How digital learning helps Pinchos onboard and develop employees

Pinchos is an innovative restaurant chain built on a Swedish original idea launched in Gothenburg in 2012. Known for its colorful interiors, dishes and drinks inspired by flavors from around the world, and a playful, mysterious atmosphere, Pinchos has quickly become a favorite among guests.

Today, the chain has over 70 restaurants across four countries and continues to expand rapidly. With this growth, however, came a new challenge: how to ensure every new employee quickly felt equipped to deliver the same great guest experience that defines Pinchos.

The challenge – consistent onboarding in a growing organization

As new restaurants opened and more employees joined, it became clear that classroom training and informal knowledge sharing were no longer enough. The team needed a structured and scalable way to introduce new hires to the Pinchos world, while also supporting ongoing development for experienced staff.

“The focus was to make onboarding both efficient and fun, while making sure everyone got the same foundation to succeed,” explains Johanna Hagström, HR Manager at Pinchos.

The solution – Pinchoversity, a digital learning platform

In 2020, Pinchos launched its own digital academy – Pinchoversity – built in Learnifier. The goal was to create a flexible learning environment that captured the authentic Pinchos experience while being easy to manage and scale. All courses are created in-house, with a strong focus on short video formats showing real situations that employees face in the restaurants. The content covers both introduction to the Pinchos culture and role-specific training, such as Bar, Dining Room, and Kitchen.

“We didn’t want this to become a ‘head office product’. The training reflects the actual needs in our restaurants – practical, engaging, and directly useful,” Johanna shares.

Seamless and branded employee experience

A key part of the solution was making Pinchoversity feel like a natural part of Pinchos. The portal was customized with the company’s own colors, fonts, and imagery to strengthen the brand experience for employees. Through an integration with the Pinchos employee app, new hires are automatically invited to the right courses based on their role. Automated SMS communication supports onboarding with welcome messages and reminders, ensuring employees stay engaged throughout their learning journey.

“We created an OpenID solution where employees access Pinchoversity directly through our internal VIP portal. This minimizes administration and makes the learning process seamless,” says Johanna.

“Now we can teach Pinchos to everyone in the same way. With English content, we also reach our restaurants outside Sweden effectively”

Results – scalable learning that supports expansion

Today, Pinchoversity provides a consistent and engaging introduction to life at Pinchos, while also offering pathways for continuous learning. The scalability means that every new employee, regardless of location, receives the same high-quality training.

“Now we can teach Pinchos to everyone in the same way. With English content, we also reach our restaurants outside Sweden effectively,” Johanna explains.

One of the greatest insights along the way has been that digital learning doesn’t have to be complicated. “We realized that starting simple and focusing on what a brand-new employee really needs was the best approach. From there, we could build step by step,” Johanna shares.

The results so far include:

• A unified way of presenting the Pinchos culture and values
• Effective onboarding for new hires across different markets
• Reduced administration thanks to automation and integration
• A strong foundation for continued growth and development
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Looking ahead – building a learning culture

Pinchos is just getting started. The vision for the future includes developing a vibrant platform where employees can learn not only from the courses but also from each other, through forums and shared experiences. The team also dreams of expanding into areas like cooking schools, leadership programs, and internal trainee tracks – all aimed at making it easy to be new, grow within the company, and deliver outstanding guest experiences.

“Digital learning has helped us build the foundation we need for both today and tomorrow. And we’re only at the beginning of this journey,” Johanna concludes.