Developing Corporate Culture in a Training Department: A Qualitative Case Study of Internal and Outsourced Staff

Abstract

This qualitative case study was conducted to investigate and analyze the perceptions and lived experiences of 20 training department staff at a New York-based early childhood multiservice healthcare company. The study was used to discover the leadership practices involved in creating a positive corporate culture in a work environment with outsourced and internal employees working concurrently together. In-depth interviews were recorded via a web-based communication device called Skype™. The framework for analyzing the data was Moustakas' modified van Kaam method (1994). There were six emergent themes that resulted from the study. It was discovered in the study that leaders who do the following activities continually engage the employees, whether they are internal or outsourced: (1) lead to the specific needs of each staff, whether internal or external, (2) create an environment of "fun", (3) create an environment that purports familial ties with all team members, (4) ensure that learning exists continually, (5) honor the employees who have worked in the industry the longest, and most importantly, (6) lead as a socially and emotionally intelligent leader.