Mattress Firm accelerates recruiting with Alex

At a Glance

• From two weeks to under two days for a first conversation
• Nearly two-thirds of invited candidates complete an interview
• 109 interviews completed in the first weeks

Great salespeople were waiting beyond a full calendar

For Mattress Firm, finding the next successful salesperson starts with a conversation. Recruiters could only reach a fraction of the talent applying to its stores.

About 125,000 people apply to the retailer’s stores each year. A 16-person recruiting team could speak with roughly 9,000 of them. Recruiter calendars filled weeks in advance, while candidates waited for an opening or accepted another job.

For Candi Thomas, Head of Talent Acquisition, the opportunity was clear. Mattress Firm’s sleep experts and store managers are professional commission salespeople. Finding the right fit takes a conversation: about selling, availability, motivation, and the work itself. A resume can only begin that story.

The team already filled roles in around 35 days. Candi wanted to build on that performance by giving more applicants the chance to show what they could bring to one of the company’s more than 2,000 stores.

A first conversation on the candidate’s schedule

Mattress Firm introduced Alex in a regional deployment to expand first-round outreach. Applicants who clear the inline assessment hear from Alex within minutes, with follow-up by email and text. They can complete a phone interview when they have time, including evenings and weekends.

Someone applying at 3 p.m. on Friday can now have that first conversation before Monday. Each completed interview gives recruiters a full transcript and an assessment by category, ready for review in Workday.

That fit with the existing workflow mattered. Recruiters could see more interviewed candidates without moving their work into another system. They kept the judgment calls and the personal conversations that warranted their attention, including former employees, candidates who opted out, and standout resumes.

Alex also helps candidates understand whether the role fits what they want. When availability or commission-based work is a mismatch, the conversation addresses it directly.

“Alex has handled difficult conversations with more ease and confidence than some of our recruiters could.”
Candi Thomas, Head of Talent Acquisition, Mattress Firm

More candidates in the conversation

In the first weeks, Alex completed 109 interviews. Nearly two-thirds of invited candidates finished their interview, and the time from application to first conversation fell from two weeks to under two days.

Recruiters also found that Alex’s category assessments aligned with what they heard when they followed up. With the initial conversation already complete, they could act on a promising candidate while that person was still engaged.

“In three weeks, Alex completed more interviews than the recruiter assigned to those roles could have completed in the same period.”
Candi Thomas, Head of Talent Acquisition, Mattress Firm

For applicants, that means a real opportunity to explain their experience. For recruiters, it means a broader pool of people to consider, with more information available sooner.

More sales talent ready for recruiter action

Mattress Firm’s recruiters can now act on completed conversations while candidates are still engaged. Alex expands first-round capacity inside Workday, giving the team more evidence and more sales talent to consider.

The value is already visible: first conversations happen in under two days, nearly two-thirds of invited candidates complete their interviews, and recruiters can move forward with assessments they trust. Candi’s team has more capacity to find the salespeople its stores need, without adding another system to the workday.