How Guzman y Gomez Built a Hiring Engine with Indeed to Support Rapid Expansion

When Guzman y Gomez (GYG) listed on the ASX in 2024, it marked more than a financial milestone. It signalled the next phase of growth for one of Australia’s fastest-expanding Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) businesses.

Since launching its first store in Sydney in 2006, GYG has grown to more than 200 restaurants across Australia, Singapore, Japan and the United States. But scaling restaurants at this pace requires something equally scalable behind the scenes: hiring. And not just hiring; hiring at volume, across markets, without slowing momentum.

The pressure of growth

As expansion accelerated, so did recruitment complexity. GYG needed to consistently hire across both new and existing restaurants, often simultaneously. Regional growth markets added another layer of difficulty, with smaller talent pools and heightened competition for frontline talent.

Shift-based roles required fast turnaround. Leadership roles needed visibility. All while balancing cost efficiency and application quality in a competitive QSR market.

Organic reach alone wasn’t going to sustain that level of demand.

“As we continue to expand across Australia and internationally, maintaining a scalable and consistent hiring approach is essential. Partnering with Indeed has helped us strengthen role visibility and drive strong application volume across priority markets, supporting our ability to hire at pace.”

— David Young, Head of Talent , Guzman y Gomez

Building visibility into a hiring engine

To keep up with expansion, GYG moved toward a more deliberate, visibility-led strategy with Indeed.

By leveraging Sponsored Jobs, Smart Sourcing and Employer Branded Ads, the business shifted from relying on passive traffic to actively driving application flow across priority markets.

The impact was measurable.

In the last 12 months, 93.75% of applications were driven by Sponsored Jobs. Between January 2025 and January 2026, the strategy delivered 55,990 sponsored apply starts creating a reliable and efficient flow of candidates to keep hiring moving.

In 2025 alone, GYG received 46,625 sponsored applications, strengthening pipeline consistency across both metropolitan and regional locations.

Smart Sourcing also helped GYG proactively connect with talent. In 2025, outreach campaigns achieved a 45.31% response rate, with a 31.94% positive response rate, exceeding the 32% national benchmark in Australia, highlighting strong candidate engagement.

Brand visibility also accelerated. Featured Employer drove 88% of brand impressions, delivering a 724% lift and helping ensure candidates found GYG first in a competitive QSR market.

Performance in the core Australian market remained strong, delivering 82.6% of sponsored apply starts on 85.6% of budget, demonstrating efficient conversion at scale.

The brand now holds the #1 spot on Indeed in Australia for Restaurant Managers, Assistant Restaurant Managers and Shift Leaders, strengthening its visibility in leadership hiring.

Improved application flow has also helped reduce time to hire, enabling teams to respond more efficiently to ongoing demand.

“Improving application flow has helped streamline our hiring process across both metropolitan and regional locations, enabling us to respond more efficiently to hiring demand.”

— David Young, Head of Talent , Guzman y Gomez

Hiring that scales with the business

By aligning its hiring strategy with its expansion strategy, GYG has built a repeatable recruitment engine designed to support sustained growth.

Through increased visibility, proactive sourcing and sponsored reach, Indeed has helped GYG maintain consistent application flow across markets  strengthening its ability to hire at scale.

As expansion continues, that scalable hiring foundation remains critical to supporting the brand’s next phase of growth.