ARTICULO

ELEMENTS OF A CONTINUOUS CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION
INITIATIVE WITHIN AN EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE ORGANIZATION
Tanjia Coleman, Peter Sorensen et Therese Yaeger
ISEOR | « Recherches en Sciences de Gestion »
2014/6 n° 105 | pages 23 à 35

ISSN 2259-6372
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revue Recherches en Sciences de Gestion-Management Sciences-Ciencias de
Gestión, n°105, p. 23 à 35
Elements of a Continuous Cultural

Transformation Initiative
T. Coleman
Doctoral Student
Benedictine University
(USA)
Peter Sorensen
PhD, Professor
(USA)

Therese Yaeger
PhD, Professor
(USA)
This paper reports on an Action Research project undertaken in

a major childhood education organization characterized by extensive
organizational change, financial stress, employee challenges and a
major change in the leadership of the organization. An early
childhood development center is a place where parents leave their
children from the ages of 6 months (infants) until 12 years of age for
educational enrichment and learning. The paper presents the
background material on the organization at the beginning of the
project; the change process described in some detail and the role of
the Action Researcher. The paper defines and explores the role of the
Action Research in a complex, multi-stage process of organization
change.
24 Tanjia COLEMAN, Peter SORENSEN & Therese YAEGER
Key-words: Action research, cultural transformation, organizational

psychology, organizational change, organizational development.
Cet article présente un projet de recherche-action mis en œuvre

dans un grand organisme d'éducation de l'enfance caractérisé par de
profonds changements organisationnels, des difficultés financières,
des problèmes et l’insatisfaction du personnel et un changement
majeur dans la direction de l'organisation. Un centre de
développement de la petite enfance est un lieu où les parents laissent
leurs enfants âgés de 6 mois (nourrissons) jusqu'à 12 ans pour
l'enrichissement de leur éducation et l'apprentissage. Cet article
présente les documents d'information sur l'organisation au début du
projet ; le processus de changement décrit dans le détail et le rôle du
chercheur. L'étude définit et étudie le rôle de la recherche-action dans
un processus complexe et à plusieurs plusieurs étapes du changement
de l'organisation.
Mots-clés : Recherche-action, transformation culturelle, développe-

ment de la petite enfance, changement organisationnel,
développement organisationnel.

Este artículo informa sobre un proyecto de investigación-acción
en una gran organización de educación para la infancia
caracterizada por un extenso cambio organizacional, estrés
financiero, problemas y descontento del personal y un gran cambio en
el liderazgo de la organización. Un centro de desarrollo infantil
temprano es un lugar donde los padres dejan a sus hijos desde la
edad de los 6 meses (lactantes) hasta los 12 años para el aprendizaje
y enriquecimiento educativo. El documento presenta los antecedentes
de la organización al principio del proyecto; el proceso de cambio se
describe en detalle y el papel de la investigadora. El documento
define y explora el papel de la investigación-acción en un proceso
complejo de varias etapas del cambio organizacional.
Palabras claves: Investigación-acción, transformación cultural,

desarrollo infantil temprano, cambio organizacional, desarrollo
organizacional.
CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION: CHILDHOOD CARE ORGANIZATION 25
Introduction
The purpose of this study is to report on an Action Research
project in an early childhood education organization that is actively
engaged in a cultural transformation initiative. Using an Action
Research process we identified which levers contributed to a positive
cultural transformation which hopefully will prove to be a catalyst for
future Action Researchers, as well as organization development
professionals.
Prior to the transformation, the new leadership team and team
members understood that the necessity of a cultural transformation
was mandatory for the organization to maintain its status within the
communities it serves which includes maintaining employee’s
dedication and performance levels. The shift was happening due to a
decrease in market share, high attrition rates among all sectors of
employees, and cultural challenges due to the rapid changes in
executive leadership throughout the years.
The research methodology used in this particular Action
Research study included both family and employee engagement
results and performance data. The findings also contribute to
understanding an Action Research study with the full context and
historical value of why this research is important not only for other
early childhood development organizations, but to organizations in
general.

Background
The conceptual reasoning for an Action Research project is
explained in three phases:
1. The history of the organization
2. The current state of the organization
3. The desired future state of the organization
Following these three phases is the implementation of the Action

Research process, which involved a multi-year journey.
History
The history of the organization is complex in nature. It is the a
large early childhood education provider with thousands of
employees. The organization and its employees have gone through
tremendous changes in the past several years. In the past five years,
the organization has gone through a total of four CEOs which is an
unusual number of leaders for one organization. Many changes and
transitions must be considered each time a new CEO is appointed in
an organization. First, we must understand the numerous historical

changes which include:
 Change of the executive team
 Change of the strategic direction of the organization
 Leadership and middle-management changes
 Acquisition or closing of schools which not only impacts the
organization but the neighborhoods, families and children
that early childhood development centers serve
 Opening of new schools to service families and children
 Compensation, bonus and executive long-term incentive
changes
 Recruiting and retention challenges
 Changes in mission, values and vision
 Erosion of employee, family and client trust
Current State
The current state of the organization consists of an
insurmountable number of changes within the past five years
including executive leadership, regional reallocations, reorganizations,
financial loss and compensation structural changes. The organization
consisted of three businesses that were addressed from a cultural

transformation perspective; namely a) the Stand-Alone Early
Development Childhood Centers; b) Before and After School Care
and School-Aged Summer Camps; and c) Client Sponsored Centers.
The Stand-Alone Early Development Childhood Centers.
These centers are responsible for the majority of the organization’s
revenue. Ages range from infants and toddlers up to pre-kindergarten
age children.
Before and After School Care and School-Aged Summer
Camps. This is the smallest revenue generating entity of the three
businesses. It has the fewest number of employees and children in
programs, but proved to be a complicated business due to the
management team interactions, not only with high level administrators
but also with coordinating multiple part-time schedules for employees.
Client Sponsored Centers. These centers were sponsored
generally by large private and public organizations generally
subsidized for their employees as part of their overall retention and
benefit plans. They pose the most complex business model because
not only do operators have to adhere to the demands of the families,
they also must have executive presence to communicate and manage
the expectations of the clients.
With all of these past changes taking place it was extremely

difficult for the new leadership team to gain the trust of the employee
base. One must remember that this is an organization that has changed
leadership teams consistently every 12-18 months. Therefore, once the
new executive team joined the organization, members of the
organization felt once again that this was the executive leadership
team versus a team that is dedicated and focused on the betterment of
the organization and its employees. The primary concern was: how
can an executive leadership team make such monumental shifts in the
three main facets of the organization; namely, Employee Engagement,
Family Engagement, and Financial Outcomes.
Regarding Employee Engagement, the organization issued
engagement surveys to employees through a major vendor.
Family Engagement surveys commenced soon after the

Employee Engagement phase to determine the level of engagement
that families have regarding early childhood development offerings.
The Family Engagement Survey differs from a general customer
satisfaction survey. Customer satisfaction surveys address customer
service from a very transactional perspective. It does not measure the
level of loyalty from customers. It more specifically targets a point of
contact or a particular problem and how it was resolved. Conversely,
when you are dealing with family engagement it distinctly measures
not only if the family is immersed in your organizational culture but

also if they will continue to engage in future business with your
organization. This is very different than a customer satisfaction
survey. With this in mind, it is clear to see the challenges ahead for
this organization’s executive leadership team.
Regarding Financial Outcomes, the organization is currently a

private organization and many competitors are becoming publically
traded organizations -- yet another dynamic that the organization must
consider. However, even putting aside this latest challenge the
constant executive changes which caused changes in the direction of
the organization has weighed heavily and negatively on the
organization’s financial status. Merit increases, along with
management incentive bonuses and long term incentive plan payouts
have been dismal for the years prior to being under new leadership.
Defining the Desired Future State

The CEO along with the Executive Leadership team understood
that the organization had not only been through several transitions but
has also experienced real trauma. Some of the leaders previously
selected took the organization through highly charged emotional

changes. The CEO and other key members of the leadership team
stated that the organization is going through a cultural transformation.
As a mantra to lead this cultural transformation in the most positive
way, the current leadership team in place wants to build trust with
employees in the following way:
 Be outcome focused and avoid unnecessary activity
 Be fair and consistent in decision making
 Never make decisions or take actions because that is the way
that it has always been done. The appropriate amount of time
and the appropriate initiative will be taken in all decisions
 If a decision needs to be made for the betterment of the
children or families, make the right and appropriate decision
versus waiting for multiple levels of approvals in order to do
the right thing
 Team members will be heard through multiple avenues
including:
o Engagement surveys
o Focus groups
o Town hall meetings
o Once heard, the appropriate action will be taken

The Leadership team feels that with the current team in place, and
maintaining laser focus on the key focus areas discussed, the
organization will go through a momentous cultural transformation.
Outcomes from the Leadership team are provided in Table 1.
Table 1: Outcomes from Leadership Team Meetings
Tactic Meaning Audience Outcome
Engagement Engagement is a All employees have To give all
Survey means for an opportunity to employees an
organizations to complete the opportunity to be
have sustained engagement survey. heard and have their
growth by driving One more robust concerns managed
organizational survey and another in a constructive,
change initiatives. that is called a non-evasive and
These initiatives are pulse survey which non-confrontational
mainly backed and is more general in manner.
supported by the nature. The pulse
employees. (Gallup, survey provides the
2010) organization with
insight as to how
they are doing
against the original
survey results.
Focus Groups Focus group For the purposes of To have a better

interviews are the cultural understanding of
generally has six to transformation the needs of the
ten subjects led by a initiative the focus teachers since they
moderator to bring groups will consist are the group that is
different viewpoints of teachers at the has the biggest
on various issues to various centers impact on overall
the forefront. Kvale across the country. family engagement.
and Brickmann At this time, it They also have the
(2009) appears that centers highest level of
will be chosen from influence with the
all 3 businesses children.
based upon one of
four criteria:
1. Low engagement
scores
2. High engagement
scores
3. High retention rate
4. Low retention rate
5. Used as additional
information for
client contract
renewal purposes
Town Hall Town halls were For the purposes of To allow employees
Meetings established serve this organization an open forum to
four main purposes the town hall communicate
within an meetings will take openly with their
organization: place at the leadership team.

1. To ensure that corporate The leadership team
employees are headquarters and also has a clearer
informed about the within regions. understanding of
strategic direction of what employees are
the organization. concerned about,
2. To build unity have an opportunity
amongst the to hear various
employee-base rumors that might
3. To provide be percolating
employees exposure within a particular
to their senior functional area or
leaders region and give
4. To provide employees an
employees an opportunity to hear
opportunity to ask directly from
questions of their leaders their
leaders background, loyalty
to the organization
and their
commitment to the
strategic direction
of the company.
The Role of the Action Researcher

The early childhood development organization has several
thousand employees; therefore, hearing thousands of team members
individually is not only a difficult task but a very daunting task.
Therefore, the Action Researcher, the CEO and Executive Leadership
team devised a plan that would be most appropriate to ensure that
everyone is heard. The role of the Action Researcher involved four
aspects of the culture change process. First, to bring structure and
continuity to the activities which had been started prior to joining the
organization, and to coordinate these activities in a manner which kept
them focused on the cultural transformation. The Second Phase was to
introduce and monitor the Action Research process of planning,
implementation, evaluation, learning and modifying the change
process and then repeating the intervention cycle. Third, providing
council to management in terms of understanding the Action Research
process; and fourth, maintaining an open process of employee
involvement consistent with the values of the Action Research
process.
A major component of the Action Research role included the
expansion of the survey process so that it became more inclusive,
open and resulted in action. A central role of the Action Researcher
was to provide a conceptual understanding of the process to
management. In addition, the Action Research process involved not

only research involving the specific situation but also the
identification of more generalizable knowledge contributing to the
field of organizational change and more specifically to the body of
change knowledge as it applies to childhood care organizations
(Lewin, 1946).
The methodology employed included drawing on the body of
knowledge pertaining to the field of Action Research and the use of
both quantitative (survey data) and qualitative data (focus groups and
interviews). One author here, as Senior Director within the
organization, had the role not only to collect the data, but to provide
analysis as a means to assist in the overall cultural transformation
within the organization. In order to accomplish these goals, the
Action Researcher provided internal consulting services to leaders,
managers and employees as well as learns on a continuous basis to
assist in this large scale transformation.
Ethical Considerations for an Action Researcher

According to Coghlan and Brannick (2012), the Action
Researcher must adhere to ethical considerations such as:
 A researcher needs to accept the fact that ethical dilemmas

such as: misrepresentation and collusion, misuse of data,
manipulation and coercion, values and goals conflict and
technical ineptness may occur (Coghlan & Brannick, 2012).
 All management-level executives within scope of this project
will be expected to participate.
 There are few differences in what a researcher is expected to
report regarding the cultural transformation and the Action
Research project. The analysis of the cultural transformation
will be reported to the Executive Committee; however,
information from any specific individual will be treated with
full anonymity. However, collective information may be
shared for improvement purposes and this may focus on a
specific region or territory to avoid any individual targeting.
 No one’s career will be in jeopardy for their decision to
participate in or not participate in the Action Research
project.
As one begins along the journey of the Action Research process it is
important to work with a group that is committed to understanding the
cultural transformation in progress.

Action research process – a multi-year journey
The Action Research process is summarized in Table 2. Each of
the three years provided unique challenges for the organization and
the Action Researcher.
Table 2: The Multi-Year Action Research Process

Year Focus
2012 Assess the Situation
2013 Build a Strong Foundation
2014 Build Capability to ensure Great Talent is managed by Great

Leaders
2015 Maximize Performance and Capability

Year One – Assessing the Situation

The cultural transformation work began in 2012 when the new
executive leadership team joined the company. The focus of the
Executive Leadership Team (ELT) was to assess the current state of
the organization. In order to fully assess the situation the leadership
team realized that in a business that heavily relies on the emotions of
children, families and employees they needed to start with an
understanding of how the employees within the organization felt about
their work environment. In order to get a true depiction of the
temperament of the employees and how they felt about the
organization the ELT decided to invest in an Engagement Survey
methodology from a major vendor to gather the opinions of the
employees. In 2013, the goal was to build a strong foundation for
the organization. In 2014, the goal was to build capability to ensure
that the talent of the organization was managed by competent and
engaged leaders. This means ensuring that in 2013 and 2014 that
there was a strong people strategy enforced throughout the
organization. In 2015 the focus will remain on maximizing
performance and capability.
Year Two – Build a Strong Foundation

In 2013, the early childhood education organization created a
foundation for cultural transformation. Some of the elements that

were established and closely monitored and measured are summarized
in Table 3.
Table 3: Building a Strong Foundation
Cultural Transformation Description of the Action
Action
Performance Reviews Prior performance review forms were between 9-13
pages. The new form is currently a one page form
which makes it much easier for managers and
employees to have a clear understanding relative to
performance goals, expectations and results.
Role Clarity and Role Clarity and Expectations (RCE) provides a
Expectations (RCE) description, actionable items and expectations for
leadership at each regional level. This provides
guidance for leaders to know where they are spending
their time as leaders to determine if they are spending
the appropriate amount of time at their level. These
descriptors have been created for senior level and
middle management level positions.
Employee Child Care Prior to 2013 employees were provided a child care
Discounts discount for one child however if an employee had
more than one child they paid the full tuition for their
child to attend the center. Many employees couldn’t
afford to pay the full tuition if they had more than one
child so the employee child care discount was

extended to all of an employee’s children.
“We Hear You” “We Hear You” is the mantra to communicate to
Engagement Practices every employee that they have a voice. This voice is
recognized by completing the annual employee
engagement survey. .
Enhanced Recognition The organizations wiliness to recognize employees at
Programs every level for exceptional customer service, fiscal
fortitude and excellence in execution regardless of
level within the organization.
Professional Development Professional Development is meant to provide
professional development for teachers and leaders
across the organization.
Year Three – An Eye on the Future

Engagement is a high focus for the organization, and the Action
Researcher has a particularly high level of responsibility in the area of
employee engagement. Engagement monitors the level by which
employees are engaged with their environment, team, leader and
organization. Year Three also included allowing functional leaders
latitude to manage their areas of business. This happened through a
series of steps which included:
 Experiential training and development opportunities for
Leaders
 Targeted developmental opportunities during the Summit for

Leaders
 Restructuring of various functional areas to ensure proper
alignment
 Opportunity for each leader to have budget to manage their
functional areas
 Latitude for engagement action plans to be developed
between the leader and team members
 Ensuring that at leadership levels personal exit interviews
were completed
 Incorporate suggestions from focus groups and town halls
into leadership expectations
 Creating clarity around accountability at leadership levels
throughout the organization to enhance performance
 Clarity regarding what is working as part of the
transformation
Summary and conclusion
The case reported here provides a systematic Action Research

project and critical learnings regarding the Action Research process,
namely:
1. An educational role: the Action Researcher played an
important role in in the education of top management
concerning not only the process, but the values underlying
the process;
2. The importance of orchestrating multiple levels of
interventions designed in such a manner to reinforce each
other;
3. The importance in simply coordinating the mechanics of the
interventions;
4. The importance of the fundamental Action Research process
of revisiting, learning, and modifying the strategies over
time;
5. The importance of maintaining credibility as an Action
Research person being independent of management in the
eyes of employees but at the same time maintaining the
confidence of management;

6. The importance of understanding the subcultures within the
organization and knowing the concerns, norms and language
of each, for example, employees and management;
7. Helping management understand the importance of
maintaining their credibility and the credibility of the process
through continuity and follow through;
8. Working within the values of the organization;
9. Understanding and working within the long-term goals and
strategies – using the interventions to constantly be focused
and moving toward strategy goals;
10. The person’s ability to sustain the effort, to analyze and
regroup under pressure.
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Organizational Development: Rigorous, Reflective & Relevant. Systemic
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COGHLAN, D., & BRANNICK, T. (2012). Doing Action Research in Your Own
Organization. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
COLLINS, J. (2001). Good to Great. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers,
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GALLUP, (2012). http://www.gallup.com/home.aspx
GUMMESSON, E. (2000). Qualitative Methods in Management Research.
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2000.
KVALE, S., & BRINKMANN, S. (2009). Interviews: Learning the craft of
qualitative research interviewing. Sage Publications, Inc.
LEWIN, K. (1946). Action Research and minority problems. Journal of social
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QUINN, R.W. & QUINN, R. E. (2009). Lift. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler
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ELEMENTS OF A CONTINUOUS CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION

INITIATIVE WITHIN AN EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE ORGANIZATION

Tanjia Coleman, Peter Sorensen et Therese Yaeger

ISEOR | « Recherches en Sciences de Gestion »

2014/6 n° 105 | pages 23 à 35

Distribution électronique Cairn.info pour ISEOR.

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Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Elements of a Continuous Cultural

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This paper reports on an Action Research project undertaken in

Key-words: Action research, cultural transformation, organizational

Cet article présente un projet de recherche-action mis en œuvre

Mots-clés : Recherche-action, transformation culturelle, développe-

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Palabras claves: Investigación-acción, transformación cultural,

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Following these three phases is the implementation of the Action

an organization. First, we must understand the numerous historical

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With all of these past changes taking place it was extremely

Family Engagement surveys commenced soon after the

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Regarding Financial Outcomes, the organization is currently a

Defining the Desired Future State

selected took the organization through highly charged emotional

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Focus Groups Focus group For the purposes of To have a better

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The Role of the Action Researcher

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Ethical Considerations for an Action Researcher

 A researcher needs to accept the fact that ethical dilemmas

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Table 2: The Multi-Year Action Research Process

2012 Assess the Situation

2013 Build a Strong Foundation

2014 Build Capability to ensure Great Talent is managed by Great

2015 Maximize Performance and Capability

Year One – Assessing the Situation

Year Two – Build a Strong Foundation

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child so the employee child care discount was

Year Three – An Eye on the Future

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Summary and conclusion

The case reported here provides a systematic Action Research

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COGHLAN, D. & SHANI, R. (2013). Creating Action Research Quality in

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