MAPPING STRENGTHS, EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES: VOLUNTEER TASK ALIGNMENT IN A NEUROINCLUSIVE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
Umbrella U.S., Inc., is the U.S. branch of a global nonprofit advocacy organization focused on improving the economic security of the neurodivergent population through community involvement, education, and sustainable change initiatives. Volunteer retention was the local organizational issue at hand. I conducted an applied improvement project in collaboration with the executive director to address this problem. The intervention solution targeted the volunteer onboarding process and included a volunteer onboarding survey, a task-mapping process to align volunteer strengths with tasks, and formal task and role descriptions. The improved clarity that resulted from the alignment of strengths to tasks and the tangible descriptions of the task and role profiles created pathways that empowered volunteers to contribute to the organization in meaningful ways. The community played a crucial role in the solution, offering a safe and welcoming space for volunteers to share strengths and support needs while fostering a sense of belonging.
“Throughout the project, the community was essential to the intervention’s success. It influenced volunteers’ perceptions of value, validation, belonging, acceptance, and connection and created a safe space for honest conversations and growth.”
“The applied improvement project integrated discussions of volunteer strengths into the onboarding process and connected those strengths with tasks in practical ways. This enabled us to ‘work from the same page’ and identify precisely how volunteers could contribute by describing what they could do using tangible examples of strengths-aligned work.”
INTRODUCTION
Neurodivergent (ND) individuals, many of whom increasingly identify as “different,” not “disabled” (Djela, 2021; Doyle, 2020), include those diagnosed with conditions such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, and Tourette’s syndrome. These groups are estimated to represent 15%–20% of the population (Montvelisky, 2021) and experience chronic work-related challenges. Unemployment and underemployment for autistic people are estimated to be as high as 80% (Davies et al., 2024; White, 2021). Umbrella U.S., Inc., the U.S. branch of a global nonprofit advocacy organization, has a mission to improve life outcomes for this population, including economic security. This organization addresses challenges through “nothing about us without us” community involvement, education, and sustainable change initiatives in education, employment, health care, and social protection. An executive director leads this branch of the all-volunteer organization, which, in early 2023, had an active volunteer base of six people (seven including the director, who was also a volunteer). Although disclosure is not required and Umbrella U.S. welcomes all volunteers regardless of neurotype, the executive director and many volunteers proudly self-identify as neurodivergent.
The local organizational issue we chose to address for this applied improvement project was volunteer retention. The problem of practice was related to the gap between 80% volunteer retention, which was the target improved outcome, and the existing outcome of 22%. Of 27 individuals who had expressed interest in helping the organization in the first 6 months of 2023, only six volunteers, or 22%, actively worked in jobs or on tasks or projects. This problem negatively impacted the entire organization as it could not achieve its mission without active volunteers. Using the International Society for Performance Improvement/Human Performance Technology model of performance improvement to guide the work (Van Tiem et al., 2012), I conducted a comprehensive performance analysis to understand the gaps, root cause contributors, and organizational context. After some discussion regarding impact and priority and considering issues of scope and feasibility, we decided to focus our efforts on improving the volunteer onboarding process.
The ND community faces significant barriers to connecting with steady and fulfilling work. Whereas there are differences between volunteerism and employment, both fit within an inclusive definition of fulfilling work (Owens et al., 2019). This broader definition captures dimensions that are common to both types of work, such as well-being, growth, work engagement, job satisfaction, and a sense of purpose (Allan et al., 2019; Owens et al., 2019). In addition, positive self-image, self-awareness, and self-advocacy have been linked to positive outcomes for ND individuals at work (Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, Hultman, & Hallqvist, 2023). Finally, individuals who build skills and confidence in one type of work (volunteerism) can translate those skills to positive outcomes in another (employment). This is well-supported by studies focused on volunteer retention (Gaber et al., 2022; Ngah et al., 2022; Stefanick et al., 2020; Traeger & Alfes, 2019). In short, we believed that providing work opportunities in a safe space, such as volunteering with Umbrella U.S., would directly contribute toward the organization’s goal of improving employment outcomes for the ND population.
Literature Review
The literature review provided the theoretical and conceptual foundation for the improvement project. This review led to the identification of the strengths-based inclusive theory (S-BIT) of Work (Owens et al., 2019) and the social cognitive career theory (Lent et al., 1994) as supporting theoretical frameworks. The S-BIT of Work (Owens et al., 2019) promotes strengths while acknowledging challenges and provides inclusive definitions of both work and worker. This theory recognizes that there are many types of work and many types of workers, each with their own unique characteristics. In addition, the S-BIT of Work is inclusive to the entire career journey, recognizing that a career is not only about entering the workforce but also includes career transitions, such as promotions, unemployment, and retirement. Lastly, the theory emphasizes the importance of a safe, supportive environment in finding and maintaining access to fulfilling work. Its predecessor, the social cognitive career theory (Lent et al., 1994), is similar in its focus on strengths and acknowledgment of challenges related to employment and is a prevalent theory in vocational psychology. These theories and related constructs align well with the unique characteristics of the ND community and provided the theoretical foundation for this research project.
The literature review identified themes related to the problem of practice, including ND lived experience, volunteer retention, and the role of community. Findings related to lived experience showed that the workplace environment often created negative experiences for ND workers, including fear, ignorance, or invalidation of “otherness” (Cheriyan et al., 2021; Djela, 2021; Hedley et al., 2021); lack of or inappropriate workplace accommodations (Cheriyan et al., 2021; Djela, 2021); reluctance to disclose for fear of repercussions (Cheriyan et al., 2021; Djela, 2021; Hedley et al., 2021); chronic underemployment (Cheriyan et al., 2021; Hedley et al., 2021); and poor work fit (Goldfarb et al., 2019; Hedley et al., 2021). However, positive personal characteristics, such as awareness of strengths (Cheriyan et al., 2021; Goldfarb et al., 2019; Russell et al., 2019), self-determination (Djela, 2021; Goldfarb et al., 2019), self-efficacy (Cheriyan et al., 2021; Djela, 2021; Goldfarb et al., 2019; Hedley et al., 2021; Lamash & Meyer, 2022; Russell et al., 2019), and self-esteem (Djela, 2021; Lamash & Meyer, 2022; Russell et al., 2019), had the potential to mitigate and even sometimes overcome those challenges. Supportive and inclusive environments often encouraged the development of these attributes, allowing individuals to grow and thrive despite prior negative experiences. Studies focused on volunteer retention showed that volunteers tended to stay with a nonprofit organization in the presence of volunteer autonomy (Ngah et al., 2022; Stefanick et al., 2020; Traeger & Alfes, 2019), social connectedness (Gaber et al., 2022; Traeger & Alfes, 2019), professional skills development (Gaber et al., 2022; Ngah et al., 2022; Stefanick et al., 2020; Traeger & Alfes, 2019), and effective administrative operations and support (Gaber et al., 2022; Ngah et al., 2022; Traeger & Alfes, 2019). Reasons volunteers left included time poverty (Gaber et al., 2022; Stefanick et al., 2020) and economic insecurity (Stefanick et al., 2020).
Finally, new trends in job structures (e.g., remote work, gig work, microtask crowdsourcing, independent contracting) suggested that a community model that supported working individuals, regardless of where it existed or how it was structured, could effectively provide a framework that enabled workers to access and maintain fulfilling work (Ihl et al., 2020; Petriglieri et al., 2019). Wright et al. (2021) examined “places of social inclusion” (p. 72) to determine what made them different from other organizations. This study focused on service organizations at which everyone was accepted; examples included libraries, hospitals, and other publicly available social services. These places created a kind of community distinctly separate from that of a traditional organization by incorporating intentions of higher purpose and acceptance into every aspect of the work. This study defined those intentions as “a custodianship” (p. 72) and the people managing these organizations as “custodians” (p. 73) of a uniquely inclusive community-focused organization. These studies brought a unique perspective to the construct of the professional community, suggesting the feasibility and inherent value of creating a social support structure separate from (Ihl et al., 2020; Petriglieri et al., 2019) or layered on top of (Wright et al., 2021) the more traditional organizational format.
The community support theme added a significant dimension to the problem of practice because ND individuals often reported experiencing a sense of “otherness” in the traditional workplace stemming from isolation, discrimination, or outright exclusion from organizational communities (Cheriyan et al., 2021; Djela, 2021; Russell et al., 2019). In a very real sense, the benefits that came from being a part of a workplace community have not historically been accessible to the ND worker. These more recent workplace trends may have created challenges for the broader population, but the solutions—new forms of community—presented intriguing opportunities to create more inclusive support models for the benefit of the ND population.
Studies related to the proposed intervention were grouped into themes of ND perceptions of self, strengths-based approaches to work, task matching, and the role of community. Whereas no single study supported the entirety of the intervention solution, these themes supported specific components of the solution. The ND self-perception studies supported the self-awareness component of the onboarding survey as the research positively correlated awareness of strengths and challenges and positive self-identity with improved work perspectives and outcomes (Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, Hultman, & Hallqvist, 2023; Dean et al., 2022; Lamash & Meyer, 2022; Pesonen et al., 2021). The strengths-based approaches to work and task-matching studies supported the strengths-to-tasks mapping intervention, showing positive outcomes for individual characteristics such as self-determination, self-esteem, and self-efficacy and work-related aspects such as job performance and worker satisfaction (Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, Hultman, & Hallqvist, 2023; Faletehan et al., 2021; Goldfarb et al., 2019; Kaur et al., 2022; Kost et al., 2018; LaRue et al., 2019; Lee et al., 2020; Murthi et al., 2023; Walsh et al., 2019; Wong et al., 2018). Finally, the intervention solution depended on the unique nature of the Umbrella U.S. community, which was supported by studies showing how a supportive community can provide a safe space for positive growth (McConkey et al., 2021; Nicholas et al., 2018; Remington and Pellicano, 2019) even when it is an online community (Andersen et al., 2022).
The methods in these studies were primarily qualitative. Researchers involved in ND studies emphasize the importance of capturing the authentic perceptions and lived experiences of this unique population through qualitative design and open-ended interview questions (Bernard et al., 2023; Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, Botha, et al., 2023; Crane et al., 2021; Grant & Kara, 2021). In addition, these researchers employ strategies such as positionality and reflexivity to ensure that they accurately represent the participants’ perspectives. The design of this study aligned with those approaches.
At the time of this research, few studies existed that examined this population in terms of promoting strengths in the workplace; most were focused on implementing environmental accommodations, educating employers, or managing limitations. Even fewer studies attempted to implement interventions to improve work outcomes for this population. This created both a challenge and an opportunity for this applied improvement project. Because so few intervention studies were available to guide this work, the research themes were developed as a conceptual framework to support each intervention within the proposed solution.
Intervention Solution
After discussing potential interventions to improve the onboarding process, the chosen solution included three components: formal role and task descriptions, a volunteer onboarding survey, and a strengths-task mapping process. In addition to mitigating underlying gaps and root causes of the problem, these interventions also strongly aligned with the organization’s mission, vision, and commitment to promoting economic security for the ND community. The solution aimed to improve the problem of volunteer retention through improved volunteer self-awareness of strengths and challenges; precise alignment of strengths and interests with tasks, roles, and employable skills; and positive work-related interactions in a safe space.
Solution development included the creation of role and task profiles, the volunteer onboarding survey, and the strengths-task mapping process. The role profiles were created first as these informed the survey and the mapping process. This involved collaborating with the executive director to define volunteer roles and the specific tasks that were required to complete the work for each role. Formal role and task definitions were created based on definitions from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration. O*NET is considered the primary resource for occupation-related information in the United States (National Center for O*NET Development, n.d.; Peterson et al., 2001); it is also an empirically and theoretically sound framework that is frequently used in occupational research (Bhatnagar, 2018; Choi et al., 2012; Washington & Jaegers, 2020). These role and task profiles clarified the work; defined the expectations for each role and task; and connected volunteer effort with documented, employable skills.
The strengths-to-task mapping worksheet was developed next. This tool, also based on the O*NET content model, mapped tasks to roles. In addition, interest categories, supported using Holland’s (1959) theory of vocational choice, were also mapped to roles. The two deliverables resulting from this effort were a primary worksheet to show the mapping of all roles, tasks, and interests and a scoring guide template to facilitate the manual mapping of the survey results (i.e., strengths) to these elements for each volunteer.
Finally, the onboarding survey was developed. This survey included several sections: one for interests and several for task-based questions. Whereas the interest-based questions were supported by Holland’s (1959) interest categories, the examples provided in each category were expanded to fit a more inclusive definition of work as supported by the S-BIT of Work (Owens et al., 2019) to capture interests not traditionally associated with employment. For example, the “investigative” category included examples such as detective work, internet research, and solving puzzles. The task-based questions, which focused on foundational skills for each role, were also written to align with this expanded definition of work. This facilitated the identification of strengths that were not overtly connected to employment skills but had work-related value (e.g., maintaining a family budget as a financial management skill). In addition, to increase the visibility of strengths for participants, each task-based question (i.e., “What can I do?”) was accompanied by an energy indicator question, which asked volunteers if the idea of frequently performing this type of task felt draining, energizing, or neutral. The areas in which an individual could correctly perform a task and felt energized at the thought of frequently doing that task were identified as their primary strengths. This approach is inclusive as some ND individuals may not possess adequate self-awareness to recognize their strengths due in part to chronic misalignment of past employment (Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, Hultman, & Hallqvist, 2023; Russell et al., 2019). The final section covered specialized skills; this was needed to support roles with specific skill sets (e.g., a website administrator requires knowledge of HTML). The last question in the survey asked respondents to share anything else they felt would be important for the organization to know. Questions were mapped into the primary worksheet and scoring guide templates to align results with tasks and roles. Two deliverables were produced as a result of this effort: the onboarding survey and a summary report template, which contained a summary of participants’ answers from the survey and suggestions for tasks and roles as revealed through the strengths-task mapping process.
METHODOLOGY
Guiding Questions
Guiding questions connected the study’s purpose with its findings and ensured intentional design and alignment from the start of implementation through data collection and analysis to the study’s conclusion. Process-guiding questions focused on the journey, providing data about how the intervention solution was implemented. Outcome-guiding questions focused on the result. The following guiding questions were used to ensure alignment of process data:
How did the implementation of the onboarding survey and task-mapping solution influence volunteer onboarding?
How did participants respond to the intervention?
The following guiding questions were used to ensure alignment of outcomes data:
In what ways did the implementation of the onboarding survey and task-mapping solution influence volunteer onboarding?
To what extent did participants perceive the intervention to have an impact on the volunteer onboarding experience?
To what extent did participants’ perceptions regarding their potential fit as a volunteer change as a result of the intervention?
To what extent did participants’ perceptions regarding their ability to add value to the organization change as a result of the intervention?
Participants
Participants of this study were adults (aged 18 or older) who had expressed interest in working or continuing to work with the organization as volunteers. This was ensured by recruiting participants through the organization’s private Discord server and confirming their eligibility with a participant screening form. The participant sample was intended to be representative of the pool of potential and existing volunteers at Umbrella U.S., and the requirements for participation were designed to be as inclusive as possible to allow for a variety of perspectives and experiences. In all, eight participants joined, and six participants fully completed the study.
Procedures
At the beginning of the study, I posted recruitment materials to the private Discord server for Umbrella U.S., which was accessible to anyone who showed interest in volunteering with the organization. Once confirmed, participants were then emailed a link to the onboarding survey with instructions and a timeline to complete. As I received the completed surveys, I scored their answers using the strengths–task mapping worksheet and created a summary report of findings, which I sent to each volunteer and the executive director. I then scheduled a time for the three of us to meet via Zoom to officially onboard the volunteer, discuss the findings, and decide on next steps. Upon completion of the study, I scheduled an interview with each participant to get their perspectives and feedback. The project was designed to take place over an 8-week period with distinct recruitment (1 week), intervention implementation (5 weeks), and postinterview (2 weeks) phases.
Ethical Considerations
Of primary concern with this research was to provide a safe, protected space for participants to learn about themselves and express their authentic perspectives and experiences. As such, the purpose of the research, participant expectations, and planned use of the data were clearly explained via a consent form, which participants were required to sign. During initial recruitment, the privacy of all actual and potential volunteers was protected by posting to the organization’s Discord server, allowing for distribution to all who were connected to the organization without any expectation of commitment.
Another ethical concern was the danger of interpreting participants’ experiences through an inaccurate lens. This was a critical concern, especially for the ND population, who had so often been misunderstood and continue to be misrepresented in research (Bernard et al., 2023; Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, Botha, et al., 2023; Djela, 2021; Praslova et al., 2023). This was mitigated through credibility strategies, including member checking, triangulation of data, and applied researcher reflexivity and positionality statements.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Data Collection Plan
Table 1 outlines the data collection plan, which shows the alignment of guiding questions to data sources. Three types of qualitative instruments were used to collect research data: meeting minutes, the researcher’s implementation journal, and postimplementation interviews. The data sets were chosen to triangulate data and tell the story from multiple complementary perspectives. The onboarding meeting minutes focused on the discussion of strengths, tasks, and next steps between the executive director and participants. The executive director check-in meeting minutes captured the executive director’s perspective of the interventions. The interviews captured the perspectives of the participants. Lastly, the implementation journal captured my own perspective and reflections of the process as it unfolded.
Qualitative Data Collection Instruments
Meeting minutes
After I delivered the summary reports, I scheduled a meeting with the executive director and each volunteer to review the results and discuss tasks that might be a good fit for them given their strengths. This conversation integrated well with the onboarding process that already existed, by which the executive director met with potential volunteers to get to know them and create an initial project plan. The meeting minutes, recorded using Otter.ai, provided helpful outcome data to understand how the intervention impacted participants’ perceptions of themselves and their ability to contribute to the organization. The meeting minutes also included next steps for the volunteers, which contained specific tasks to complete; these action items were valuable in understanding whether participants ultimately agreed with the alignment and decided to move forward with the recommended tasks.
I also used meeting minutes from the weekly check-ins with the executive director as a data source. This informed process data from the director’s perspective regarding how the implementation was going and any observations or participant feedback they had received. These minutes also informed outcomes data in terms of the director’s perceptions of intervention effectiveness and participants’ responses to the interventions.
Implementation journal
The implementation journal captured my own reflections and thoughts about the process as implementation unfolded and allowed for reflexivity in establishing myself as a distinct but separate voice in the process. I considered myself both an “outsider” to this organization and an “insider” based on the shared lived experience of being ND. This data also informed our thinking in terms of future improvements for the onboarding framework.
Interviews
Interviews were conducted via Zoom and scheduled for 1 hour. I employed a semi-structured format and open-ended questions to encourage authentic responses and offered to send the questions in advance for those who wanted or needed time to prepare. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Transcripts from these postintervention interviews provided outcomes data after the project was complete.
Process Analysis
The process analysis tells the story of the implementation. My implementation journal, meeting minutes, and interview transcripts were used to build this narrative. The process included the following activities: recruitment, onboarding survey, task-mapping worksheet, role profiles, summary report, onboarding meetings, executive director weekly check-ins, and postintervention interviews.
Recruitment
Recruitment efforts included posting written and video content to the volunteer Discord server, which was private but accessible to anyone connected to the mission. This approach allowed volunteers to decide for themselves whether they wanted to participate. Initially, the recruitment phase was planned for 1 week, but recruiting efforts resulted in one participant during the first week. Because participants were able to progress through the intervention independently, I decided to continue recruitment efforts on a rolling basis. Two participants signed up during the second week of recruitment, and four more joined over the next 6 weeks. Participant 8 signed the consent form 14 weeks after recruitment started. In total, eight volunteers signed the consent form. Due to life challenges, participants 7 and 8 were unable to proceed with the study. Their data were excluded from the findings.
Onboarding Survey
The onboarding survey was created in Google Forms. Once participants signed the consent form, I sent them the link to complete the survey. Seven participants completed this part of the process. Similar to my experience with recruitment efforts, the timeline for survey submission had to be extended to accommodate the staggered nature of participants joining at different times.
Task-Mapping Worksheet
I created the task-mapping worksheet in collaboration with the executive director, who provided a description of available roles at the organization. These roles were divided into tasks, aligned to interest categories, and mapped to interest and task-based questions in the survey. In this way, participants’ answers could be mapped to tasks and roles.
A scoring sheet was created for each participant using the task-mapping worksheet. Once a survey was submitted, I scored the results using the survey answer key and the task-mapping worksheet. This process resulted in two deliverables: a volunteer scoring sheet, which was shared with the executive director, and a volunteer summary report, which was provided to both the executive director and the participant in advance of the onboarding meeting.
Role Profiles
Additionally, role profiles were created based on the role descriptions provided by the executive director. These profiles included role definitions, aligned tasks, descriptions of tasks, task subskills, and aligned interests. The role profiles were created in Google Docs with the intention of adding them to the organization’s website for reference once they were finalized. During the first few weeks of the project, we decided to organize the information to present tasks first instead of roles with aligned roles for a given task listed in a separate callout (see Figure 1). This decision was made to establish clear continuity between the profiles on the website and the summary report format, which focused primarily on tasks. Once finalized, these task definitions, associated subskills, and their associated roles were posted to the organization’s website. Links to these pages were added to the summary reports so participants could reference them.
Citation: Performance Improvement Journal 63, 5; 10.56811/PIJ-25-0010
Although the profiles pages were designed to be supplemental, it surprisingly played a central role in the onboarding meetings. The executive director screenshared the website and used the summary report and task definitions together to walk participants through where their identified strengths aligned with tasks and, by association, roles. This was instrumental in how participants related to the tasks in several ways. Through the task definitions, they could make connections to things they enjoyed doing in their own lives. As an example, one participant connected the subskill “break large tasks into smaller actionable steps” in the task “organizing, planning and prioritizing work” to creating to-do lists at home. In addition, participants understood how multiple volunteers could contribute to one role by working on different tasks. It was also valuable in conversations in which participants avoided a specific role due to one undesirable task. The ability to view strengths at the task level was instrumental in participants’ understanding of strengths-task alignment and where they could contribute.
Summary Report
The summary report was the primary deliverable for the onboarding survey results. It included how a participant scored the interest categories and a breakdown of answers and energy indicators for tasks. Tasks that were answered correctly and scored highly on the energy indicator were considered primary strengths. Also included in the breakdown was a “notes” section to capture any specialized skills or support needs from the open-ended questions in the survey. A summary of strengths at the task level was presented. The final section suggested roles that were aligned to multiple strengths and tasks. With this report, I aimed to create awareness around volunteer strengths and provide a starting point for conversations about where each volunteer might contribute to the organization.
Onboarding Meetings
The purpose of the onboarding meeting was to discuss the summary report, the volunteer’s strengths, and opportunities with the organization. These meetings were universally liked and valued by all participants. The executive director found the summary reports valuable in the onboarding meetings as they provided focus and clarity for the conversation. Unfortunately, the meetings were also very difficult to schedule. I had initially planned for the intervention implementation phase, which started when participants signed the consent form and ended with the onboarding meeting, to occur over 5 weeks. I had to extend this phase to 12 weeks. Most people involved with the study experienced major life challenges during the project, including unemployment, homelessness, relocations, and health concerns. In all, six participants completed this phase of the process.
Executive Director Check-ins
Regular communication with the executive director was achieved through the weekly check-ins, which were held via Google Meet. These meetings were a time to discuss the details of the implementation and resolve any challenges that arose. An unexpected but valuable outcome of these meetings was the opportunity to hear about participants’ progress after their participation in the study. This was due in part to the staggered participant rate. While waiting to meet with participants who had joined later in the study, the executive director continued conversations with participants who had completed the study and shared those updates and the ongoing impacts of our efforts during the weekly check-ins.
Postintervention Interviews
The postintervention interviews were intended to gather participants’ thoughts and experiences and were a major source of outcome data. These were valuable in gaining an understanding of participants’ perspectives. Interviews were also difficult to schedule for the same reason as the onboarding meetings; life, employment, and scheduling challenges resulted in delays. Interview questions were offered in advance for those who wanted to prepare their responses. Interviews were scheduled for 60 minutes to allow plenty of reflection time. The conversations were deeply engaging, and shared lived experiences created connections between interviewer and interviewee. Stories of past and present experiences enhanced answers to interview questions, creating a rich data set. This phase was originally planned for 2 weeks but was extended to 13 weeks to accommodate schedules.
Outcome Analysis
I used the Braun and Clarke (2006) thematic analysis method to identify themes related to outcomes. The Braun and Clarke (2006) method was used for this work partly due to its emphasis on reflexivity as an integral part of the process (Byrne, 2022). Using this method, I was able to acknowledge my own lens in interpreting the meaning of data and the choices I made in my analytical approach. This intentional and explicit reflexivity contributed to the study’s credibility and helped establish my voice as separate from but intertwined with the research. In addition, this model emphasizes the creation of codes and themes from the participants’ perspectives rather than from a predetermined set of codes. This data-driven inductive approach maximized the potential for the themes to capture the authentic experiences of the participants themselves. The Braun and Clarke (2006) method is often employed in studies involving ND participants in which capturing authentic perspectives and experiences is central to the work (Goldfarb et al., 2019; Remington & Pellicano, 2019; Seers & Hogg, 2021). Finally, member checking was employed to ensure that participants had the opportunity to validate this alignment.
Meeting Minutes
Meeting minutes from the weekly check-ins with the executive director and the onboarding meetings were analyzed together. These meeting minutes were collected and transcribed using Otter.ai. I read through them for understanding and then made another pass to create codes. Once the initial codes were established, the development of themes began. Codes were reviewed across meeting minutes and tagged with initial themes using highlighted text. Some codes were tagged with multiple themes, whereas others did not align with a theme. This process continued across the data set in an iterative fashion as themes were identified and refined. Part of this iterative process included evaluating themes for consistency, coherence, and overlap, which, on occasion, led to merging or splitting themes to better represent the data. Themes from the meeting minutes data set were used to support the findings.
Interviews
Transcripts from the postintervention interviews provided valuable outcome data. Interview transcripts were autogenerated by Zoom. All transcripts were validated against the recorded audio during the first read-through, and discrepancies were corrected. A second read-through was conducted to fully absorb the material. A first coding pass was conducted on the interview transcripts to extract meaningful data excerpts. A second coding pass was conducted to tag the data excerpts with initial codes, which were added below the excerpts in red text.
Once the initial codes were established, the development of themes began. Codes were reviewed across meeting minutes and tagged with initial themes using highlighted text. Some codes were tagged with multiple themes (see Figure 2), whereas others did not align with a theme. This process continued across the data set in an iterative fashion as themes were identified and refined.
Citation: Performance Improvement Journal 63, 5; 10.56811/PIJ-25-0010
This iterative process of reviewing and refining themes eventually led to the formal definition of nine themes. Notably, eight of the nine themes aligned with the named themes in the meeting minutes data. This was not surprising given the complementary nature of the data types; it was unexpected only in that participants were willing and even eager to share their feedback during the onboarding meetings with the executive director. These themes were used to inform the findings and answer the study’s guiding questions.
Implementation Journal
I captured my thoughts regarding the process in my implementation journal. My notes related to the sequence of activities, changes to the plan, unexpected developments in scheduling or activities, and observations made throughout the implementation. In addition, I also captured my thoughts regarding outcomes and perceived alignment with themes found in the literature review. This data source was reviewed to inform the process analysis and to provide evidence from an independent data source to either support, connect, or contradict the developed themes from the other sources.
The study was not without its challenges, especially related to scheduling. During the implementation, most of those involved, including myself, navigated significant life challenges such as unemployment, homelessness, personal health issues, caring for loved ones, and relocation. Flexibility was required to accommodate these challenges; this involved extending timelines and rescheduling meetings, sometimes multiple times. Even with this flexibility, two participants were unable to complete the study due to significant life events.
I also realized the immense value of being an “insider” to the ND community when doing this research. The inclusion of ND researchers in studies involving the ND community validates lived experience and promotes the idea of research “with” instead of “on,” a growing trend with this type of research (Bernard et al., 2023; Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, Botha, et al., 2023; Grant & Kara, 2021). As I noted in a journal entry,
What I wanted to capture here was how I related to them in the interview—I couldn’t help but add my own insights, and I think the conversation was much richer because I was invested in it (as opposed to being an impartial interviewer). This, I think, is one big advantage of being a part of the community.
These connections were deepened with stories of shared experiences in both the world of work and in life-related challenges.
Role and task profiles played a surprising role in the project and became a theme in my journal notes as I saw how they were used in the onboarding meetings. Originally intended to be supplemental, these profiles were important in the discussions as they provided concrete examples of how strengths aligned with tasks. Additionally, they enabled participants to connect their own experiences in meaningful ways, often confirming or expanding upon what they knew to be true about themselves.
Later journal entries captured participants’ continued progress postimplementation as told by the executive director. This was possible in part due to the extended timeline of the study as the earlier participants continued to meet with the executive director. Although long-term outcomes were outside the scope of the study, it was encouraging to hear that several participants had picked up tasks that aligned with their identified strengths. One participant had even drafted their own project plan. This was no surprise, given their strengths of planning and organizing work.
FINDINGS
The purpose of this section is to answer the study’s guiding questions using the data themes that were developed during the data analysis process. The themes from each data source informed the answers and contributed to the overall narrative of the study’s results. Select data excerpts were also included to illustrate the findings with examples. Each guiding question was addressed separately.
Process Guiding Question 1: How Did the Implementation of the Onboarding Survey and Task-Mapping Solution Influence the Volunteer Onboarding Experience?
The solution influenced the onboarding experience in several ways. Themes that were created during the data analysis process, including “confirmed strengths”, “aligning strengths with tasks”, “context needed”, and “energy feedback”, helped to answer this question. First, answers to the task-based questions in the survey allowed participants and the executive director to talk about specific volunteer strengths during the onboarding meeting. One participant appreciated the opportunity to discuss their findings with the executive director as a way to level set: “This is what I’m good at. This is what I’m not good at. I know this now. You know this from a source other than me, so now we can work from the same page.”
Second, answers to the energy indicator portion of the task-based questions allowed participants and the executive director to talk about energy flow and how energy is related to strengths and challenges. Importantly, even when participants found the survey to be limited in its ability to capture nuance or disagreed with the definition of energy (e.g., energy is always expended in the physical sense versus the notion that an activity can be energizing or draining), the topic of energy in the discussions led to valuable insights as it allowed participants to explore the nuance of where and how their energy flowed and what conditions or accommodations enabled them to do their best work. These findings were consistent with studies connecting self-awareness, self-determination, positive identity, and perceived self-efficacy to positive employment outcomes (Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, Hultman, & Hallqvist, 2023; Dean et al., 2022; Goldfarb et al., 2019; Lamash & Meyer, 2022; Russell et al., 2019). Finally, mapping strengths to tasks created a clear path for volunteers to contribute to the organization in specific ways. Through the discussions in the onboarding meetings and with the help of the specific examples found in the task and role profiles, participants learned how their strengths aligned to tasks and how tasks aligned to roles. One participant spoke of their uncertainty about how to help the mission, saying, “I really want to help, but I don’t know what I can contribute. And this definitely helped kind of crystalize things for me … [I have] a better idea of what I can do and what I can contribute paired with what the organization needs.” Another participant voiced the other side of that perspective: “I don’t feel like I’m going to be assigned things I’m not good at. I feel like I’m genuinely going to be able to contribute.” These findings are aligned with the findings from other studies regarding the effectiveness of task mapping when improving employment outcomes (Kaur et al., 2022; Kost et al., 2018; LaRue et al., 2019; Walsh et al., 2019).
Process Guiding Question 2: How Did Participants Respond to the Intervention?
There were mixed reactions to the experience of taking the onboarding survey. Whereas some felt it was an improvement over other career-related assessments, others felt it was too limited and did not capture enough context or nuance. Some felt it was too detailed and too long. Several spoke of their strategies to overcome the challenges they experienced answering the survey, which included focusing on relatable aspects of the information, answering questions assuming “best case” scenarios, and waiting for a “high energy day” to complete it. The mixed feedback aligned with the findings from the Hedley et al. (2021) employment program study and signaled a need for adaptability with this type of intervention. There were also mixed reactions to including energy as an indicator of strength. Several spoke of the importance of capturing fluctuations in ability and energy and the nuances of support needs, which they felt was a limitation of the survey. Many participants, particularly those who were connected to the organization because they believed in the organization’s mission, provided specific feedback to improve this part of the intervention in the interest of working toward a truly neuroinclusive onboarding framework.
The results of the survey and the subsequent mapping of strengths to tasks were captured in the summary reports, which were well received. Participants felt the reports were clear and generally agreed with the reported findings. When participants were surprised by a finding, conversations in the onboarding meetings brought clarity and led to further insights.
The onboarding meetings were universally liked as evidenced by the meeting minutes and explicitly stated in the interviews. This was the biggest subtheme under “enjoyable experience” and was further supported by the “importance of community.” These discussions mitigated the survey’s limitations as participants were able to add context and nuance to their answers and discuss their support needs. The connections between volunteer strengths and tasks were solidified through the concrete examples from the role/task profiles, and participants felt valued and validated through these conversations. One participant said,
If my prior job worked with me at this level—how I can contribute to the team, what does and doesn’t cause me stress—I would have lasted a lot longer and done a lot better. If I had this sort of relationship.
This favorable response aligned with the community theme in the literature review. Feeling valued and validated, finding connection, and being able to learn and grow in a safe space were supported by studies regarding the importance of community (Andersen et al., 2022; McConkey et al., 2021; Nicholas et al., 2018; Remington & Pellicano, 2019).
Outcome Guiding Question #1: In What Ways Did the Implementation of the Onboarding Survey and Task Mapping Solution Influence Volunteer Onboarding?
Increased self-awareness was one expected outcome of identifying strengths. Due to participants’ already high levels of self-awareness, this was not a major finding. Strengths were confirmed more than they were discovered. For some, the results did lead to improved self-awareness as strengths were identified or clarified through connections with “energizing” activities. This finding was supported by studies linking self-awareness and positive identity to employment outcomes (Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, Hultman, &Hallqvist, 2023; Lamash & Meyer, 2022; Russell et al., 2019). For others, the value was found in confirming known strengths through task-based examples and relating stories of past experiences. Some participants found value in the results as external validation of known strengths and as a starting point for discussions with the executive director to “work from the same page.” Themes “confirmed strengths” and “metacognition” informed this finding.
Improved clarity was an expected outcome of mapping strengths to tasks, and the study’s findings supported this outcome. Themes “aligning strengths with tasks” and “context needed” supported this finding. Clarity was achieved through the specific examples discussed in the onboarding meetings showing how volunteer strengths related to tasks. This clarity became evident through participants’ stories of past experiences with similar tasks. In addition, the task and role profiles provided examples of how a strength aligned to a task, and these were frequently referred to in the meetings, often creating the necessary context to connect strengths with tasks. This finding was supported by task-mapping studies, in which self-awareness of strengths and interests combined with knowledge of how to use those strengths to complete aligned tasks improved outcomes (Kaur et al., 2022; LaRue et al., 2019; Walsh et al., 2019).
Outcome Guiding Question #2: To What Extent Did Participants Perceive the Intervention to Have an Impact on the Volunteer Onboarding Experience?
Because participants had a high level of self-awareness, most felt that they did not learn anything new about themselves. Participants confirmed that the results aligned with their existing knowledge with one stating that they were “affirming the system.” Some participants felt that the strengths-task alignment discussion helped them better understand how they could contribute to the organization; this is supported by findings from studies with strengths-based approaches (Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, Hultman, & Hallqvist, 2023; Wong et al., 2018). As one participant described, it gave them “a better idea of what I can do and what I can contribute paired with what the organization needs.” Said another, “This is the sort of thing I needed, talking about my strengths and interests, the feedback and mentorship, and what I can do for the organization.” An existing volunteer, comparing the intervention with their previous experience, said, “I had so much trouble with the [original] volunteer application. The strength survey … really helps make things more concrete and easier to work with.” This finding was supported by several themes: “metacognition,” “confirmed strengths,” “aligning strengths with tasks,” and “context needed.”
Outcome Guiding Question #3: To What Extent Did Participants’ Perceptions Regarding Their Potential Fit as a Volunteer Change as a Result of the Intervention?
Several participants spoke of their passion for the organization’s mission as their primary driver for volunteering. This had a significant presence in the data and became a theme during the analysis. One participant said, “I don’t think this process did anything to amplify my already off-the-charts interest.” Said another, “I believe in the organization and what it’s trying to do, and the values align with my own.” This alignment of purpose was the “fit” for them, and the intervention did not affect it. This finding was supported by volunteer studies linking social identity and volunteer retention (Gaber et al., 2022; Ngah et al., 2022; Traeger & Alfes, 2019). Others perceived “fit” regarding how deeply they felt accepted and valued as supported by the theme “the importance of community.” Many felt this was reinforced through the intervention. Participants felt they had a clearer understanding of how they could contribute their strengths to benefit the organization and the community. One participant said, “Being able to participate fully, that’s very important to me.” The idea of “fit” relating to community involvement was supported by studies examining the relationship between the inclusive community, feelings of acceptance, and a sense of belonging (Andersen et al., 2022; McConkey et al., 2021; Nicholas et al., 2018; Remington & Pellicano, 2019; Wright et al., 2021).
Outcome Guiding Question #4: To What Extent Did Participants’ Perceptions Regarding Their Ability to Add Value to the Organization Change as a Result of the Intervention?
Several participants spoke of the importance of community and perceived that their ability to add value was tied to growing this critical aspect of the organization for the good of all community members. This included participating in the applied improvement project to improve the onboarding framework. Several participants felt that they better understood how to contribute as a direct result of the intervention. One participant, viewing the intervention from both a personal and community lens, said,
I don’t feel like I’m going to be assigned things I’m not good at. And if everyone else is being treated the same way and being able to contribute with their strengths, we actually might be able to get something done.
Aside from the inherent value of participation for the good of the community, most participants did not feel that the intervention impacted their perceptions regarding their ability to add value. Participants who knew their value continued to recognize it, and those who doubted it continued to doubt it. Interestingly, despite this finding, the executive director noted that “more work is being done,” citing several examples in which participants had picked up tasks aligned with their strengths. Value, whereas not perceived differently by the participants in the sense that it was something they possessed or were aware of possessing, was observed by the executive director in the application of their strengths. This finding is supported by the theme of “aligning strengths to tasks” and is consistent with findings in the literature (Kaur et al., 2022; LaRue et al., 2019; Walsh et al., 2019).
DISCUSSION
The applied improvement project integrated discussions of volunteer strengths into the onboarding process and connected those strengths with tasks in practical ways. This enabled participants and the executive director to “work from the same page” and identify precisely how volunteers could contribute by describing what they could do using tangible examples of strengths-aligned work. The onboarding meeting, which existed before this project, played an important role in the intervention solution as the conversation brought nuance and context to the identified strengths and facilitated an exploration of individualized “whole person” support. This mitigated the perceived limitations of the onboarding survey. Once participants understood how their strengths aligned to tasks, conversations turned to how their work could provide value to similar tasks across roles and how multiple volunteers could work together to meet the needs of a single role. The opportunity to add value using strengths while finding support in areas of challenge through others in the community who possessed those strengths was appealing to many. Similar to trends in micro-volunteering and microtask crowd-working, this task-based approach seemed to balance the application of strengths with support and flexibility with the added benefits of community solidarity and safety.
The project was less successful in increasing participants’ awareness of their strengths. This was largely due to participants already exhibiting a high level of self-awareness. As a result, the survey results tended to confirm known strengths rather than identify new strengths. The energy-related questions generated a lot of discussion, and some participants inherently identified strengths with tasks they viewed as energizing. Others felt that whether a task was energizing or draining depended on context and was not assessable in a single task-based question. Still, the inclusion of energy led to important discussions about strengths, challenges, and support needs and could be an interesting area for future study.
Whereas participants did not feel differently regarding their ability to add value as a result of this intervention, the executive director stated that “more work was being done.” It may be the case that, for participants who already felt they had value, this intervention connected what they knew they could contribute with what the organization needed, creating a clear path forward. It may also be the case that, for those who doubted their value, actively employing their strengths to complete tasks could lead to a shift in perspective over time, but this study’s timeline was too short to realize those results. Longer term studies connecting positive work-related outcomes with increased confidence, self-efficacy, and sense of purpose support this thinking (Lee et al., 2020; Wong et al., 2018). The S-BIT of Work also supported this view in that the presence of a promotive work context in which individuals feel valued for their contributions and the mitigation of barriers through appropriate support creates optimal conditions for growth in personal characteristics such as hope and empowerment (Owens et al., 2019).
Throughout the project, the community was essential to the intervention’s success. It influenced volunteers’ perceptions of value, validation, belonging, acceptance, and connection, and created a safe space for honest conversations and growth. Perceived fit was strongly tied to the organization’s purpose and community, keeping volunteers connected to the mission. It also provided the support and flexibility needed to allow participants to complete the study as many navigated ongoing and significant personal challenges. This sense of purpose and community acceptance echoed findings from the Wright et al. study (2021), which examined how the intentional custodianship of safety within a community created unique “places of social inclusion” (p. 72). McConkey et al. (2021) linked social connections between ND individuals to improved quality of life, further underscoring the importance of this environment. The role of the community aligned well with the “promotive work context” construct in the S-BIT of Work (Owens et al., 2019). It was also supported by studies in the literature review linking myriad social, personal, and work-related benefits to supportive communities, both in-person (McConkey et al., 2021; Nicholas et al., 2018) and online (Andersen et al., 2022). As both an “insider” to the ND community as a whole and an “outsider” to the Umbrella U.S. community, I came to a deeper understanding of its value through conversations with participants and the executive director, through hearing their stories, and through mutual validation of similar life experiences.
An important aspect of the problem of practice was highlighted during the implementation of the intervention. In the literature, ND challenges related to work included “world” concerns such as mental and physical health challenges, unemployment, and economic insecurity (Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, Hultman, & Hallqvist, 2023; Djela, 2021; Ezerins et al., 2023; Hedley et al., 2021; White, 2021). Reasons that volunteers left nonprofit organizations included time poverty due to other priorities (Gaber et al., 2022; Stefanick et al., 2020) and economic insecurity (Stefanick et al., 2020). Throughout this project, significant life challenges impacted me, the executive director, and most participants. This created delays in the timeline and resulted in two participants who ultimately did not complete the study. Flexibility and patience became imperative for everyone involved, and I experienced firsthand the value of community compassion and inclusion.
Whereas volunteer retention could not be measured given the study’s scope and timeline, there were promising trends in that direction. Specifically, the opportunity to align strengths with tasks and the community connection created conditions favorable to obtaining fulfilling work. The literature supported these findings. A focus on strengths in developing skills and work-related competencies in ND studies connected to positive outcomes such as confidence and well-being (Lee et al., 2020; Wong et al., 2018), and job satisfaction was strongly correlated with volunteer retention (Ngah et al., 2022). In volunteer studies, organizational characteristics that had a positive impact on volunteer engagement and retention included connectedness within a community (Gaber et al., 2022; Ngah et al., 2022; Traeger & Alfes, 2019) and the opportunity to develop professional skills (Gaber et al., 2022; Ngah et al., 2022; Stefanick et al., 2020; Traeger & Alfes, 2019).
The strengths-based inclusive theory of work (Owens et al., 2019) also supported these findings. The existence of a promotive work context, combined with contextual supports and awareness of individual challenges, optimized the conditions for success. Whereas individual characteristics such as positive identity and self-awareness largely existed in this population, the ability to connect strengths with valued work reinforced these characteristics and further contributed to a sense of empowerment. Volunteers who can use specific strengths in specific ways for the good of the organization are actively engaged. Sustained over time, this active engagement can lead to fulfilling work and volunteer retention.
These findings suggest broader implications for organizations that want to recruit and retain ND workers in both volunteer and employment contexts. A strengths-based approach to work shifts away from a deficit-only focus, in which interventions are largely focused on limitations and support needs, toward a recognition of the entire individual—including strengths and support needs—and the promotion of a balanced, holistic approach to work-related interventions (Murthi et al., 2023). In addition, by identifying precisely how ND workers can contribute by describing what work they can do connects strengths with work, creating clarity and momentum. Open, honest conversations are critical for the organization to understand context and identify nuance (e.g. where and how support might be needed) and develop “whole person” support. In the absence of an established community of support, these conversations can begin to build an environment of trust, creating a safe space for ND individuals to learn, grow, and connect with fulfilling work.
Example of a Task Definition and Associated Roles
Example of a Code Aligning to Three Themes in an Interview Transcript
Contributor Notes
MICHELLE F. THUMA holds a doctor of education (EdD) specializing in performance improvement leadership. With deep expertise in instructional and sociotechnical systems design, she has dedicated her career to enhancing workforce readiness for adult learners. Her interests span systems thinking, vocational psychology, organizational development, career skilling, and advancing economic security for underrepresented populations. Email: mthuma@gmail.com.
