How did Gusto 54 Respond To Covid-19? The COVID-19 pandemic was a game-changer for many businesses and industries, especially restaurants and food. According to Statistics Canada, only in Canada, by May 2020, employment in this sector declined 55.8% from pre-pandemic in February 2020 and stayed one-third lower (-29.3%) in December 2020, corresponding to February 2020. Also, lockdowns, fear of COVID-19, 50 percent capacity, and many other occurrences negatively impacted these businesses.
Zoomio editorial team, in this article, will observe Gusto 54, a restaurant group, and how they reacted to these unprecedented few years during the pandemic.
January 2020
Humans on earth were living as usual, and then, COVID-19 emerged first in China and then the whole world in the next few months; humans understood that they were living in a pandemic era.
Gusto 54 was doing great before the pandemic, and after COVID-19, they faced many challenges like any other restaurant business in the world. Janet Zuccarini, owner and CEO of Gusto 54, always knew that being successful means you need engaged and motivated employees, especially when most are at minimum wage.
In addition, Janet knew that these employees serve customers at the front line, and they significantly impact how customers feel and think about Gusto 54. Moreover, other team members working in the back of the restaurant as a chef team, servers, and other employees also need to prepare the most delicious and high-quality foods to show customers how Gusto 54 foods and menu are perfect.
Janet Zuccarini
Janet always tried to create a culture inside the Gusto 54 business and hire the right employees for the best possible roles. I must mention that she invested in employees’ experience and potential to impact Gusto 54 positively. In conclusion, she believes that to compete and defeat competitors, they must depend on employees’ potential ability and retain the best employees in Gusto 54.
When COVID-19 began, they had to close many restaurants due to restrictions and regulations, which meant many employees were jobless and needed to stay home. At this moment, Gusto, 54 and CEO, faced the most significant challenge: losing employees and all their investments.
In my opinion, if it never Covid-19 happened, Gusto 54 could have maintained its success because it gave considerable value to employees and their talents. But on the other hand, they needed some changes and more benefits during and after the pandemic to retain employees and stop losing them to other businesses.
Definition of Gusto 54 Culture | January 2020
Gusto 54’s culture as of January 2020 was like a boat that was leaving a seashore to heaven, and only loyal, motivated, engaged, and top employees had a ticket to board this ship. It is good to follow this strategy and create this type of culture in your business but to maintain and keep employees, the owner and CEO must put a lot of effort and money into keeping this culture alive.
Meanwhile, when Gusto 54 was following its culture, happenings like pandemics changed everything, and employees wanted more support, help, and benefits from staying with Gusto 54.
Values, Attitudes, and Diversity at Gusto 54
As mentioned in this article, Gusto 54 knew that their minimum wage employees are essential in making customers happy and keeping them loyal to a business. That is why they valued employees from hiring until they reached senior levels.
In addition, attitudes that everyone should be treated fairly and in the same way were essential to keep everyone satisfied with their rights. Furthermore, diversity between employees and hiring different generations, races and people was crucial for Gusto 54.
In my opinion, all these strategies and measurements are the strength of Gusto 54 in the market to gain loyal, talented, and top employees. Gusto 54 provided benefits, perks, and recognitions to retain and motivate employees. Also, they create new plans and growth programs for employees.
People First Culture | Right or Wrong?
As a CEO, Janet always believed that they must focus on people and employees rather than business and food. In my opinion, this point of view is correct if you hire the right person first. Also, occasionally, as a CEO or a manager, you must observe and read employees’ reports to ensure they are on the right path for themselves and the business.
Before the pandemic, Gusto 54 also had many challenges. Competitors were fully alive, and they were trying to attract more customers and gain more share in the market. They were also trying to hire employees, even hiring employees from Gusto 54 to maintain their business better and better. However, after the Covid-19 emergence, more challenges occurred.
Another critical challenge for Gusto 54 was keeping the culture and family feeling between employees at different levels. In this case, many factors, such as financial, cultural, and economic, could impact culture and its benefits for Gusto 54.
Gusto 54 Challenges & How to Tackle
One of the biggest challenges businesses like Gusto 54 face is keeping the culture and core beliefs between employees and working people. For instance, Gusto 54 growth is all about making high-quality foods and giving customers the best experience in a restaurant. This needs a strong connection between employees and Gusto’s 54 beliefs.
The reason is that employees interact with customers, not managers or Janet as a CEO. Therefore, maintaining the core beliefs and culture is crucial for Gusto 54, and they must create a strategy that can be changeable at certain times.
One of the strategies that Gusto 54 can follow to maintain culture is creating simple principles that keep culture safe, and all employees and managers must follow these principles.
10 Examples Of How COVID-19 Forced Business Transformation | Forbes
Conclusion
This article observed Gusto 54 situation before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. We understood what culture Gusto 54 followed and how it operated. Meanwhile, we analyzed challenges and tried to find a way to tackle them.
