Staff facilities are the collection of buildings the staff use to perform their duties. All staff facilities must be powered and accessible by path to function. Staff facilities that have scenery placed around and/or built onto them improve the happiness of your staff whilst they are inside.
Guests don't like to be near staff facilities, so staff facilities should be placed away from them. The strength of this dislike varies from facility to facility.
Trade Centre
The trade centre acts as a gateway for animals into the zoo. It is essential for bringing in any new animal. Animals sent to the trade centre will be put into storage – with their age and needs frozen – and can then be released to the wild or traded for cash or Conservation Credits in Franchise Mode.
Any adopted animals will appear in the trade centre, where a caretaker or vet will collect them and transport them to the desired destination when ordered to do so. The trade centre has separate capacities for habitat animals, exhibit animals and rewarded animals.
If the capacity is met, no more animals can be adopted or put up for trade.
Keeper Hut
Keeper huts are the only location in a zoo where keepers can prepare food. They are therefore critical for maintaining healthy animals.
Keeper huts come in two sizes which affect the number of keepers that can prepare food simultaneously. This is determined by the facility's 'capacity' which can be found on its info panel.
Positioning of keeper huts is important. This is because the distance from the hut to the habitat gate, or exhibit, determines how much walking a keeper needs to do as part of the food preparation cycle.
Staff Room
Staff rooms are buildings where staff can go to rest and regain energy before returning to their duties.
Staff that do not rest will become inefficient and will eventually quit. There is limited space within a staff room as determined by the building's 'capacity', and only a certain number of staff can use it at any given time.
If a staff room is unpowered, or full, staff will queue outside until it becomes accessible.
Staff rooms are needed to train staff and can also be used to set staff perks.
They have a yearly running cost and give specific boosts to staff members who rest there.
Quarantine
The quarantine can be used to safely isolate sick animals before treatment at a vet surgery. It is also used to check over new animals entering the zoo before they are sent to a habitat. There are two sizes of quarantine with different capacities.
Vet Surgery
The veterinary surgery provides the only location for vets to treat disease and injury. Not having a vet surgery is therefore a risky business. Only one animal can be treated in a vet surgery at any given time.
Research Centre
The research centre is used by vets to further the zoo's knowledge regarding animals. There are two sizes of research centre - the small centre which accommodates one staff member and the large centre which accommodates six.
Workshop
The workshop is used by mechanics to perform research. There is a single size of workshop, and it can only accommodate one mechanic at any given time.
Security Items
- Security cameras - prevent crime in the areas they cover. Guests object to over surveillance, so be aware of their negative impact on happiness.
- 'Do Not Feed the Animals' signs - will reduce the likelihood of guests feeding animals guest food.
- 'Do Not Disturb' signs - reduce the likelihood of guests making noise around the animals, which can help to reduce their stress levels if they are particularly shy.