Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty: Connected, Informed, and Always Guest-Ready

How Ulta Beauty connects 50,000 associates, delivers a million mobile trainings, and simplifies scheduling with WorkJam

Company:
Ulta Beauty - the largest specialty beauty retailer in the US
Scale:
1,300+ stores nationwide, multiple DC's, 50,000+ associates
Challenge:
Fragmented communication, manual scheduling, and inconsistent training

Introduction

Ulta Beauty is on a mission to be the most admired beauty destination for guests and associates, empowering confidence and self-expression. With more than 1,300+ stores and 50,000 associates across the U.S., that mission depends on a workforce that is informed, agile, and inspired.

Yet communication once moved slowly, filtering from corporate through managers and back-room meetings. Scheduling changes required phone calls and paper logs, and training often meant pulling associates off the floor for lengthy sessions. Leadership had limited visibility into task completion or how corporate directives affected store capacity.

To stay true to its guest-first promise, Ulta needed a single, mobile-first workspace to reach every associate in real time. WorkJam became that digital connection—transforming how Ulta communicates, trains, and mobilizes its frontline workforce for stand-out customer experience.

The Challenge: Fragmented Communication, Training and Operational Tools

  • No direct channel to reach all 50,000+ associates at once.
  • Operational updates funneled through managers, causing delays and inconsistency.
  • Training relied on back-room sessions and paper checklists.
  • Scheduling changes consumed manager time and limited flexibility, leading to rising attendance violations.
  • Leadership lacked real-time visibility into task completion and store-level capacity.
  • Lacked a strong digital tool for their complex tasks and audit requirements.

Featured Products

Employee Communication
Flexible Scheduling
Employee Learning

WorkJam gave us a single pane of glass. It’s where our associates want to engage, so it became the natural place for communication, training, and now task management.

Diane Randolph,
CIO,
Ulta Beauty

The Solution: A Phased Digital Rollout

Phase 1 – Communication & Engagement

  • Launched WorkJam to reach every associate directly with consistent messaging.
  • Leadership shared announcements and video updates; associates engaged in real time.
  • “WorkJam” quickly became a verb among store teams, reflecting cultural adoption.

Phase 2 – Scheduling Flexibility

  • Introduced mobile scheduling, shift swaps, availability, and time-off management.
  • Empowered associates to manage their own schedules, reducing manager time spent finding coverage.
  • Reduced attendance violations by 16%.

Phase 3 – Training and Task Execution

  • Delivered over 1 million micro-trainings directly to associates’ phones, replacing long back-room sessions.
  • Implemented “chat-in/chat-out” updates at shift start and end for instant product knowledge.
  • Achieved a 98% completion rate on daily tasks issued through WorkJam.
  • Digitized task management and integrated capacity planning to align corporate tasks with store labor.
97%
associate enrollment
87%
weekly active users
16%
reduction in attendance violations
500+
digital shift swaps each week
1M+
mobile trainings delivered
300+
communication channels opened daily
See more numbers

The Impact: Engaged Associates, Elevated Guest Experience

Engagement & Culture

  • “WorkJam” became part of daily vocabulary, signaling true adoption.
  • Associates feel empowered and connected to leadership.
  • Faster rollout of promotions, product launches, and merchandising resets.

“Our store teams love it so much they’ve made WorkJam a verb—’I’m going to WorkJam it.’” — Diane Randolph, CIO, Ulta Beauty

Operational Excellence

  • 97% adoption with 87% weekly active usage.
  • Attendance violations dropped 16%.
  • Over 500 shift swaps per week are handled digitally.
  • Managers spend more time guest-facing and less time in the back room.

Training & Execution

  • Over 1 million mobile trainings delivered directly to phones per year.
  • Consistent execution across diverse store formats, supporting BOPIS and Store-to-Door initiatives to fuel revenue growth

“With over a million mobile trainings delivered, we’ve transformed learning from a back-room activity into an in-the-moment experience.” — Diane Randolph, CIO, Ulta Beauty

A Consistent, Connected Workforce

Ulta Beauty has transformed communication, scheduling, and training into a single mobile experience that empowers every associate and elevates every guest interaction. By putting WorkJam in the hands of its 50,000-strong workforce, Ulta has created a connected culture where updates turn into action and every store can deliver the confident, guest-first service that defines the brand.

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