your area.

Finally, threats are external conditions that create headwinds. Perhaps recent legislation presents a new obstacle. Maybe shifts in the industry, social events, or even economic dips make it harder to execute your strategies.

SWOTs are not meant to solve anything. But they make the strategic planning team aware of how difficult or easy it will be to take on new challenges in the coming year.

Step 4. Develop Strategies and Tactics Aimed at Improved Performance

A strategy is a top-level summation of a plan of action. In the strategic planning process, strategies provide directional explanations for reaching long-term goals.

For example, if a long-term goal or objective is to “reduce recidivism,” your strategies might include

• Develop relationships with local police to explore potential triggers for recidivism
• Leverage university resources to research causes of recidivism formally

If a long-term goal or objective is to “provide best-in-class service,” your strategies might include expanded services, enhanced facilities, or measures designed to attract and keep top-tier staff.

Tactics come next. These are the details that explain how you’ll execute strategies. For example, let’s revisit the strategy of “Develop relationships with local police to explore potential triggers for recidivism.” How will that work, exactly? Sample tactics might include:

• Appoint internal liaisons to work with local police
• Conduct research by conducting fifty one-on-one policy interviews to solicit opinions on recidivism
• Share results with police and stakeholders
• Explore the possibility of creating a recurring panel with police and local stakeholders to discuss the issue and brainstorm new approaches

Once you have strategies and tactics in place, you’re ready to assign duties and start making progress.

It’s also smart to format tactics in ways that make measurement simple. Remember that part of the next plan is tracking the success of each tactic. In some cases, it’s easy. (You either completed research or you didn’t.) In others, including specificity and numbers may be necessary.

For example, for the tactic “Share results with police and stakeholders” the measurement is not clear. In this case, you might want to revise the tactic into two parts, as shown here.

• Share and discuss results with the city’s chief of police.
• Share and discuss the results with mayor, state senator, and at least four local media outlets.

5. Financials

Now you need to get down to the math. You’ll need to document financial considerations and include estimates for each part of your strategic plan. While many aspects of your strategic plan will be mission-driven, some features are practical considerations. For example, will your budget allow you to buy new equipment? How will you fund research? How many people can you employ? 

At this stage, it’s wise to lean on the folks in accounting, HR, and operations to create reliable budgets. A well-rounded team can produce accurate estimates and help identify potential trade-offs. For example, if you must invest $100,000 in a new piece of equipment, how can you fund it? Can you get more funding, amortize the expense, or do you need to eliminate other costs? Your financial team can help you develop options.

6. Create Public Value

In our world, public funding is a reality. So your strategic plan must dovetail with the needs of your public audiences. These stakeholders usually include some combination of public administrators, community leaders, industry leaders, mental health experts, local healthcare organizations, and government policymakers.

Keep your stakeholders’ agendas in mind throughout the strategic planning process. If you’re not sure what their agendas are, talk to them. Make sure you know exactly what other people need and expect from your social services organization, and structure your plan in ways that ensure you can deliver on expectations.

Now Get Started!

Strategic planning isn’t quick or easy, so give yourself several months to complete it. Remember that you’ll need to do some measurements, access other opinions, create a financial team, and more. And day-to-day priorities will get in the way and occasionally hijack your schedule. That’s why I strongly recommend giving yourself about twice as much time as you think you’ll need.

Strategic planning is one of the most effective ways to positively impact a social services agency. If you follow these steps, give yourself plenty of time, and bring in experts when needed, you’re on your way to making a big difference in the success of your organization.

In human services, Direct Support Professionals, or DSPs, are a big part of making a positive difference. They’re front-line team members who make our clients smile, progress, and thrive.

While the job can be challenging, it can also be truly rewarding. When DSPs put their heart into their job, the returns are amazing.

What are DSPs?

My company, Community Integrated Services (CIS), offers community care for people with developmental disabilities and a history of challenging behavior. These folks are our clients.

DSPs, or Direct Support Professionals, work directly with our clients, helping them learn to take care of themselves and their homes, working to manage behavioral issues, helping them shop, and in many cases, even supporting them with a job.

While it may sound low-key, before anyone can work with people with developmental disabilities, our DSPs undergo on-the-job training. In addition, DSPs are held to a high, nationally validated Code of Ethics and a set of Core Competencies.

Finding Joy and Success in a Job Well Done

In this employment market, many people can find a range of openings with relatively good starting pay. Running a cash register, working in a warehouse, or driving an Uber are relatively easy jobs. But for many people, those situations also become dull or boring. Easy, low-stress positions sound attractive to some, but these occupations work against human nature. Humans need challenges. We find the most satisfaction when we tackle jobs that clearly matter.

DSPs are working to help people who society often ignores. Our teams find joy in addressing complex situations and in helping the “less fortunate” among us – those that others won’t.

Experiencing challenging situations helps our team members to be genuinely grateful for our individual blessings. I often say that many of us come into the world with precious advantages: intelligence, basic education, a reliable family, friends, and reasonable health.

It can become easy to forget how lucky we are to have these things. But when DSPs work with our clients, it’s hard to ignore the fact that having seemingly small advantages can make significant differences. Many clients come to us with a history of abuse, incarceration, homelessness, or other challenging circumstances that may contribute to behavioral issues. They may also have physical and psychiatric conditions that require medication, monitoring, and professional medical attention.

Care Through Coaching

DSPs are more than personal caregivers. They don’t do things for the clients. Instead, DSPs help clients learn how to do things for themselves. In a way, they are coaches. For example, DSPs don’t shop for clients but may take clients to a store and coach them during the shopping process. They don’t make food for clients, but they may teach them how to operate a microwave, fry an egg, or prepare pasta. The idea is to help an individual be as independent as possible. We may have someone that is non-verbal and considered significantly delayed, but we can still help them learn to sort the dark clothes from the light clothes, how to scoop the laundry soap into the washer dispenser, and to press the button to start the washer. Even the completion of the seemingly minutest chore can become a huge boost to someone’s sense of self. And, of course, we celebrate such moments with the individual. A “woo-hoo” here and there can brighten anyone’s day.

All community care at CIS is based on individual instruction and support plans (IISP) and positive behavior support plans (PBSP). Care specialists create these plans for each client. DSPs follow these plans closely to meet clients’ emotional, practical, and medical needs.

These plans are used as a life planning process. They’re designed to enable people with developmental disabilities to live their best life. DSPs play a pivotal role in these plans, and that can be immensely rewarding.

Becoming a DSP is a Great Way to Start a New Career

Finding joy in work is vital. But it’s even better if a rewarding job is a stepping stone to a meaningful career. Becoming a Direct Support Professional is a great way to begin a career in human services, community care, and related fields.

At CIS, we offer fully paid DSP training and even cover certain certification costs (NAR if working with a delegated client). We also offer very competitive starting wages. Candidates do not need to have prior experience. Full-time employees receive generous benefits, and we often promote from within. So, at CIS, DSPs are often surrounded by managers and support teams who also started as DSPs within these very walls.

If a job as a DSP sounds appealing to you, I strongly encourage you to apply at CIS for positions in South King County and Spokane. We keep job listings current on career page. We’re hiring at both locations and would love to meet you!