How seamless ESM and self-service streamlined multi-department operations to keep the focus on animal welfare.
The Donkey Sanctuary is a UK-based animal welfare organisation dedicated to improving the lives of donkeys and mules around the world.
Through its work, the charity provides rescue, rehabilitation and lifelong care for donkeys in need, while also working with communities and organisations internationally to improve animal welfare, veterinary care and education.
It’s impact extends beyond individual animals, aiming to create lasting improvements in how donkeys are treated and recognised as sentient beings.
Executive Summary
For over a decade, The Donkey Sanctuary has relied on House on the Hill (Hoth) to power its internal support operations. What began as an IT-focused helpdesk has evolved into an enterprise-wide service management solution.
By expanding across multiple operational departments, from Finance and HR to Facilities, Fleet, and Compliance, The Donkey Sanctuary has transformed fragmented communication into a centralised, transparent system handling thousands of requests.
The Challenge: Moving Away from Siloed Inboxes
Before centralising operations on Hoth, different departments across the sanctuary relied heavily on shared mailboxes and separate, disconnected communication channels.
- Fragmented Workflows: Internal teams were inundated with scattered emails, making it difficult to track request ownership or audit historical data.
- Lack of Visibility: Managers struggled to gather accurate metrics or report on team productivity because requests were hidden away across individual inboxes.
- Adoption Hurdles: Transitioning non-IT departments away from familiar email habits initially brought resistance and fear of rigid performance tracking (“KPI panic”).
The Solution: A Unified, Multi-Departmental Hub
By partnering closely with the Hoth team over the past 12 years, The Donkey Sanctuary gradually rolled out Support Desk modules across almost every corner of the organisation.
- Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Departments including IT Support, Finance Systems, Supporter CRM, Compliance, Estates & Facilities Management (EFM), Fleet Requests, Travel, and the People Team (HR) now operate within a single unified ecosystem.
- Strict Data Governance: Individual department boundaries and permissions (such as keeping Compliance and HR data secure) ensure strict confidentiality while maintaining a single platform.
- Embracing Automation & Self-Service: The introduction of the AI Chatbot and self-service guidance portal has empowered staff to find instant answers to routine queries—such as equipment troubleshooting—freeing up core support teams to focus on high-value tasks.
A 12 Year Partnership Built on Trust
A cornerstone of The Donkey Sanctuary’s long-term success with Hoth has been the enduring collaboration between the two teams. Over more than a decade of scaling operations, the support relationship has remained a vital anchor.
“They’ve never made us feel stupid for not knowing the technical answers. Whenever we need to scale, adapt, or drag them into a meeting because we’re getting pushback internally, they step up and guide us through it every single time. Having that reliable, human partnership behind the software makes all the difference.”
— Vikki, Information Systems and Data Management Office Manager, The Donkey Sanctuary
Taking the Noise Out of Daily Support
One of the most significant triumphs of implementing Hoth’s self-service bot and dashboard has been removing administrative friction for staff whose day-to-day work is hands-on rather than computer-based.
As Vikki playfully notes when discussing farm staff interacting with technology:
“Some of our users are predominantly farm staff—and they are damn good at what they do, but operating a computer isn’t part of their day-to-day. By setting up the dashboard as a simple, one-stop shop, they can easily go in, raise an issue, and log everything all in one go! When staff ask why a printer isn’t working, the bot can gently tell them to check the plug first—taking the noise out of routine queries and letting our teams focus on their best work.”
Key Results & Impact
High-Volume Request Handling
The core IT Support desk alone processes an average of 4,000+ tickets per year (running at approximately 3,135 current year tickets), managed efficiently by a dedicated team.
Eliminating Lost Communications
The sanctuary has completely eradicated the "lost email" phenomenon. Every request is now captured, ticketed, assigned, and tracked transparently.
Positive Cultural Shift
Teams that were initially hesitant about adopting a ticketing system now fully embrace the platform. Managers can instantly evidence their team's workload and resource needs using custom wallboards and reporting dashboards.
Simplified Global Operations
While headquartered in the UK, the platform scales effectively to support global sanctuary locations and diverse international staff requirements.
Built for Simplicity, Powered by Innovation
Hoth isn’t just a tool—it’s a comprehensive platform that simplifies your IT service management and compliance, empowering teams to work smarter, faster, and with confidence.
Making service simple—smarter, faster, together.
Hoth empowers teams to deliver smarter services across IT, Customer Support, Facilities, Governance, and Enterprise Management. Our flexible, AI-supported platform streamlines operations, boosts collaboration, and ensures compliance—making it easy to support your people, processes, and priorities.
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