Booz Allen Hamilton is a longstanding leader in professional services with a business integrity program that treats continuous improvement as a core operating discipline. The company describes its relationship with Ethisphere as positive and “impactful,” and it uses Ethisphere’s resources to strengthen how it designs, tests, and communicates the effectiveness of its ethics and compliance program.
The Challenge: Why did they look to Ethisphere for help?
Booz Allen wanted to keep pushing its program forward while staying grounded in real-world signals, not assumptions. That meant answering three practical questions with confidence:
- How do employees actually experience the culture and key ethics and compliance controls?
- How does the program compare to credible external benchmarks, and where should the team prioritize upgrades?
- How can leaders build alignment and buy-in, including at the Board level, for changes that increase program effectiveness and efficiency?
Like many mature programs, Booz Allen also needed to stay agile as regulatory requirements and enforcement expectations evolved. The team wanted timely insight that could translate into concrete action, not abstract commentary.
The Solution: What did Ethisphere provide?
Booz Allen points to a combination of benchmarking data, employee insights, practical resources, and peer exchange as the mix that made the partnership valuable.
A culture assessment anchored in benchmarking. Booz Allen partnered with Ethisphere on an annual Culture Assessment, branded internally as its Ethics & Compliance Perception Survey. That work provided insight into employee perceptions of organizational culture broadly and specific ethics and compliance program elements. The benchmarking feature allowed the team to contextualize results and identify improvement opportunities, which Booz Allen then discussed across the organization, including with its Board.
Tools and materials that accelerate program development. Booz Allen relied on Ethisphere’s resource library and other companies’ materials to build inspiration and proof-points into its own work. The team also used Ethisphere best-practice articles and sample policies to inform internal policy updates and decision-making.
Code review that improves usability, not just completeness. Booz Allen highlighted Ethisphere’s code review and feedback service as a concrete driver of program advancement. Ethisphere’s feedback encouraged more practical examples and illustrations to make the code more relatable and actionable for employees, and Booz Allen incorporated that input directly.
Subject matter expertise to help align stakeholders. Booz Allen used Ethisphere’s industry insights, benchmarking data, and experts to identify enhancement opportunities and build the internal case for change. For example, the company identified opportunities to strengthen its internal coordination and support model for third-party risk management. Booz Allen used the World’s Most Ethical Companies (WMEC) scoring rubric and benchmarking results to inform priorities, then engaged an Ethisphere expert to lead a workshop for its Ethics & Compliance Committee. The workshop created structured discussion, helped align stakeholders, and supported buy-in for changes designed to make the program more effective and efficient.
Peer exchange that leads to real decisions. Booz Allen also leaned on the Global Ethics Summit (GES), local roundtables, and one-on-one peer conversations facilitated by Ethisphere to pressure-test ideas and learn what works elsewhere. One decision stands out: after hearing from peers who published Speak Up reports that employees received well, Booz Allen increased transparency by publishing its own Ethics & Investigations Speak Up Report. The company released its first report last year and traced that decision directly to roundtable conversations, supported by Ethisphere’s role in making the right peer connections.
The Results: What’s the big takeaway in terms of value received?
Booz Allen describes ROI that shows up in program maturity, governance conversations, and speed to action.
Clearer priorities and stronger Board dialogue. Comprehensive benchmarking and analytics, including through The Sphere and the WMEC application evaluation, helped Booz Allen benchmark program maturity against external standards and focus improvement efforts. Those insights also supported more meaningful Board conversations about maturity and where the program should improve next.
Higher-impact improvements with less rework. Ethisphere’s code review, policy resources, and proof-points helped Booz Allen move faster and avoid reinventing the wheel. The team used outside insight to make internal changes more practical for employees and easier to adopt across the organization.
More transparency backed by peer validation. Booz Allen’s decision to publish an Ethics & Investigations Speak Up Report marked a visible step toward greater transparency. Peer learnings, surfaced through Ethisphere-facilitated exchanges, helped the team build confidence that publishing speak-up data would add value and resonate with employees and other stakeholders.
More agility amid changing expectations. Booz Allen also cites Ethisphere’s analysis of regulatory changes and the evolving enforcement landscape as a practical advantage that helps the program adapt quickly to new compliance challenges.
Conclusion
Booz Allen’s experience underscores how mature programs improve faster when they combine employee perception data, credible benchmarking, and peer-tested ideas into actions leaders can support. Through Ethisphere’s benchmarking and analytics, culture assessment partnership, practical content and review services, and convening power across BELA, GES, and roundtables, Booz Allen strengthened how it prioritizes improvements, builds internal alignment, and increases transparency in ways that make the program more effective and efficient.
