All Quadrant Model – Organization


Though organizations are collective in nature, they are made up of individuals. Thus, we can use the All Quadrant model to consider the individual and group aspects of an organization.

Subjective staff/organization qualities Objective organization qualities
  • Individual staff beliefs about volunteers
  • Individual staff experiences as volunteers
  • Individual staff experience working with volunteers
  • Volunteer administrator’s role (Is it  an intentional or inadvertent/collateral responsibility?)
  • Volunteer administrator sense of agency (ability to influence others)
  • CEO beliefs about volunteers
  • Organization cause/mission
  • Population served
  • Location
  • Volunteer roles
  • Volunteer administrator on staff
  • Rank of volunteer administrator
  • Volunteer engagement skills
General organization values/norms Organization systems
  • Openness to volunteers (overall/ by dept.)
  • Beliefs about volunteer value (or lack thereof)
  • Perceived leadership support for volunteer engagement
  • Permeability of organization boundaries (who can come in)
  • What counts as ‘real’ work & who is eligible to do it
  • Volunteer handbook
  • Position descriptions
  • Online volunteer application/information
  • Training for volunteers & staff
  • Volunteer recognition awards/events
  • Staff evaluation on volunteer engagement
  • Staff or volunteer time/$/space/equipment/technology for volunteer engagement

Questions for practical application

  • What level of awareness exists about each quadrant in your organization?
  • How is this awareness informing volunteer engagement planning, development, and support?
  • Are we missing any quadrants in our assessment of volunteer engagement? What are the implications of their absence?
  • How does this work align with organizational mission, values, and initiatives?
  • How do volunteers’ quadrants interact and align (or not) with an organization’s quadrants?

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