Stagnant Sales Growth - Account Executive Gusto Employee Review

2.0
Jan 13, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

They hire people with solid character They care about what is happening outside of "work" Software is good for what it is.

Cons

Low level sales organization maturity. Sales org treated as lesser than compared to Engineering department. (Founders are developers.) Compensation WAY under market value for sales professionals. Constantly changing commission %. They changed how much we made on deals 3 times in less than a year. Only expect to make what your OTE is, not anything over. Lowered commissions so people didn't make too much. High churn at the leadership level (lost head of sales, head of my department and my direct manager all within less than a year.) High churn at IC level as well. On our 6-8 person team we lost 6-8 individuals in a little over a year I was there. No career growth, too many people and not enough growth to sustain constant promotions. Gusto Support function in a tailspin and customer experience not what it used to be compared to what they promote. Got all the way through interview process and they offered me less money than originally agreed upon at the start. Was promised promotion within first 3 months if I hit my number...I did and no promotion ever happened. They also misrepresented what my initial sales guarantee was and told me it was my fault I signed our compensation plan even though I confirmed with our head of compensation multiple times what my payout was. Promotions and compensation increases paused for entire year. Signed working agreement with expectation they would reimburse $1,500 at my one year anniversary for travel expenses. They paused that benefit and I never got paid before I left. No ability to take constructive feedback. They preach their "Gustie Attributes" and their values, but don't actually practice what they preach. Couldn't fill Head of Sales role for 6+months and still was not filled when I left. No one leading sales team at the top of the organization. Tried to incorporate a sales methodology but not much opportunity to use. Deals are low level and not very strategic for the most part. Lowest product offering costs $25/month. Lead gen department relies mostly on organic leads and word of mouth referrals. Not sustainable

Explore other reviews about Gusto

5.0
Jun 10, 2026
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CEO approval
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Pros

Smart and friendly coworkers. Excellent team culture

Cons

Tunnel visions on AI a bit too much

2.0
May 20, 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.

10
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