Abhishek Shetty is an area manager in Victoria, looking after 8 restaurants in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs. He started at Grill’d in 2013 and has had a range of different roles throughout the company. Although he is an incredibly talented leader, he also has an amazing connection with the community, both local and abroad. As part of Grill’d local matters program, Abz and a handful of other Grill’d employees spent some time in Cambodia volunteering at a school for children with Aids and HIV. 

 

What do you love about your job?

I get to be part of so many journeys within the business. I’ve come across so many stories of team members now becoming restaurant managers. But I also have a huge passion for Local Matters. It has given me the opportunity to give back. There are so many businesses that say that they give back but it’s nothing like what we do, we do it every day. To me, that’s been a reason that’s kept me at Grill’d for so long. Doing good, feeling good and doing it the right way.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your trip to Cambodia?

It was a life-changing experience. It came about in 2016 when I had an opportunity to go to  New Home for Cambodian Kids (NHCC), which is a school that caters to about 200 kids who have either AIDS or HIV.  I was overwhelmed by the kid’s enthusiasm and how the school was set up. Most of the kids were orphans and have AIDS or HIV, yet they still managed to crack a smile every day. I’ve seen poverty from back home in India but to spend time in this community was another experience, they had so little but shared so much. I spent the week teaching maths, I was a bit nervous but by the end of the week, I was thriving!

What does Local Matters mean to you? 

It’s an opportunity to give back to the community. It’s a great tool to connect with our community and how we can make a bigger impact. It’s not just a corporate buzzword for us, we really do care about others in ways that many other businesses could only dream of. 

 

Why is Grill’d such as a great place to work?

If you want to work for a business with a soul, come work with us. You’ll get a deeper perspective into life on a professional and a personal level. We believe in building people who then build our business, which includes communities and community groups around Australia. Our talking point is our product but it’s also our people, our work what we do within our communities. We’re are a business with a heartbeat.