Culture Transformation Consulting

We assess the culture you have, define the culture your strategy needs, and activate it through what leaders do and what the organization rewards. Delivered with the organizational psychologists of Daniels Consulting Group.
Contact us
Definition

What is culture transformation consulting?

Culture transformation consulting changes the shared values, beliefs, and behaviors that decide how work gets done in a company. A strategy that asks people to behave in ways the culture punishes will stall, so the culture has to move with it. BD Emerson delivers this work with our Andersen Consulting colleagues at Daniels Consulting Group, organizational psychologists who apply the psychology of culture change to three questions: what the culture is today, what it needs to become, and what will move people from one to the other. The work covers culture assessment, a definition of the target culture in observable behaviors, a strategic narrative, leader routines, and a sustained communication campaign. Typical triggers are a merger or divestiture, a new strategy, the adoption of generative AI, or sustainability and inclusion goals that current habits do not support.

Services

What culture change consulting services are included?

Culture assessment
Target culture definition
Strategic narrative
Leader behavior and routines
Communication campaign
Reinforcement systems

Culture assessment

Surveys, interviews, and focus groups describe the culture as employees experience it: the values people name, the behaviors that get rewarded, and the gaps between what leaders say and what they do. The assessment reports results by level, function, and location.

Target culture definition

The executive team defines the culture the strategy requires in observable behaviors, such as how decisions get made, how conflict gets raised, and how customers get treated. Vague values become standards a manager can coach to.

Strategic narrative

A clear story connects the company's purpose, its strategy, and the behaviors it now expects. Leaders use the same narrative in town halls, team meetings, and one-on-one conversations, so employees hear one message.

Leader behavior and routines

Culture follows what leaders do. We coach executives and managers on the specific behaviors to model, and we build routines such as meeting practices, recognition, and decision reviews that make the target culture visible each week.

Communication campaign

A sustained campaign keeps the culture work in front of employees for months, using stories of the new behaviors in practice, manager toolkits, and feedback channels that show leaders which messages employees have absorbed.

Reinforcement systems

Hiring profiles, onboarding, performance measures, promotion criteria, and rewards are aligned to the target behaviors. People repeat what the organization measures and rewards, so these systems carry the change after the campaign ends.

Our approach

Our approach

01

Assess the current culture

Surveys, interviews, and focus groups establish the culture as it is, including differences between sites, functions, and levels. The results give leaders a shared, evidence-based starting point.

02

Define the target culture

Leaders agree on the behaviors the strategy requires and the ones that have to stop. The definition is specific enough that any manager can tell whether a given action fits it.

03

Activate through leaders

Executives and managers model the behaviors, tell the narrative, and run the routines. Coaching and feedback keep them consistent, because employees watch what leaders do before they believe what leaders say.

04

Reinforce and measure

People systems are updated to reward the target behaviors, and pulse surveys track movement against the baseline. Results are reported to the executive team on a set schedule.

contact us

Is your culture ready for your strategy?

Speak with BD Emerson and Daniels Consulting Group about the culture you have, the culture your plans require, and how to close the distance.

Our Advantage

Why BD Emerson for culture transformation

Grounded in organizational psychology

Daniels Consulting Group's organizational psychologists apply research on how groups form norms and how individuals change habits. Culture work rests on evidence from your workforce, and each recommendation traces to a finding.

Defined in behaviors

The target culture is written as behaviors people can see and managers can coach. That makes progress measurable in surveys and visible in daily work.

Connected to the change driving it

Culture shifts usually accompany a merger, a new system, or an AI program. BD Emerson runs those programs, so culture work shares a plan with the integration or implementation that makes it necessary.

How We Work

How we run culture change

The same sequence runs every culture engagement, whether the trigger is a merger, a new strategy, or a technology shift. Each stage produces something the client keeps and reuses.
Reviews

What our customers say

Great consulting firms for scaling security, compliance, and appsec.

Outstanding partner in Technical and Cyber Due Diligence

Appsec maturity and application hardening.

BD Emerson helped us simplfiy our compliance management.

BD Emerson did such a phenomenal job. What started as privacy support quickly became a full partnership across compliance, engineering, and even business operations. They’re embedded with our team. They understand our product. They move fast. They’re simply invaluable.

Adam Ben Jacobs

CTO @ OneStep GPS

Great consulting firms for scaling security, compliance, and appsec.

Outstanding partner in Technical and Cyber Due Diligence

Appsec maturity and application hardening.

BD Emerson helped us simplfiy our compliance management.

BD Emerson did such a phenomenal job. What started as privacy support quickly became a full partnership across compliance, engineering, and even business operations. They’re embedded with our team. They understand our product. They move fast. They’re simply invaluable.

Adam Ben Jacobs

CTO @ OneStep GPS

We had a hard time finding the right company to partner with in support of our compliance journey. Some vendors sell the idea that they do the work, but then you end up doing everything. The ambiguity is what killed our last project. BD Emerson’s team has such great technical knowledge and understands the standard so well that they made us comfortable with moving fast. This has led to us closing major enterprise customers that were previously out of reach because of security and compliance.

Tom Watkins

CEO @ AMI AssetTrack

Lead an enterprise initiative to overhaul the organization's technology stack from ecommerce, corporate tech, and corporate security.

Supported ISO 42001 exercise and served as internal auditor.

Rubrik's privacy and compliance team began with the backbone of BD Emerson. BD Emerson supported building out the privacy program, GRC (ISO 27001, SOC 2, CMMC, FedRAMP), and the appsec function.

We needed a partner who could move quickly, without sacrificing precision. BD Emerson brought the expertise, structure, and speed we were looking for. Their team became an extension of ours, embedding themselves across the organization, guiding us step by step, and giving us confidence in areas we hadn’t tackled before. The internal audit they conducted was so detailed that even the external auditors called it out. Achieving ISO 27001 with zero nonconformities says everything you need to know about the quality of the partnership.

Walid Souilem

CTO @ FGI Worldwide

We had a hard time finding the right company to partner with in support of our compliance journey. Some vendors sell the idea that they do the work, but then you end up doing everything. The ambiguity is what killed our last project. BD Emerson’s team has such great technical knowledge and understands the standard so well that they made us comfortable with moving fast. This has led to us closing major enterprise customers that were previously out of reach because of security and compliance.

Tom Watkins

CEO @ AMI AssetTrack

Lead an enterprise initiative to overhaul the organization's technology stack from ecommerce, corporate tech, and corporate security.

Supported ISO 42001 exercise and served as internal auditor.

Rubrik's privacy and compliance team began with the backbone of BD Emerson. BD Emerson supported building out the privacy program, GRC (ISO 27001, SOC 2, CMMC, FedRAMP), and the appsec function.

We needed a partner who could move quickly, without sacrificing precision. BD Emerson brought the expertise, structure, and speed we were looking for. Their team became an extension of ours, embedding themselves across the organization, guiding us step by step, and giving us confidence in areas we hadn’t tackled before. The internal audit they conducted was so detailed that even the external auditors called it out. Achieving ISO 27001 with zero nonconformities says everything you need to know about the quality of the partnership.

Walid Souilem

CTO @ FGI Worldwide

BD Emerson didn’t just help us meet our compliance goals; they integrated security and privacy into the core of our operations. I highly recommend BD Emerson to anyone seeking SOC 2 or GDPR compliance, or simply looking to enhance their security team and boost customer trust in their product and services. Their dedication and expertise have been invaluable to our success.

Padraig Reilly

CEO, Boxcore

BD Emerson understood our business requirements and worked side-by-side with us. The policies and controls we developed together not only meet compliance standards but improve how we operate day to day.

Matt Meierdierks

IT Manager, Lincoln Industries

From day one, BD Emerson brought urgency, clarity, and a sharp understanding of what truly matters to our business — earning and keeping customer trust. They went beyond helping us meet compliance requirements; they helped build a foundation for secure, scalable growth. That kind of partnership is rare.

Jason Marker

CEO @ LifeLenz

BD Emerson didn’t just help us pass an audit—they helped us build a sustainable culture of security.

Alexey Indeev

CTO Spare

BD Emerson was essential in helping our company navigate the daunting process of leveling up our security infrastructure. BD Emerson’s impressive expertise and confidence throughout the process helped our team exceed HIPAA and SOC 2 Type 1 standards quickly, distilling what can be an overwhelming process into a streamlined, organized effort. From day one they began adding value and getting us on course. With their help we delivered on a massive security overhaul with both extreme efficiency and thorough attention to details. Because of BD Emerson’s support, we’ve increased our clients’ trust in Titan Intake and the life-changing work it accomplishes for those seeking specialist referrals.

Patrick Bruce

CEO, Titan Intake

BD Emerson didn’t just help us meet our compliance goals; they integrated security and privacy into the core of our operations. I highly recommend BD Emerson to anyone seeking SOC 2 or GDPR compliance, or simply looking to enhance their security team and boost customer trust in their product and services. Their dedication and expertise have been invaluable to our success.

Padraig Reilly

CEO, Boxcore

BD Emerson understood our business requirements and worked side-by-side with us. The policies and controls we developed together not only meet compliance standards but improve how we operate day to day.

Matt Meierdierks

IT Manager, Lincoln Industries

From day one, BD Emerson brought urgency, clarity, and a sharp understanding of what truly matters to our business — earning and keeping customer trust. They went beyond helping us meet compliance requirements; they helped build a foundation for secure, scalable growth. That kind of partnership is rare.

Jason Marker

CEO @ LifeLenz

BD Emerson didn’t just help us pass an audit—they helped us build a sustainable culture of security.

Alexey Indeev

CTO Spare

BD Emerson was essential in helping our company navigate the daunting process of leveling up our security infrastructure. BD Emerson’s impressive expertise and confidence throughout the process helped our team exceed HIPAA and SOC 2 Type 1 standards quickly, distilling what can be an overwhelming process into a streamlined, organized effort. From day one they began adding value and getting us on course. With their help we delivered on a massive security overhaul with both extreme efficiency and thorough attention to details. Because of BD Emerson’s support, we’ve increased our clients’ trust in Titan Intake and the life-changing work it accomplishes for those seeking specialist referrals.

Patrick Bruce

CEO, Titan Intake

Certificates

Our accreditations

Our practitioners hold security, privacy, cloud, and AI governance certifications, and the people who earned them do the work on your engagement.
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What does a culture change consultant do?

How long does culture transformation take?

How do you measure culture?

What is culture activation?

When does a company need culture change consulting?

How is culture transformation different from cultural integration?

Who leads the work?

Blog

Related Articles

Insights on strategy, transactions, technology, security, and compliance from BD Emerson's practitioners