Pechanga

A Cultural Landmark with a Commitment to People

Pechanga Resort Casino is one of California’s premier destinations and the largest resort/casino on the West Coast. Located in Temecula and operated by the Pechanga Band of Indians since 1995, the organization spans ten distinct business divisions, each with its own operational focus – from hospitality and gaming to finance and facilities.

The Organizational Development (OD) team, housed within HR, is tasked with delivering learning experiences that meet the diverse needs of over 4,000 Team Members. Ellen Malone, Assistant Director of Organizational Development, and Dominique Grande, OD Instructional Designer and LMS administrator, lead efforts to ensure that every piece of training is aligned with Pechanga’s core values of Pride, Passion and Professionalism.

Meeting the Challenge: Inclusive Learning for All

Designing a centralized learning strategy for such a varied workforce was not without challenges. With a multi-generational workforce, speaking multiple languages, and working across front-of-house and back-of-house roles, accessibility was a key concern.

Initially, the team focused on compliance training for a smaller group of learners. However, as success stories grew and content quality improved, internal demand skyrocketed which pushed leadership to expand access across the company.

A major challenge early on was ensuring content relevance and language accessibility. Many frontline and hourly Team Members did not speak English as a first language. Pechanga tackled this head-on – leveraging OpenSesame’s multi-language content and supplementing it with custom-built materials through Simon, OpenSesame’s AI-enabled course creation platform.

Goals Rooted in Growth and Excellence

Pechanga's Organizational Development team set out to:

Deliver high-quality, up-to-date compliance training across all 10 Divisions
Deliver onboarding resources for new hires to ensure a smooth transition to their new roles
Increase engagement with non-mandatory learning for frontline Team Members
Ensure content is in line with Pechanga standards in every course offered (Pechanga’s own branding upheld for all of their published work)

Implementation: Blending Technology, Culture, and Curiosity

To reach every learner, Ellen and Dominique built a blended approach that worked for their fast-moving, 24/7 environment. They relied on OpenSesame’s curated library for compliance and professional development, and when they needed Pechanga-specific training, they used Simon to create compliance, safety, wellness, and industry focused courses in minutes. Instead of starting from scratch or relying on outside designers, Simon helped them turn their internal expertise into clear, engaging courses, complete with built-in accessibility and mobile-ready formatting.

With this dual strategy, they meet strict compliance requirements, like Title 31 and Responsible Gaming regulations, while delivering leadership and soft-skills training tailored to Pechanga’s culture and service standards.

The team curates content and spotlights courses in Pechanga University (powered by Infor LMS). They have created a learning dashboard in Pechanga University where new content is highlighted on a monthly basis and learners can view the learning calendar for the year. All of which is available via desktop and mobile, designed to appeal to a workforce spanning Gen Z to retirees.

OpenSesame’s language and accessibility features also helped Pechanga engage Team Members who may not have strong English or digital literacy skills. They find courses in different languages and translate their own Simon-built courses in up to ten different languages including Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, and French. The team believes that personal and professional development should be equally available to all Pechanga Team Members which is why language and accessibility features found in OpenSesame content are so important.

Results: Scaling Success Through Recognition and Access

Since expanding access, Pechanga has achieved:

Created over 40 trainings across 10 languages with Simon course creation, significantly broadening Pechanga’s multilingual learning capacity
Achieved 40+ hours of time savings per course by translating content instantly with Simon’s AI-powered translation
Scaled from 1,500 to 4,300 licenses, enabling training access for all Team Members
A 90%+ completion rate for compliance courses
Over 4 enrollments per learner – indicating high engagement beyond required training

Just as importantly, Pechanga’s OD team has earned the trust of internal stakeholders. Other divisions now proactively request support and content from the OD team, flipping the script from “pushing training” to responding to genuine demand.

Looking Ahead: Career Pathing and Cultural Continuity

The team continues to focus on career pathing, leadership development, and expanding on Pechanga’s Core Values through all learning experiences. They plan to continue using Simon to build custom courses and spotlight content that supports both role-based learning and personal growth.

Launch and scale a leadership development program for emerging leaders
Support career pathing and personal development with multilingual, culturally relevant content