Incredible colleagues, founders are becoming a big problem - Data Scientist Gusto Employee Review

3.0
27 Feb 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Great mission - Large, mostly untapped market - Earnest empathy for customers - Fantastically supportive colleagues - Inclusive culture - Better-than-average internal transparency

Cons

- Leadership is weak and largely non-participatory - Tons of annoying euphemisms and cutesy terms (managers are called "people empowerers" -- but empowerment mostly appears to mean delegation and not getting involved) - Two of the founders are now grossly mismanaging the company, and are likely its biggest threat to success - Attrition is spiraling and nothing is being done to plug the leak, let alone regain lost talent

Explore other reviews about Gusto

5.0
10 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Smart and friendly coworkers. Excellent team culture

Cons

Tunnel visions on AI a bit too much

1
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.

12
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