Circle K
Circle K

Closing the Feedback Loop: Circle K Couche-Tard's Global Frontline Transformation

How one of the world's largest convenience retailers connected their employees and transformed task completion with WorkJam

Company:
Circle K Couche-Tard - one of the world's largest convenience and mobility retailers
Scale:
17,000 stores and employs 150,000 team members across 31 countries and territories
Challenge:
Communication bottlenecks

Introduction

As one of the world’s largest convenience and mobility retailers, Circle K Couche-Tard operates at a massive scale — nearly 17,000 stores and 150,000 team members across 31 countries and territories. Managing such a distributed workforce requires consistent communication and the ability to act on feedback in real time.

In this kind of an organization, critical updates can trickle slowly from headquarters through layers of managers and paper-based systems, while customer and employee feedback often takes weeks to reach decision-makers. As a result, frontline teams feel disconnected from leadership, operational standards vary by region, and leaders lack visibility into whether compliance tasks are completed.

Circle K set out to solve one fundamental challenge: how to close the feedback loop — turning customer and employee insights into immediate frontline action.

The Challenge: Bringing everyone together

Before WorkJam, Circle K faced significant barriers:

  • Manual communication slowed down critical updates.
  • No single hub for training, tasks, or recognition.
  • Inconsistent execution across geographies, with paper checklists and varied regional processes.
  • Delayed feedback loops — customer and employee insights took weeks to reach decision-makers.
  • Limited visibility into compliance and task completion at scale.

Circle K’s size made communication a constant struggle. Messages moved from headquarters through multiple layers of managers and across shifts, often arriving late, inconsistently, or not at all. This created daily friction between team members — employees felt disconnected from executives, and managers carried the burden of interpreting and passing down critical updates.

Task management suffered and feedback loops were equally slow. Regional teams used different processes, making it difficult to maintain global standards or confirm whether compliance tasks were completed. Customer surveys and employee input often took weeks to reach decision-makers, stalling improvements and leaving frontline teams without timely support.

Featured Products

Employee Communication
Task Management

We didn’t have an efficient way to communicate with our frontline. Now, even our CEO can reach every team member.

Jennifer Karas,
Director of Operational Excellence

The Solution: A Phased Digital Transformation

To address these challenges, Circle K adopted WorkJam as its single digital hub for the frontline. The platform combined communication, training, and task management in one place so every team member could access the right information when they needed it.

Phase 1: Building Communication & Culture

Circle K launched WorkJam to standardize communication across stores. For the first time, team members could access leadership updates and recognition on one platform — whether at workstations, in-store devices, or mobile when on-site. Recognition tools, like selfie campaigns and shoutouts, turned communication into a cultural driver of engagement.

“Employees are using WorkJam like it’s Facebook for Circle K. They feel seen and heard.” — Jennifer Karas, Director of Operational Excellence.

Phase 2: Driving Task Management & Compliance

Paper-based checklists were replaced with digital task workflows. Daily restroom checks, coffee station cleanliness, and promotional campaigns became visible to every shift worker, with closed-loop reporting up to district managers. Task compliance soared, with 97% completion rates on high-priority tasks.

Phase 3: Integrating Feedback with Qualtrics

Circle K connected WorkJam with Qualtrics to close the gap between customer feedback and frontline execution. Customer surveys now trigger real-time tasks, alerts, or recognition: a messy coffee station becomes a task, while a glowing customer comment routes to a manager as a shoutout. AI analyzes the feedback and routes it to ensure the right person sees the right feedback — instantly.

“We’re getting more positive feedback than negative through our customer surveys. Tasks based on customer feedback drive real-time action and recognition.” — Jennifer Karas

Phase 4: Global Scale and Ongoing Optimization

From North America to Europe, Circle K rolled out WorkJam and Qualtrics region by region, adapting to local needs while maintaining global standards. Today, the platform underpins communication, task execution, and recognition across 10,000+ sites. Analytics and feedback cycles continue to shape how Circle K evolves its digital workplace.

70K
active users
8
languages used in platform
5M
tasks completed annually
97%
completion on key compliance tasks
1K+
customer recognition shoutouts to managers each month
10K+
global sites with integrated with real-time feedback

The Impact: Real-Time Action

WorkJam replaced slow communication handoffs with direct, two-way updates to every store and every shift. Leaders can reach the entire frontline at once, and frontline teams can respond with feedback that immediately turns into tasks, alerts, or recognition. Everyone receives the same message at the same time, and every piece of feedback is routed to the right person to act on. The result is faster action, clearer expectations, and a stronger connection across regions.

Empowering Every Team Member

Every associate now has a single place to find updates, training, and recognition. Leaders, including the CEO, can post messages that reach the whole workforce. Store teams describe the platform as a space where they feel seen and heard.

“An employee who was snowed in used WorkJam to ask if someone could pick them up. It’s become a go-to communication tool.” — Jennifer Karas

Creating a Learning Culture

Task-based learning audits and real-time surveys make training part of daily work. MyVoice satisfaction scores rise year over year as teams gain easier access to learning and feedback tools in their preferred language.

Driving Business Results

Managers act on customer and employee feedback within hours rather than weeks. Closed-loop reporting turns alerts into tasks and confirmations. Circle K completes 350,000+ tasks each month, with 97% completion on high-priority items. Positive survey feedback now outweighs negative.

Building Community through Recognition

Teams celebrate wins with selfie posts and “green card” moments after audits. Team members share quick updates and ask for help when needed, including real examples like arranging a pickup for a snowed-in employee. A culture of sharing spreads best practices across stores.

Circle K continues to expand its use of WorkJam, adapting workflows by region while maintaining consistency worldwide. The combination of real-time communication, tasking, and customer insight has transformed operations — and set a new standard for frontline empowerment at global scale.

A Consistent Experience, Everywhere

WorkJam has transformed the way Circle K operates across regions and stores. What was once fragmented is now unified: communication flows in real time, feedback instantly becomes action, compliance is tracked automatically, and tasks are completed with confidence. By connecting leaders and frontline associates through a single platform — Circle K has built a more agile, accountable, and connected workforce.

For a closer look at the WorkJam solution, visit workjam.com

See more Success Stories

Ulta Beauty: Connected, Informed, and Always Guest-Ready
Ulta Beauty: Connected, Informed, and Always Guest-Ready
1.6 Million Messages, 6 Countries, and One Platform to Power It All
1.6 Million Messages, 6 Countries, and One Platform to Power It All
Consistency at Global Scale: Shell’s Frontline Transformation
Consistency at Global Scale: Shell’s Frontline Transformation
Ready to transform your frontline operations?
Get Started