Case Study: Lincoln Park Zoo achieves paperless, sustainable HR and higher morale with Paylocity

Historic Lincoln Park Zoo Builds a Sustainable Future with Smarter HR

Lincoln Park Zoo, a 150-year-old nonprofit in Chicago with about 400 employees (830 including seasonal staff and volunteers), faced inefficient, paper-based HR processes—particularly onboarding and performance management—that hindered seasonal hiring, candidate experience, and the organization’s sustainability goals. The Zoo had long used Paylocity for payroll and had already started with Paylocity’s Onboarding module, but needed a broader digital solution to modernize HR for Gen Z hires and reduce administrative burden.

Paylocity implemented a centralized digital HR platform—expanding Onboarding and Payroll and adding Learning, Community, Performance, Data Insights and the Paylocity Mobile App—to eliminate paperwork, streamline training and communications, and connect performance to compensation. As a result, new hires complete onboarding digitally with no paper, employees hired in the last two years have digital-only records, HR gains one‑click visibility into headcount and demographics, and the Zoo has seen improved morale, greater operational efficiency, stronger sustainability, and anticipated increases in retention thanks to Paylocity.

Lincoln Park Zoo

Genevieve Gonnigan

Vice President of HR, People and Culture