DC icon... terrible professional experience
Pros
Some of the best professional friendships are born from the very cool group of people who work for/used to work for CAVA. Free CAVA every day cannot be understated as a perk. Cool to be behind the scenes of one of DC's favorite spots. The field employees are some of the best, hardest working folks in the game. Learning opportunities from the founders. Office visits by employees' dogs on Thursdays and Fridays. Depending on your department -flexibility to work from home if needed.
Cons
Sadly... everything. After CAVA acquired Zoe's Kitchen in November of last year the company started down a slippery slope to its current state. After the latest round of layoffs - after each round there are promises of a new day and a fresh start, as well as reassurance that those left are secure in their role - it's so obvious that their "people first" motto does not extend to their HQ employees. Each department has had it's issues, which isn't that strange given an acquisition. But the way it's being handled by the toxic C-suite, it's no wonder. More and more "important" and strategic work is being farmed out to contractors or off site advisors who are never introduced to the staff at large. Nor do these offsite folks take the time to learn the CAVA/ZK employees, outside of the C-suite's favorite few, and understand who is at the heart of the company, implementing, promoting, maintaining the ideas they dream up. The culture is all but gone. Through layoffs and rounds of quitting the People and Culture department is nothing but an empty shell, pretending to care about HQ employees. No one feels safe enough to voice concerns to the department that's supposed to be the first place HQ employees go with issues. Every employee event feels like a weak attempt to band-aid the issue of employee morale, but even those are fewer and farther between due to budget cuts and the People and Culture team removing themselves from the morale portion of HR. Junior level employees are acting as their own bosses as theirs are fired, leave, or are too busy to deal with them - without the adequate pay bump of course. Not to mention the lack of professional development due to no one being able to keep their heads above the flood of work. Burnout is so rampant. Minimal paid maternity/paternity leave compared to the industry. Compensation on the low end of the industry.
