Equal employment opportunity means to provide equal access and opportunity to anyone who qualifies, regardless of sex, race, age, color, religion, mental or physical disability, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and/or military status. Covered groups cannot be excluded from participation in employment opportunities.

More information about providing equal employment opportunity can be found at:

• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

For employees to succeed, they need to know what success looks like and receive regular coaching and feedback on their progress. The Performance and Development Plan (PDP) is a tool for facilitating communication between a supervisor and an employee about:

These Q&A relate to Executive Order 12-02.

Defining culture

Organizational culture is the pattern of shared beliefs created as a group learns how to solve problems, and then passes on that learning to new members. Culture consists of:

Before developing diversity initiatives, consider the reason for the initiative(s). Consider what the agency would like to achieve or desired outcomes as a result of these initiatives, then build the business necessity for the initiative.

Agency and enterprise results help inform and monitor workforce management practices statewide.

Reports

• 2022
• 2021 (PDF, 114 KB)
• 2020 (PDF, 71 KB)

Veteran initiatives

In May 2019, Governor Inslee signed Executive Order 19-01 on employment opportunities for every veteran, transitioning service member, Reserve and National Guard member and military spouse within Washington State.  OFM State HR (SHR) is charged with setting standards for agency plans and developing agency resources.  SHR is piloting several enterprise strategies in which agencies may participate, including but not limited to:

Washington state reaffirms and renews its commitment to eliminating and remedying the historical effects of workplace inequities and barriers for people with disabilities. State government, one of the largest employers in Washington, shall strive to employ people with disabilities at all levels of state government at the same percentage within its workforce as the percentage of working age adults with disabilities residing in our state.

The Talent Management Council serves as the state’s recruitment advisory and coordinating group.  The council works collaboratively with OFM State Human Resources, DES Workforce Support and Development, and agency HR offices to provide recommendations on strategic staffing efforts across state government.

Employee performance management is both a process and a commitment to building a performance culture that:

• Links individual performance to organizational goals and performance measures.
• Ensures both the organization and its staff succeed in achieving business objectives.
• Promotes employee engagement, productivity, growth, and retention.

Practices are the tools organizations use to make a performance culture visible and tangible.