Employee journey redesign: attrition as a service design problem

Attrition isn't inevitable. It can be addressed from day one.

High attrition at a professional services firm is expensive, visible, and easy to misdiagnose. The instinct is to look at culture, compensation, or workload. What we found in the research was more specific, and more fixable. The decision to leave wasn't forming over months of general dissatisfaction. It was forming in specific, repeatable moments: the first week, when no one had time to help a new joiner; the performance conversation that felt like an evaluation rather than a coaching session; the recognition that never came after a difficult project.

These were service failures. And service failures can be redesigned.

The three critical touchpoints identified across the digital and human employee journey were Onboarding, Engagement and Recognition, and Offboarding. Each represented a moment where the firm's actions either aligned with employee expectations or fell short of them.

Three “How might we” questions that shaped the work

Three career stages, three moments that decide whether people stay

Research was conducted across employee cohorts at different seniority levels and business units. The approach was designed to draw out honest answers in a professional services culture that favours composed, measured responses. We paid as much attention to what was left unsaid as to what was said.

From ad hoc HR processes to a connected journey

Employee journey map: current state from joining to departure, with critical touchpoints marked

From research to service design solutions

Designing for moments that build or break belonging

Two primary service design solutions emerged from the research and co-creation process.

The Buddy System addressed the onboarding gap. Being a new employee is both exciting and stressful. While managers play a critical role, a broader team effort is needed to make the first weeks positive and productive. The solution introduced a structured buddy programme, a peer connection designed to provide context, boost early productivity, and improve new-joiner satisfaction through a simple sequence of notifications, calendar invites, shared experiences, and a guided onboarding checklist.

The Performance Management redesign addressed the coaching gap. Employees need more frequent, focused, and future-oriented conversations, and a manager who acts as a coach rather than a boss. The design empowered employees to take ownership of their own development, supported by structured conversation guides that prepared managers to have quality check-ins with their mentees.

A change sustainability framework was developed to address the question that consistently arose during research: Will behaviours and business practices stick, or will people drift back to their old ways? The framework addressed Purpose, Outcomes, Conditions, and Behaviours, the four dimensions that determine whether change endures.

What the work delivered

The project delivered practical, research-grounded solutions to three of KPMG's highest-impact employee experience challenges. The approach reframed attrition as a design problem rather than an HR problem, one that could be addressed through thoughtful, human-centred intervention at the moments that matter most.