We’re CATO—an employee performance and experience consultancy specializing in retail.
We help retailers recover the sales lost to employee disengagement by connecting what your employees care about with what your business needs.
Unlike firms focused on brand campaigns or technology solutions, we focus on improving the day-to-day experience of your existing team. Because when they want to be there, your customers will too.
Who is this for?
Is your company caught in retail's system-wide challenge?
Adding more technology to improve engagement issues
Creating more communications channels that store teams don't have time to check
Investing in programs that never make it past the break room
Watching turnover rise despite your significant investment
If these patterns sound familiar, you're experiencing the same challenge facing virtually every retailer today—a system designed for corporate effectiveness that unintentionally bypasses how store teams actually work.
The result? Valuable investment and good intentions not translating to the frontline experience.
You're in the right place.
Thank you for helping us raise the bar, we are excited to continue our partnerships in 2023. I know having you by their side really encourages the team to think differently and alleviates so much of their day to day stress as well as they have such a great support network around them with you and your team.
Jackie U.
Director, Talent Planning & Development, Empire | Sobeys Inc.
The path forward isn't another initiative—it's a new approach
It's about connecting your existing strategies to where work actually happens.
Corporate and store teams operate in fundamentally different environments—while your strategy teams design solutions from their office world of meetings and digital collaboration, store teams spend 90% of their time serving customers on the floor.
This insight opens up a significant opportunity:
Store engagement doesn't need more communications—it needs better integration into the actual day-to-day work of stores. The most forward-thinking retailers are making this shift.
We call this Operational Engagement—transforming corporate initiatives into daily proof points within:
- Your Store Managers (70% of engagement impact)
- Your Daily Operations (where promises are kept or broken)
- Your Information Hubs (reinforcing what's already felt)
This is something I've been trying to describe/communicate for years, and was only able to be this succinct because Bekki has phenomenal questions and, more so than anyone I've ever talked to about these things, is really listening and able to excavate ideas I know I have but up until now haven't been able to explore.
Matthew C.
12+ year Retail Leader, including Old Navy, Starbucks, Whole Foods, William Sonoma
Break through the sales barrier—from the inside out
Our partners see an average 17% lift in store performance by unlocking what already exists in their organization:
Protect your profits
The most valuable opportunities are often hidden. Engaged employees deliver 17% higher sales, 10% higher customer loyalty, and 26% lower shrinkage—with no additional operational costs.
Strengthen customer loyalty
What your employees experience, your customers experience too. Your best service standards come to life when employees feel genuinely connected to your purpose.
Retain your most valuable asset
Your experienced team members carry your brand DNA and customer relationships. Keeping them engaged protects these irreplaceable connections.
Activate your culture where it matters most
Your culture makes the leap from concept to reality when it shows up in daily store operations. We help bridge that gap in practical, sustainable ways.
Break through the sales barrier—from the inside out.
Stop leaking profit and start protecting it.
The most costly mistake companies make is missing opportunities that don’t show up on traditional P&Ls. Highly engaged employees earn their organizations 17% higher sales and 23% higher profitability on average, but they also protect that revenue through these often overlooked, risk-reducing, revenue stabilizers:
- 13% higher productivity
- 10% higher customer loyalty
- 78% lower absenteeism
- 68% higher employee wellbeing
- 26% lower shrinkage
- 63% fewer safety accidents
- 30% lower quality defects
- 22% higher organizational citizenship
Earn customer loyalty.
What your employees feel, your customers will too. Especially the desire to return to, and spend time in your store. Your employee experience and customer experience are directly connected, and can mean the difference of + or - 10% customer loyalty.
Employee retention—keep the people that keep the customers.
I probably don’t need to tell you that retention / turnover / understaffing is THE top concern for both corporate leaders and frontline managers, and for good reason. Turnover is expensive, and can have hefty negative impacts on operations, customer experience, team morale, and burnout to name a few. The good news is, employees are telling you what they want. You just need a strategy to deliver it in sustainable and scalable way.
Improve The “C-Word.” That’s right, Culture.
Words don’t get more ambiguous or overused than “culture.” We know it’s critical, but don’t know how to shape it. And the truth is, you don’t. Because your culture isn’t what you say it is, it’s what your employees say (and feel) it is. What we can shape is employee experience. A winning experience = a winning culture.
A built-to-last legacy.
An experienced, motivated workforce becomes your greatest asset in a competitive marketplace, and your greatest contribution to our society, collective quality of life, and GDP (Gallup estimates low employee engagement costs the global economy 8.9 trillion U.S. dollars, or 9% of global GDP).
Thank you for your time, your patience and your positivism throughout the project. It is a real pleasure to work with you. Having accomplished this work together, I think that nothing is impossible for us.
Isabelle H.
Manager, Talent Development, Empire | Sobeys Inc.
Building your Sustainable Employee Experience Framework
What an engagement looks like
We Begin With Understanding
We start by reviewing your existing initiatives, engagement survey data, and strategic priorities to build on the foundation you've already established. This ensures we're aligned with your vision and complementing your current efforts.
Strategic Guidance Through Regular Collaboration
You receive consistent support through optional bi- weekly consultation calls focused on practical implementation strategies and real-time adjustments based on store feedback. We make sure our recommendations work within your operational constraints.
An Actionable Framework, Not a Rigid Formula
Our process follows a clear roadmap with specific checkpoints, but adapts to your organizational structure and culture. We build on what's working while addressing the specific gaps between corporate initiatives and store reality.
Real Time Access + Asynchronous Communication
Email, Loom (video), or message us as needed for quick and efficient updates or clarifications. We'll also provide weekly updates so you know exactly what's going on without having to send emails or request calls.
Transparent Communication and Progress Tracking
You'll have access to a custom project management system that keeps all stakeholders informed about progress, timelines, and upcoming milestones. This transparency helps secure continued buy-in across all levels of the organization.
Knowledge Transfer and Team Capability Building
We work directly with your internal teams to ensure they can sustain progress long after our engagement ends. Our goal is to embed operational engagement principles into your organization's everyday practices.
Want to know how much employee disengagement & turnover costs your organization annually?
Download the free custom calculator.
This free worksheet allows you to enter the number of employees you oversee, and their average annual salary to show you just how much this problem costs you every single year.
About Us
Everyone here at CATO has experienced an employer that made them shrink instead of grow, and so we are united by a vision of a world in which work contributes to a sense of fulfillment and identity – not loneliness and mental health struggles.
As Abraham Maslow said: “Proper management of the work lives of human beings, of the way in which they earn their living, can improve them and improve the world and in this sense be a utopian or revolutionary technique.”
We also know that a dedicated and diverse group of humans is the best advantage you could possibly have in the competitive market. So we are elated to have found a calling that facilitates true win/win results.
Head of Creative Strategy & Employer Alignment
Head of Retail Workforce & Frontline Experience
Head of HR Strategy & Solutions
Head of Workforce Engagement & Productivity
Administrative Manager
Production Designer
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does this investment typically range?
Engagements start at $15,000 monthly. We structure our work to deliver measurable value that far exceeds this investment, with most partners seeing significant impact within the first quarter.
How is this different from other employee engagement approaches?
Unlike traditional approaches that add new programs, technologies, or communications channels, we work within your existing operational framework. We don't create more work for your stores—we help your current initiatives reach their full potential by integrating them into daily workflow.
How much time will this require from our team?
We've designed our process to minimize disruption to your busy schedule. You'll have the option to join a focused 45-minute guided session weekly, plus asynchronous updates. Our goal is to complement your existing workload, not add to it.
How quickly will we see results?
While sustainable change happens over time, most partners begin seeing measurable improvements within the first quarter. These early wins create momentum for deeper, longer-lasting transformation in areas like turnover reduction and customer experience.
Will this require significant change management?
Our approach is designed to work within your current operational structure. Rather than introducing disruptive new systems, we help you optimize what you're already doing. This minimizes change management needs while maximizing impact.
How do you work with our existing HR and Operations teams?
We position ourselves as an extension of your internal teams, not a replacement. We complement their expertise with our specialized store employee experience knowledge, helping them achieve their goals more effectively. Our collaborative approach ensures we enhance their work rather than compete with it.
Is this only for certain types of retail?
Our approach works across retail formats, from grocery and big box to specialty and department stores. The core principles of operational engagement apply anywhere frontline employees interact with customers. If you operate brick-and-mortar locations, this approach is relevant to your business.
What makes CATO different from other consultancies?
Our team combines both corporate retail expertise and extensive store management experience. We don't just understand retail strategy—we've implemented it on the sales floor. This dual perspective allows us to identify practical solutions that work in real-world store conditions.
Dear Retail Leader,
Your teams are asking for a better day-to-day experience, and your organization has already invested significantly in addressing this need. If you're interested in maximizing the return on those investments by connecting them directly to where work happens in your stores, we'd love to explore how our approach might complement your current strategy.
As the partner bringing our organization's employee experience brand work to life through pictures and words, there was no question who I would collaborate with when it came to establishing the mental wellbeing brand and narrative. My interactions with Bekki and her team were easy, energizing and excellence-focused. Thank you for your patience, creativity and diligence. Together, we created something special.
Shana N.
Manager, CoE Integrated Health Management, Mental Health Program
I worked with Bekki in creating some graphically designed documents for a major company initiative. I was extremely impressed by the quality of the work she provided, her professionalism, attention to detail and excellent service. She made recommendations that were valuable in realizing the vision of the document and always responded in detail and promptly. I would very much recommend her for other individuals who are looking for similar services.
Michael E.
Human Resources Director, Sobeys Inc.
I see this collaboration as an extension of our team that knows our business, and is able to challenge certain things – always with respect and for the benefit of the team. We can sometimes be biased in some of our interventions and having an external person who questions us, allows us to see certain things differently; which is a good thing.
Isabelle H.
Manager, Talent Development, Empire | Sobeys Inc.
I run a boutique fitness studio where my entire business model is situated around face to face interaction. With a deft hand, Bekki has helped me transition online (social media, youtube, and other avenues) and has allowed me to continue to support my customer base, despite the global need for social distancing. She has provided input when needed, suggestions when warranted, and has taken my vision and executed it perfectly. Bekki's ability to produce top of class digital content on a moment's notice is single handily saving my small business.
Thom W.
Owner, Breaker Strength
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