Ahead of opening two new restaurants, Guzman y Gomez Singapore (GYG) faced an immense challenge: hiring two full staff rosters within a tight two-week window, all managed by just one recruiter.
To tackle this high-pressure situation, GYG turned to Mercu to roll out additional AI-powered features for screening, scheduling, and candidate communication. As a result, GYG successfully screened over 800 applications and hired 124 new crew members in under two weeks, all while maintaining an engaging and consistent candidate experience.
The Challenge: Volume Hiring with Tight Timelines and Low Overhead
As GYG prepared to open two new restaurants, the team needed to quickly recruit two high-performing restaurant teams within a two-week timeframe, with only one dedicated recruiter to manage the entire process.
We were under immense pressure to staff our new restaurants quickly and efficiently. The challenge wasn't just about hiring the best candidates, but ensuring that each candidate had a consistent and positive experience.
— Rachel Lee, Head of People
The Solution: Mercu's AI-Powered Recruitment Automation Platform
To address this challenge, GYG collaborated closely with Mercu’s customer success team to roll out additional AI-powered features, focusing on areas that traditionally consume up to 80% of a recruiter's time: manual screening, interview scheduling, and answering repetitive candidate questions.
- AI-Powered Screening: Mercu’s AI identifies missing application details and automatically reaches out via WhatsApp or SMS to collect them. It also conducts initial behavioural assessments and prioritises top candidates, streamlining the process. Candidates that don't meet the requirements are immediately informed of their application outcome.
- Interview Scheduling: Mercu's automated scheduling feature enables easy group interview setups via WhatsApp or SMS, with automatic reminders sent 24 and 2 hours before interviews, reducing no-show rates.
- AI Assistant: Embedded into WhatsApp/SMS, Mercu’s AI Assistant is trained on GYG’s hiring FAQs, providing instant, accurate responses to candidate inquiries and freeing up recruiter time.
The Results: 800+ Candidates Screened and 124 Hires in Just Two Weeks with One Recruiter
Mercu’s AI-powered platform delivered impressive results for GYG:
- Speed: GYG processed over 800 applications and made 124 hires in just two weeks, all managed by a single recruiter.
- Efficiency: Interview no-shows dropped to under 20%, a significant improvement compared to the 40-60% average in Singapore's QSR industry.
- Candidate Experience: Every candidate received timely updates on their application status, and Mercu's AI Assistant instantly answered over 600 candidate questions, ensuring a seamless and responsive experience.
Mercu made our pre-opening hiring drive a breeze. It handled the heavy lifting, allowing me to focus on the top candidates. We brought in 124 new team members in just two weeks—something we couldn’t have achieved without Mercu.
— Marjorie Hwang, Recruiter
Ahead of opening two new restaurants, Guzman y Gomez Singapore (GYG) faced an immense challenge: hiring two full staff rosters within a tight two-week window, all managed by just one recruiter.
To tackle this high-pressure situation, GYG turned to Mercu to roll out additional AI-powered features for screening, scheduling, and candidate communication. As a result, GYG successfully screened over 800 applications and hired 124 new crew members in under two weeks, all while maintaining an engaging and consistent candidate experience.
The Challenge: Volume Hiring with Tight Timelines and Low Overhead
As GYG prepared to open two new restaurants, the team needed to quickly recruit two high-performing restaurant teams within a two-week timeframe, with only one dedicated recruiter to manage the entire process.
We were under immense pressure to staff our new restaurants quickly and efficiently. The challenge wasn't just about hiring the best candidates, but ensuring that each candidate had a consistent and positive experience.
— Rachel Lee, Head of People
The Solution: Mercu's AI-Powered Recruitment Automation Platform
To address this challenge, GYG collaborated closely with Mercu’s customer success team to roll out additional AI-powered features, focusing on areas that traditionally consume up to 80% of a recruiter's time: manual screening, interview scheduling, and answering repetitive candidate questions.
- AI-Powered Screening: Mercu’s AI identifies missing application details and automatically reaches out via WhatsApp or SMS to collect them. It also conducts initial behavioural assessments and prioritises top candidates, streamlining the process. Candidates that don't meet the requirements are immediately informed of their application outcome.
- Interview Scheduling: Mercu's automated scheduling feature enables easy group interview setups via WhatsApp or SMS, with automatic reminders sent 24 and 2 hours before interviews, reducing no-show rates.
- AI Assistant: Embedded into WhatsApp/SMS, Mercu’s AI Assistant is trained on GYG’s hiring FAQs, providing instant, accurate responses to candidate inquiries and freeing up recruiter time.
The Results: 800+ Candidates Screened and 124 Hires in Just Two Weeks with One Recruiter
Mercu’s AI-powered platform delivered impressive results for GYG:
- Speed: GYG processed over 800 applications and made 124 hires in just two weeks, all managed by a single recruiter.
- Efficiency: Interview no-shows dropped to under 20%, a significant improvement compared to the 40-60% average in Singapore's QSR industry.
- Candidate Experience: Every candidate received timely updates on their application status, and Mercu's AI Assistant instantly answered over 600 candidate questions, ensuring a seamless and responsive experience.
Mercu made our pre-opening hiring drive a breeze. It handled the heavy lifting, allowing me to focus on the top candidates. We brought in 124 new team members in just two weeks—something we couldn’t have achieved without Mercu.
— Marjorie Hwang, Recruiter
