After interviewing over 50,000 candidates and scaling monthly hiring capacity across seven transformative years, discover how Ravi Loyal, General Manager – Talent Acquisition at Swiggy, revolutionised volume recruitment strategies across multiple business verticals while managing over 34,000 employees nationwide.
Ravi Loyal brings two decades of HR experience to his role at Swiggy, where he has witnessed the company’s remarkable transformation over his seven-year journey. Starting with Swiggy’s Kitchen business in 2018, he helped build India’s first cloud kitchen workforce from scratch, interviewing close to 50,000 candidates across 29 cities. He then led Instamart’s explosive growth, hiring close to 85,000 people and building a current workforce of over 34,000 across dark stores and warehouses. Today, he’s one of the most successful volume hiring leaders at Swiggy, who has consistently delivered at scale.
- Tell us about your background and what led you to choose Talent Acquisition as a career path.
I’ve been working as a TA for the last 20 years now. Starting at a consulting firm where I handled client acquisitions, customer management, lateral and volume hiring, I have gradually worked my way up from managing one location to covering smaller regions before moving into nationwide corporate functions.
Then, seven years ago, I made what felt like a big leap and joined Swiggy. What was interesting was that I came in to work for their Kitchen business. It was completely new territory for me since I’d only hired for generic corporate roles before, but my volume hiring experience and pan-India exposure made it a good fit. It’s been quite the journey adapting HR practices to different models. - How was your interview experience, and what were your initial impressions of Swiggy?
I went through multiple rounds of interviews and met people from the leadership team, HR, and different business verticals. However, I must say that I felt assured and welcomed throughout the process. Then, the moment I walked into the office, I fell in love with the culture. The growth potential was addictive, and I knew I’d thrive with the organisation. - What has your journey been like across Swiggy’s different business verticals?
The key is understanding the business you’re working on. With Kitchen, we started with two cities—Bangalore and Hyderabad—and expanded to 29 cities, opening multiple cloud kitchens across these locations. We hired around 8,000 chefs, but interviewed approximately 50,000 people. Chef interviews were completely new territory for me. Candidates would prepare their specialty dishes while we evaluated not just their technique, but actually tasted their food. I had to learn to assess culinary skills alongside communication – it was a whole new dimension of recruitment that I’d never experienced before.
This worked well until the pandemic brought new challenges. When COVID hit, we adapted our approach, and the Kitchen business strategy evolved. Instamart gained momentum during this period, and I transitioned there in late 2021 to build entire teams from the ground up. To put the scale in perspective, we’ve hired close to 85,000 people for Instamart alone during this journey. Currently, we have around 23,000 people in dark stores and 11,000 in warehouses across 129 cities. - Can you share a milestone that’s particularly close to you?
The Instamart expansion has been incredible. I handle around 250-300 different roles across multiple businesses now. The biggest milestone was our expansion from September 2024 to March 2025, where we scaled our monthly hiring from approximately 4,000-5,000 to hitting over 3x of our capacity.
What made this so exciting was the breadth of impact I could have. I oversee the complete talent pipeline – from hiring people who identify Instamart property locations and facility managers to recruiting store managers and warehouse teams. When we expanded from 580 to over 1,000 dark stores during this period, I was orchestrating recruitment across every single function simultaneously. The scale and coordination required was exhilarating.
- How has technology transformed your volume hiring process at Swiggy?
We realised we needed to completely overhaul our hiring process with a proper ATS for volume recruitment, and we did so. Earlier, we relied on Google Sheets, which made tracking candidates extremely difficult and caused a lot of information loss. Now we get hourly updates including the location, number of candidates interviewed, feedback received, and joining dates. This system-oriented approach has made our processes stronger and increased productivity significantly. - Volume hiring typically comes with high attrition. How do you address this challenge?
Expectation setting is my primary focus, and I tackle this through several strategic interventions. We run comprehensive training sessions with hiring managers, teaching them effective briefing techniques and the right interview approach. One initiative I’m particularly proud of is creating a two-minute video that shows ‘a day in the life of a picker/loader’, which helps candidates get a realistic preview of their actual responsibilities.
I also collaborate closely with our training team to design the onboarding experience for new joiners. Focusing on both quality of hire and carefully curating the candidate’s complete journey from the interview to the first day has delivered measurable improvements in our retention rates.
- What are your non-negotiables when hiring at such a scale?
Intent to work—the willingness to thrive in our system is paramount. Being open to rotational shifts is crucial since that’s our business nature, and integrity is absolutely non-negotiable. These three factors help us identify candidates who’ll succeed long-term.
When we identify these three qualities together, I know we’ve found someone who won’t just survive but will actually succeed with us long-term.
- How do you manage your team during high-pressure hiring situations?
It begins with identifying the right individuals. I hold regular meetings with the team twice a day and often travel to address on-the-ground issues. I don’t see myself as a manager; I work as a team member. We follow what Swiggy calls being a ‘sports team with a heart’ – it’s a philosophy we’re focusing on organisation-wide. Stakeholder management is essential to understand timelines and coordinate across different functions. This collaborative approach keeps everyone motivated. - What’s made you stay at Swiggy for seven years?
It’s the culture and the people. From day one, the culture has been open with no restrictions. The highlight for me is how Swiggy cares for its employees. The level of support shown during the COVID-19 pandemic was commendable. This commitment to employee well-being, even when the business wasn’t thriving, indicated Swiggy’s true character of being people-first.
Even my family feels connected to the organisation. The appreciation extended to my wife and daughter has been genuinely touching. - Which Swiggy values resonate most with you?
‘Do more with less’ and ‘Never Settle’ – I live by these Swiggy Values every day. ‘Always be curious, always be learning’ resonates deeply because Swiggy helps you develop both professionally and personally.
What’s particularly transformed me is how Swiggy has shaped my approach to planning and discipline. The fast-paced, ever-changing nature of our work taught me that every single day requires strategic planning. I’ve actually started applying this methodology to my personal life, too. When you’re constantly dealing with new challenges and shifting dynamics, having that structured approach becomes your foundation for long-term success.
Author Bio
Swiggy Editorial is a team of writers who work with the company's Employer Branding team.
