Surprisingly immature / start-up growing pains in an enterprise-sized company at this funding stage - Anonymous employee Gusto Employee Review

3.0
18 Oct 2023
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

People are quite kind and typically motivated by the mission. Most are genuinely trying to do their job and make an impact on whatever problem they're solving. Nice employee perks beyond standard benefits (e.g. sabbatical after 5 years, anniversary stipends, etc.). Comp for my role (non-technical) was higher than market, though I know comp for other functions can be quite below market. Actually a great place to work if you are a lower-ranking IC (non-CX) or are father removed from the center of it all.

Cons

Unclear whether the company has an actual overall market strategy it is executing against because exec decision making takes so long / shifts often, and planning is almost entirely bottoms up. Being the first mover / dominant player in category means there's so much opportunity to go after that leadership can't focus (FOMO). Additionally, tons of growing pains operationally that have never been solved along the way -- expected more maturity for a company of the size and age, still feels Series B. None of the above is insurmountable but can feel that way as there is little productive recognition of these issues on the part of mid-to-senior management. Culture is friendly, but tends to minimize issues and lots of social pressure to wrap any constructive feedback in so much positivity that it dilutes the impact or urgency of the issue itself. Frequent turnover at the executive / senior manager levels which is destabilizing for ICs / roadmap continuity.

Explore other reviews about Gusto

5.0
10 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Smart and friendly coworkers. Excellent team culture

Cons

Tunnel visions on AI a bit too much

2.0
20 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The product is genuinely good, too bad the same can’t be said for how they treat the people who sell it.

Cons

Leadership talks a big game about people-first culture but the reality doesn’t match. The Chicago office expansion felt like a poorly thought-out experiment, new hires were brought on without a clear long-term commitment, and layoffs came without warning, leaving people blindsided. Crossing a billion dollars in revenue and still cutting employees sends a clear message about where workers rank on the priority list. Remote work flexibility is also a glaring weakness. For a company selling HR software to modern businesses, their internal stance on where employees can work is surprisingly rigid and hypocritical. The “flexibility” messaging is mostly optics. The broader concern is the AI roadmap. The automation push feels less like an innovation strategy and more like a slow wind-down of the workforce. Employees aren’t blind to it, it creates anxiety and erodes trust. The culture of transparency they promote externally is largely a facade internally.

9
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