Staff

Staff are the lifeblood of your zoo and keep it running like a well oiled machine.

How to Hire Staff

Staff are hired from the Staff page in the Zoo Management screen or from the Staff List in the browser on console. When the desired staff member has been selected, they will become attached to the reticle and be deployed by placing them on a path.

Staff can still be hired even if the zoo has negative funds, which can help you recover from any temporary setbacks. Be careful though! If you can't pay your staff they're likely to quit, so be sure to resolve any funding issues quickly.

Vendors are automatically hired when a shop is placed, but additional vendors can be hired to support shops when staff are taking breaks.

Types of Staff

Keepers

Keepers maintain the welfare of the animals in the zoo. They are responsible for the following activities:

• Cleaning habitats and exhibits.
• Feeding animals.
• Watering animals.
• Reporting sickness and injuries.
• Removing skeletons.

Keepers require a keeper hut to perform their feeding duties.

Vets

Vets maintain the physical wellbeing of the animals in the zoo. They are responsible for the following activities:

• Treatment of illness.
• Treatment of injury.
• Capturing escaped animals.
• Removing corpses.
• Researching animals.
• Transporting animals (low priority).

Vets require a vet surgery to treat animals and a research centre to perform animal research.

Caretakers

Caretakers look after the zoo and help with transportation duties. They are responsible for the following activities:

• Transporting boxed animals (high priority).
• Cleaning paths.
• Emptying bins.
• Cleaning toilets.

Vendors

Vendors are assigned to shops and will serve guests. If a shop does not have a vendor then customers cannot be served. When a shop is purchased, a vendor will automatically be hired.

Mechanics

Mechanics look after the physical infrastructure of the zoo. They are responsible for the following services:

• Repairing habitat walls.
• Repairing power facilities.
• Repairing water treatment facilities.
• Repairing vandalised items such as bins, benches and signs.
• Researching new facilities and scenery items.

Mechanics require a workshop to perform their research duties.

Security Guards

Security guards protect the zoo from the following threats:

• Vandals.
• Thieves.
• Guests feeding the animals.
• Guests distressing the animals.

Educators

Educators primarily focus on raising your guests' education via Animal Talks. When assigned to an Animal Talk, educators will attempt to reach the talk up to three months in advance, waiting at the talk point until it is scheduled to begin. If an educator misses their talk, it will be cancelled, and the guests will be unhappy! Educators can also be assigned to present roaming talks if they currently are not busy with a scheduled animal talk.

Educators will return to a staff room between talks if they have nothing else to do, to make sure they have energy for the next talk.

Staff Needs

Staff have needs that must be satisfied to keep them in the best working condition.

Staff have an energy level which declines over time and will drop more rapidly if the staff member has a heavy workload. This energy replenishes when resting at a staff room. Staff also have a happiness status. This can be maintained by paying the staff member well and surrounding their working environment with attractive scenery. Exhausted staff also tend to become unhappy; unhappy staff are likely to quit.

Staff Training

Training staff is a great way to improve their happiness, efficiency, resilience and work rate.

All staff enter the zoo with a one star rating and can be trained up to five stars. Training can be arranged for a member of staff either in the Training tab of the staff member's info panel or on the Staff Page in the Zoo Management screen.

There is a nonrefundable cost to arrange training for a staff member. Staff members will receive their training the next time they visit a staff room to rest and they will expect an improved salary after each training level.

Staff Work Zones

Work zones can be used to dramatically improve efficiency in the zoo and can be critical for ensuring keepers look after habitats. A work zone is a collection of facilities that can be assigned to one or more staff to limit where they will work.

Work zones can be created from the Zoo Management Work Zones page.

1. Select 'Create New Work zone'
2. Start adding facilities to the work zone by selecting them or by using multiselect.
3. Select a facility again to remove it from the work zone.
4. Name the work zone so it can be identified later All changes are automatically saved.

Staff can be assigned to any single work zone that has been created. This is done through the Zoo Management Staff Overview page or the Employment tab in the staff's info panel. Each staff member can be assigned to a work zone using the Work zones page - staff can also be reassigned from this location.