When Midcounties Co-op, one of the UK’s largest independent co-operatives, partnered with digital frontline workplace, WorkJam, the initial focus was on modernising task management on the shop floor – with an emphasis on frontline communication and workforce compliance.

However, the result has been a much wider digital evolution, which has created an increasingly engaged and empowered frontline community, Midcounties Co-op’s Head of Store Support, Chris Chandler, explained when he joined WorkJam’s CEO, Steven Kramer, onstage at NRF Europe.

From task management to colleague community-building

At the beginning of the implementation, Chandler said his team initially replicated their list of daily paper tasks in the WorkJam platform, with the focus being on monitoring compliance. However, over time the business has worked on reducing “noise” and “needless tasks” and instead focused on creating a digital footprint for accountability and monitoring.

While adoption of the platform is mandatory for store and site managers, it is voluntary for other associates. Chandler revealed that now 96% have chosen to ‘opt in’ to access the platform on their devices. He says including tasks like requesting holiday leave through the app has helped to promote staff use and adoption.

With task compliance now averaging over 98%, the focus has shifted towards wider employee engagement and frontline community-building.

Culture & engagement enhance employee experiences

Chandler reports that both labour turnover and sick leave have been reduced following the WorkJam implementation, something he attributes to “bringing the business to [store associates’] phones and keeping them engaged.”

Citing the example of a part-time worker who may only work one or two shifts a week, Chandler said they can feel confined within the four store walls. And this may mean they don’t feel part of the wider business culture. The WorkJam platform helps to address this, helping to make them “feel part of a much bigger entity and community.”

Chandler said there is also now cross-store sharing of stories, results and best practice, resulting in a sense of positive collegial competition. Use of the instant messaging app is also consistently higher on weekends and in the late evening, as associates seek out peer-to-peer guidance and advice. This peer-to-peer learning not only builds colleague rapport, but it also helps reduce the load for the retailer’s support teams.

While there was some initial trepidation about opening up colleague communication, Chandler said the business had never needed to remove a colleague comment from the platform. He also added that there had been a level of “self-policing” from staff to ensure resolution or to encourage positive interactions.

Dialogue drives staff-generated improvement ideas

The business now has a two-way dialogue with staff, asking them to contribute ideas for changes or improvements, not only on the workforce management platform itself, but across the wider business, with 150 staff-sourced recommendations implemented to date.

The solution is also helping with loss prevention with staff sharing intelligence on crime within geographies, alerting other local stores and sharing details of incidents or descriptions of offenders with the platform, which also links to its wider crime reporting portal.

Looking ahead, Midcounties Co-op will partner with WorkJam to activate AI agents within the platform, making it easier for staff to access and use information from across the business within the flow of work.

Midcounties Co-op’s Chris Chandler was speaking at NRF Europe, the debut European event from NRF, which took place between 16 – 18 Sep 2025 at Paris Expo Portes de Versailles.