About
Sightsavers is a global development organisation working to eliminate avoidable blindness and promote equal opportunity for people with disabilities. With operations across multiple regions and a wide range of internal teams, they needed a flexible service management solution that could support complex workflows, enable collaboration, and meet broader organisational needs.
The Challenge
The previous system had become increasingly difficult to manage. Configuration was challenging and time-consuming, often requiring external consultancy. Additional features came at a high cost, making it hard to adapt the system as requirements evolved.
“There was a lot we wanted to do with it, but it always seemed to come with extra costs.”
– Chris Porter, Service Delivery Manager
Although some departments, such as Finance and HR, had started using the platform, it wasn’t feasible to expand further. Many teams still relied on manual processes, limiting visibility and consistency across the organisation.
One of the most complex and business-critical workflows was international travel booking and risk assessment. Sightsavers staff regularly travel to support field projects and oversee programmes in high-risk areas. The approval process needed to adjust based on destination-specific risk, automatically routing requests through appropriate checks, from line managers to regional security teams.
There are also processes, such as employee onboarding, where several teams need access to the same information. Instead of logging separate tickets to each department, the organisation needed a way to streamline communication and manage related requests more efficiently. They required a system which was able to manage the parent and child ticket relationship clearly and efficiently.
Sightsavers needed a platform that could securely support critical processes, empower teams to adapt workflows internally, and extend far beyond traditional IT service management.
The Solution
Sightsavers began implementing Halo in 2021, aiming to create a platform that could adapt to the way they already worked, rather than forcing teams to compromise on processes or functionality.
One of the first priorities was rebuilding their travel booking and risk assessment workflow. Using Halo’s custom tables, dynamic field visibility, and role-based access controls, they created a system that automatically adjusts based on destination risk. Higher-risk countries trigger additional questions, approvals, and security checks. Staff can review destination risks through a linked dashboard, and only authorised users can access or update sensitive records.
Beyond travel, Sightsavers used Halo to simplify other high-touch, cross-team workflows. A standout example is onboarding: with parent-child ticketing, a single form now linked requests for HR, Finance, and IT, streamlining what was once a fragmented and repetitive process.
An internal IT team within the organisation is now empowered to configure and refine the workflows and processes of many of the teams that use the solution independently. No external consultants, no waiting for admin support, just fast, flexible change when and where it’s needed.
The Results
Halo has become the backbone for internal operations at Sightsavers, supporting everything from coordinating the work of the Creative Services team to HR and finance approvals, including all IT processes.
The new travel process now operates at global scale, covering 223 countries with dynamic risk logic built directly into the workflow. All information is stored securely and managed with strict access controls, ensuring authorised teams can quickly access what they need in the event of a critical incident, supporting staff safety and operational continuity in high-risk regions.
Security teams now maintain and update country risk levels themselves, removing dependency on IT and improving turnaround time. Staff can view destination risk levels in advance, helping them make safer, more informed decisions.
Elsewhere, Halo has significantly reduced manual workload. In onboarding alone:
- 639 parent tickets have been logged.
- 1,272 child tickets generated automatically.
- Resulting in a 66.7% reduction in manual ticket submissions
The shift has improved visibility, reduced back-and-forth, and created clearer ownership across departments.
Today, over 140 agents across 34 teams use Halo to manage 280+ ticket types, 250 services, and more than 50 automated workflows. With full control over configuration, Sightsavers continues to expand the platform’s reach and impact—without the need for external consultancy.
"Everyone that I speak to likes using it… Having a system that people enjoy using is a big factor in making it a successful system.”
-Chris Porter, Service Delivery Manager
What began as a necessary shift from a restrictive tool has become a platform that powers critical operations, supports staff in high-risk regions, and protects the people behind the mission.