Guasa Group | Automating HR & Payroll in hospitality

Guasa Group’s story…

The low down

Guasa, originally known as Guasacaca, is a lively Latin American street food venture with three different brands (Guasa’, Hermanos Taco House and Mr.Pork) founded by David, a Venezuelan entrepreneur who made the move from Caracas to London. Starting at Deptford Market in 2013, Guasa has now become a popular presence at some of London’s busiest street markets, including Mercato Metropolitano, Market Place and Boxpark, as well as Glastonbury festival.

David started the business to bring Venezuelan culinary delights to London’s diverse food scene. Thanks to its dedicated team and focus on quality and innovation, Guasa has gathered a loyal following and continues to grow, aiming to win over the hearts and taste buds of both British and international customers.

We spoke with Irua Dugarte, co-owner and HR manager, about the difference Employment Hero has made since they adopted our platform in 2022.

“I convinced my partner that we needed EH and he said, we don’t have the money, we don’t need it. But now he can see the benefit, we have convinced him that EH is essential for our business… Employment Hero saved my life!”

How it started – juggling too many systems

Running a successful food venture isn’t just about great food – it’s also about managing the behind-the-scenes work seamlessly. Guasa Group faced significant challenges in managing their HR and payroll processes. Before adopting Employment Hero, staying organised was a daily struggle. With disjointed systems and reliance on external accountants, inefficiencies, errors and unnecessary stress were the norm. But even harder was keeping the team engaged and ensuring smooth operations in a high-turnover industry like hospitality, which proved to be a constant challenge. Recruitment was cumbersome – checking CVs and following up on references a recurring nightmare.

How it’s going – simplified, streamlined and engaged.

With our simplified payroll system, Guasa Group found relief for their team. With everything in one place, payroll processes became smooth and error-free, allowing Irua and her partner to focus more on growing the business rather than chasing payroll issues.

Keeping the team engaged and reducing turnover has always been a challenge, especially in the fast-paced hospitality industry, with traditional methods of recognition falling short in motivating staff. Our platform introduced innovative tools like Hero Points, HeroAI and the Swag app, transforming how employees interact with HR. With easy access to payslips, rotas and essential documents, employees felt more informed and appreciated. This boost in engagement and transparency helped reduce turnover and create a more positive workplace culture.

“HeroAI helps us provide transparency to our employees. When I moved to the UK I also worked in hospitality and I didn’t know my rights – I didn’t know we had policies, I didn’t know my holiday allowance and it was really difficult. The majority of our workers are in the same position, so I wanted to eliminate all of the problems I faced, for them.”

 

A simple system that solves your HR headaches.

Our all-in-one platform has completely transformed how Guasa does HR and payroll, making processes more efficient, increasing employee engagement and giving powerful insights through reporting.

Innovations like Hero Points to improve engagement make Employment Hero an essential tool for anyone in the field of modern HR management. What’s more, the Swag app is a great tool for busy workers who are always on the move.

“The new Swag app is amazing. When we got access to it, I was like ‘ oh my goodness, this is exactly what I signed up for’. The app is super helpful for our employees. They don’t use desktops, they work shift patterns and are always on the go, so they need something simple and easy to use. Now they have visibility about what’s going on – they can sign documents, see their payslips and look at their rotas on the way to their shift.”

Finding the right fit

Recruitment in hospitality often feels like a revolving door, with high turnover making it challenging to find the right staff. But with our SmartMatch technology, recruitment is a breeze for hospitality businesses. By quickly aligning pre-vetted candidates with open positions, SmartMatch ensures that critical roles can be filled promptly, keeping operations running smoothly and efficiently.

If you’d like to learn more about how Employment Hero can transform your business – speak to one of our business specialists today.

Want to learn more about our products? 

SmartMatch is our AI-powered talent matching tool that automatically matches business owners with pre-vetted candidates. This reduces time to hire from weeks to days. 

And wait, there’s more.

Our next gen platform is coming.

Find out more here.