RICHMOND, Va. — GPM Investments LLC will hold a hiring event the week of May 11 for workers who have lost a source of income due to the economic effects of COVID-19. As an incentive to join the convenience-store retailer’s team, its partner PayActiv, a holistic financial wellness platform that allows employees to access their wages ahead of payday, is waiving its usual fees during the pandemic.
“We are seeing record numbers of people filing for unemployment,” said Veronica Donchez, GPM’s senior vice president of human resources. “We want the communities where we operate to know that we have a place for them and would love to have them join our team.”
“Our communities need us, and we will be there for them,” said Arie Kotler, GPM’s president and CEO.
In March, the company said it was looking to hire up to 5,000 store employees during the pandemic. It received an “overwhelming” response to the employment opportunities, Donchez said; as a result, the company organized the hiring event. “We have put together a team event where we are focused on interviewing and getting new associates onboarded in a timely fashion,” she said. The company said it expects the hiring event to offer job opportunities to thousands of new associates.
“We are pleased to offer our new team members incentives not offered by other retailers,” Donchez said. “We have an incentive for new team members that can be used to obtain food, fuel and other essential items.”
To provide that incentive, GPM has partnered with PayActiv, which allows employees to access up to 50% of their earned pay for a nominal, flat fee via a website or mobile app. In response to the current environment, PayActiv will waive all associated fees, providing GPM’s associates quick access to their earned wages prior to their scheduled paycheck.
Associates can log into their PayActiv account and see accessible earned wages, which they can transfer to a bank account or debit card, use to pay bills online, load onto a prepaid card or withdraw in cash. They can also use financial planning tools such as goal-based budgeting and have unlimited free access to knowledgeable financial coaches. PayActiv users also qualify for special discounts at local stores and on prescriptions and have access to services such as Uber, Amazon and financial literacy resources.
- GPM is No. 5 on the Top 40 update to CSP’s 2019 Top 202ranking of U.S. c-store chains by number of retail outlets. CSP will release the complete 2020 list in June.
Based in Richmond, Va., GPM operates or supplies fuel to more than 1,400 c-stores in 23 states.
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