By Charlie Pogacar
At the conclusion of the spring 2024 semester, Papa’s Partners, a Papa Murphy’s franchisee group, celebrated the academic success of 40 of its team members by paying them a total of $4,140 in bonuses. The payments were part of the franchisee’s “Pay for ‘A’s’” initiative: High school students earn $10 for each “A” they receive in class, while college students earn $50 per “A.”
The program was dreamed up in 2019 by Papa’s Partners, which owns 18 different locations across the Kansas City and Wichita, Kansas, markets. Seeking a way to invest in its team members and reduce turnover, the group threw around some ideas before they came up with the “Pay for ‘A’s'” program.
“We came up with the idea on a conference call,” said Jeremiah Buck, the area manager for all 18 stores. “We have never really had bad turnover rates within our stores, but it’s something you always want to get better at. So we decided to try this out as a way to reward our team members for the work they do outside of Papa Murphy’s.”
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Almost immediately, the program paid dividends. While other restaurants and chains dealt with crippling turnover during the pandemic, Buck said Papa’s Partners’ locations enjoyed best-ever retention rates in 2020. He believes the two things are connected.
“For us, it just means we’re not often scrambling to make desperation hires,” Buck added. “And I do think [Pay for A’s] has something to do with that.”
Since the program was implemented, team members have earned over $30,000 in bonuses thanks to their academic performance. It has also increased the time team members typically spend with the organization. If and when a high school student moves on to a local college or university, they often keep their job with Papa Murphy’s—and perhaps that $50 stipend for each collegiate “A” is a particular selling point.
Jacob Uhlman, a general manager at a store in Kansas City, said the overall morale of his stores ticks up around the time report cards come in. Young team members start discussing what type of grades they earned and the check they might receive.
“It’s not life-changing money or anything like that,” Uhlman said. “But it’s a lot when you’re 17, 18 years old—a couple tanks of gas, or something like that.”
Robin Pinks is an area senior in high school who has been with Papa Murphy’s since April 2023. Last semester, he earned a total of $70 for getting straight A’s on his report card. Pinks has big goals for his future: He aspires to go to the U.S. Air Force Academy next year.
“It really incentivizes us to try hard in school and not just focus on work all the time,” Pinks said. “I think more companies should do it—if you’re doing well in school, you’re probably a pretty organized person.”
The franchisee group feels the same way, Buck said. They tend to hire kids who like to stay busy. He’s found the ones who keep their grades up and enjoy competing in sports tend to be the best employees—perhaps partially because it’s a sign they are competitive. Buck is competitive, too, especially when it comes to retaining young talent.
“We’re competitive,” Buck said. “We want to see our young people grow and develop. We don’t want to lose them to another pizza place. That’s the type of thing that grinds your gears.”
