KPMG Home: From Physical Badge to a Digital Employee Hub

Context and Problem

At KPMG, forgetting your access badge is more common than you’d think. The fallback process—calling a team manager to vouch for the person at the front desk—creates friction, delays, and unnecessary interruptions.

In contrast, people rarely forget their smartphones. Following the widespread adoption of QR codes and mobile wallets after COVID, a clear opportunity emerged: what if the KPMG badge became digital? And beyond that, what if all key employee services were centralized in a single app?

The Idea: KPMG Home

A mobile application designed to become the central access point for all KPMG employees, with a phased rollout plan:

- Short term: Dematerialize the physical badge (building access, printers, cafeteria)

- Medium term: Meeting room booking and incident reporting

- Long term: Centralized access to HR data (timesheets, vacation days, key contacts, attestations, etc.)

Product Objectives

- Reduce everyday friction for employees

- Streamline workload for front desk and team managers

- Create a digital foundation for future internal services

- Improve employee access to practical HR and operational information

Product Approach

Research and Framing

- One-on-one interviews with managers, HR, and employees across departments

- On-site observation of badge-related incidents at the reception

- Mapping of entry flows and reception congestion patterns

« Almost every morning we have a line at reception for people who forgot their badge. It delays 9 a.m. meetings. »
— Reception Manager, Tour Eqho

UX Design

- Prioritized instant access: simplified login and single sign-on

- Intuitive navigation across HR, access control, and internal communication features

- Modular ecosystem allowing the integration of new services: guest e-badges, internal contact directory, real-time support

Security and IT Governance

- Approved by internal IT and security teams

- NFC-based e-badge compatible with Apple Wallet

- Temporary badge creation system with BU-level access control

Launch & Ownership Transfer

The project was pitched to the KPMG France Executive Committee in late 2021 and approved for live testing.
After initiating the design and strategic framing, the project was handed off to the Innovation Lab team as the author left KPMG in December 2021.

Expected Impact (Initial Projections)

- 80% reduction in badge-related incidents

- Improved employee NPS regarding internal services

- Reduced congestion at reception

- Time savings for managers (no more trips to reception to vouch for colleagues)