At Benson for Beds, a leading bed retailer in the UK, communication could be fragmented across its diverse workforce operating across stores, distribution, manufacturing and support centres. Colleagues often had to rely on multiple systems and informal channels, which is why the retailer chose Workjam as its new frontline operations platform. Carrie Westwell, Chief People Officer at Bensons for Beds, discusses the benefits the platform has brought to both employees and leaders.
Bensons for Beds, a UK leading specialist bed retailer and winner of Bed Retailer of the Year 2025–26, has announced it has selected WorkJam as its new frontline operations platform. The move will digitally connect 1,800+ colleagues across Bensons’ 178-store estate, its manufacturing facility in Cambridgeshire, national distribution network and support centres in Accrington and Burnley.
The partnership marks a significant milestone in Bensons’ ongoing transformation journey and follows the retailer’s recent certification as a Great Place to Work. By implementing WorkJam, Bensons will consolidate multiple legacy systems into a single, unified platform designed to enhance communication, task execution, learning and colleague engagement.
WorkJam’s capabilities will also provide retail colleagues with real-time visibility of their individual sales performance and earnings, ensuring they have direct access to the information and tools needed to support their development and success.
“At Bensons for Beds, people sit at the heart of our transformation and future success,” said Carrie Westwell, Chief People Officer at Bensons for Beds. “We’re investing in colleague capability and skill development to build on the expertise that already exists across the business. That means ensuring every colleague feels connected and clear on how they make a difference. WorkJam will give us a single platform that brings communication, learning and performance together, and I’m excited about the journey ahead.”
Leveraging WorkJam’s AI-enabled features and Custom Widgets, Bensons will be able to surface real-time data from existing systems directly within the platform. This will allow store colleagues to view sales performance, schedules, learning modules and operational tasks all in one place; improving efficiency, clarity and engagement across the business.
“Bensons is bridging the gap between support centres and frontline colleagues across its UK locations. Strategy moves faster, productivity increases and feedback flows both ways; all while reducing the complexity of managing multiple systems. We’re proud to be part of Bensons’ vision for its workforce, and this partnership shows the power of what WorkJam enables,” said Steve Kramer, CEO and Co-founder of WorkJam.
Carrie Westwell from Benson for Beds took the time to speak to Intelligent CXO about the partnership.
What challenges did Benson for Beds face with multiple legacy systems?
Before WorkJam, communication was fragmented, difficult and in some business areas almost impossible – colleagues often had to rely on multiple systems and informal channels to get the information they needed.
We have a highly diverse workforce across stores, distribution, manufacturing and our support centre, which provided a further challenge.
How has WorkJam affected employees day-to-day?
On a day-to-day level, colleagues can quickly jump into tasks, receive up-to-date information, receive important updates and access information and share fun moments without delay – which reduces frustration and improves wellbeing.
From a leadership perspective, the speed at which we can author and publish is impressive, so it enables us to quickly react and respond to operational issues that may require rapid responses. The analytics and insights tools built into the system means we can monitor progress.
Longer term, the platform helps strengthen communication, engagement and trust. It supports faster change adoption, more consistent ways of working and better insight into what colleagues are experiencing across the estate.
Culture is built through everyday moments. WorkJam supports a more open, transparent and inclusive culture by giving everyone access to the same information and a stronger voice.
When colleagues feel informed, connected and listened to, it reinforces a sense of belonging – and that’s critical in a large, geographically dispersed business like ours.
What’s the best feature which WorkJam offers?
WorkJam brings task, communication, information and engagement into one accessible platform, designed specifically for frontline workforces. It helps us reach colleagues where they are, in real-time, and creates a more consistent, connected experience across the business.
It has also simplified the publishing process as all colleagues can access on one simple system. Our previous methods often relied on having to author the same content several times to suit the different platforms.
How do you see Benson for Beds developing in the coming years?
We’re continuing to invest in our colleague expertise to enhance even further our customer experience and colleague engagement. We are also continuing our journey to make Bensons an even greater place to work. Leadership capability, colleague wellbeing and DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] are also key to the next 12 months. The utilisation of WorkJam even further will be a key enabler to make work simpler and more connected. The direction of travel is very much about consistency, inclusivity and enabling our people to deliver brilliant experiences for customers every day.
Tell me more about your career.
As Chief People Officer, I’m accountable for the full colleague experience at Bensons for Beds – from attraction, recruitment and onboarding, through learning, development, engagement and performance, to wellbeing, reward and employee relations.
My role is very much about ensuring we have the right people strategy to support a multi-site vertically integrated retail business, while building a culture where colleagues feel connected, supported and able to do their best work.
