How Aspire Bakeries brought a rise to frontline engagement.
High turnover. No visibility into why. WorkStep gave Aspire Bakeries’ leaders the signals to act – and turnover moved the right way.
YoY reduction in turnover
increase in general satisfaction
of alerts resolved within 180 days
How Aspire Bakeries brought a rise to frontline engagement
Aspire Bakeries supplies quick-serve restaurants, foodservice providers and grocery retailers across 13 locations in the US and Canada. Krys Wietzema, Vice President of Human Resources, had a clear mandate: build a workplace associates want to stay in.
Turnover was getting in the way of that. Engage [formerly WorkStep] gave her team the visibility to do something about it.
High turnover. No real visibility. Here’s how they turned it around.
“Engage [formerly WorkStep] gives us the flexibility to send regular check-ins with associates and collect data in a digital format, so we can really assess the issues we need to close. It’s been transformational for gaining visibility and reaching the entire population much quicker.”
Krys Wietzema, VP of Human Resources, Aspire Bakeries
Before Engage [formerly WorkStep], Aspire’s HR team had almost no visibility into why people were leaving. WorkStep changed that. Turning blind spots into action and HR-only effort into a leadership-wide priority.
Stretched thin, with no way to see what was driving attrition
Aspire’s HR team was spending almost all its time onboarding and filling positions – leaving little room for the strategic work that might have addressed why people were leaving in the first place. Engagement programmes existed, but they were slow and hard to scale. Leaders had no timely, actionable feedback to act on before issues affected retention.
“Our turnover was extremely high. The team was focused almost entirely on onboarding and filling positions, with little time left for strategic initiatives.”
Krys Wietzema, VP of Human Resources, Aspire Bakeries
Engagement that managers own
Aspire implemented Engage [formerly WorkStep] to build a continuous listening programme that could reach its entire frontline workforce – quickly, consistently, every location.
Engagement stopped being an HR-only initiative. Managers now get direct, location-level feedback – and are accountable for acting on it.
Closing the loop, every time
In 180 days, Aspire resolved 92% of flagged alerts. Nearly every concern now gets a timely response. Using WorkStep’s Inform tool, the team sent more than 30 targeted messages in six months – open enrollment updates, operational changes, the things associates actually need to know.
Frontline development moved up the agenda too. Learning management systems, succession plans and job skills training now help hourly associates move into skilled roles.
The results
Two years into the partnership, turnover improved 2% year-on-year in 2025. This is a record low for Aspire. General satisfaction is up 20% since launch. And with 92% of alerts resolved, associates are seeing that their feedback leads to real action.
Aspire also tracks favourability around safety and food quality through Engage [formerly WorkStep] – steady improvement that’s reinforcing a safety-first culture across every site.
“The only way we can succeed is to engage our leaders. This is their accountability – to lead their people, communicate, collaborate, and provide visibility into the changes and solutions we’re bringing.”
Krys Wietzema, VP of Human Resources, Aspire Bakeries
Aspire has moved from constantly onboarding and offboarding to retaining associates and investing in their growth.
Engage [formerly WorkStep] has been transformational for gaining visibility and being able to reach the entire population much quicker.
Krys Wietzema, VP Human Resources, Aspire Bakeries
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