Chester Zoo Case Study
Project Type: Sharepoint, PowerApps, Microsoft 365
Sector: Non-Profit
Our Customer
Chester Zoo was opened in 1931 by George Mottershead and his family. They are home to more than 20,000 animals and 128 acres of gardens. Chester Zoo is a conservation and education charity that is committed to preventing extinction, supported by its 2 million annual visitors. It is the most visited zoo in the UK.
Their Challenges
Chester Zoo was having trouble tracking their policies, employee handbooks, and other key information documents due to using an outdated system. This also made the document review and approval process challenging and time-consuming. They also had issues with ordering new uniforms for their staff members and needed a way to keep track of previous orders, and an easy way to approve/reject any uniform-related requests. Additionally, they wanted a simple way to keep track of how many daily visitors they have, and a hub where they were able to keep track of any zoo-related news.
Challenges
- Trouble tracking key internal documents due to an outdated system
- Time consuming review and approval systems
- Difficulty keeping track of previous uniform orders
Our Solution
Valto built Chester Zoo a new SharePoint intranet, inclusive of a Homepage, modern branding, and Depart template to roll out on other SharePoint sites. It also included Hub navigation, News section, and custom development for a visitor counter app.
We also created a controlled documents system for them, which replaced an old static site. Chester Zoo will use this to manage their policies, employee handbooks and other key internal documents. It has an approval process included whereby documents/policies can be approved/reviewed by specific people and this is all controlled by Power Automate.
Additionally, we created a PowerApp that manages staff uniform orders, and we also completed several training sessions for them.
Results, Return on Investment and Future Plans
Chester Zoo is now able to access any zoo-related news fast and effectively with the use of their new SharePoint intranet. They are able to manage their policies, employee handbooks, and other key internal documents with ease, and are able to approve and review these documents in a timely manner.
Additionally, with the use of their new PowerApp, staff are able to request new pieces of uniform which are in line with the seasons, and admin are able to track previous orders, and also approve/reject any requests.
Quote From Customer
Valto replaced our aging intranet with a bright new fresh online version, making it far easier for staff to find what they need, use automated forms and policies, and provide a platform for our digital transformation journey
