Welwyn Hatfield Delivering Exceptional Customer Service with PlotBox

Photos taken by: Benchmark Architects

| Read time: 5 mins

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council is located in Hertfordshire, serving a local population of over 120,000.

Its Bereavement Services team is responsible for the management of cemeteries, grounds maintenance, burial provision and burial registration in Welwyn Hatfield, incorporating Hatfield Hyde Cemetery, which marks its 100th year in 2024, and Green Flag accredited Oak Hill Lawn Cemetery and Crematorium, founded in 1984 and redeveloped in 2023.

We spoke with Bereavement Services Officer Sarah Holohan about how the Council’s relatively new team has been getting the most from PlotBox. 

Please tell us about your role within the Bereavement Services Team.

As Bereavement Officer for the council, I oversee the admin side of running the crematorium and cemetery facilities. We take bookings, reply to queries, and gather information for families who are unsure where their loved one was buried.

Aside from this, we also look after the chapel at Oak Hill, and arrange meetings.

We look after all of the information relating to the two locations from within PlotBox, which we use to manage details of past burials and all related documentation.

If we need to amend something - a deed, for example, it’s all recorded [in there].

How do you use PlotBox on a daily basis?

We primarily use it for our admin, which is very straightforward with PlotBox.

When we’re putting bookings onto PlotBox, all of the information we need is there - it’s a very user-friendly system, it's very straightforward and easy to navigate - I don’t have many buttons to click!

That said, if I’m unsure of where to get what I need, I can ask for support via the chat function without leaving PlotBox, which I find very useful.

Tell us more about PlotBox's diary function.

If I was to have a booking come through for a particular time, I can go into the diary and set it up straight away.

From then on, no one, apart from myself, is able to add another booking into that slot, meaning there are no double bookings.

In terms of the different facilities, we have 3 different tabs - one for Hatfield Hyde and one each for Oak Hill’s cemetery, and crematorium.

We also have another tab for appointments, enabling us to link everything together.

That means that for burials, for example, we’re able to quickly and easily print off or email the documentation that we provide to our grounds team, with all of the information they need - including the date, time, grave number and any special requests.

For the crematorium, we can print all of our required paperwork from PlotBox - for example, the chapel attendance sheet, which will have any special requests from the family, as well as other information including the funeral director name, the time of the booking, and the name of the cremator operator.

That all stems from the original booking - we'll put it into PlotBox, we’ll do a quick save, and we have all the papers [we need].

After the burials take place, we can print the deed off - that's all set up and is very helpful.

Photo: Benchmark Architects

How does PlotBox help in terms of customer service?

It helps us get the information we need for families more quickly.

We have different tabs - the one that I use the most is the record tab. All I need to do is enter the name of the deceased, select the facility (if known) and perform a search that will return anyone with that name.

We can also search using the plot number - that will take you straight to the plot itself - or by the deed holder.

How has the digital mapping functionality helped in locating graves?

I’ve only been working here since last year so I’ve found it very useful when walking the cemetery grounds. I can go into PlotBox, enter the plot number, and a pin will show me exactly where in the cemetery it is.

I’ll also use that if a customer calls in. Because Hatfield Hyde is older, with numbers all over the place, it can be quite hard to locate a grave by sight - so it’s good in that respect.

A customer will phone us, say they can’t locate a grave, and all I need to do is type in the plot number, bring up the image, then snip that and send it to them via email. It’s a very good function.

In a similar way, our grounds staff might come to us and say that they can’t find a grave. Again, I can go straight into PlotBox and tell them there and then, “ It’s third from the left, on row ‘X’.”.

What has the support you have received been like?

Our Customer Success Manager has been looking after us and is very helpful. If there’s anything we don’t understand, she will take the time to go over it.

During one site visit, she spent some time with us as a team to help us understand a particular challenge we were having.

We had an initial meeting schedule laid out, which we’ve modified as time has gone on and as we’ve become more confident with using the system.

In that way we have as much or as little time with them as we need.

The longer we've used it, and with our CSM’s support, we’re starting to master it.

What were some of the learnings that came from those sessions?

Because we didn’t fully appreciate PlotBox’s reporting functions, we went over what each of them does; now, for example, if my colleague was to ask how many cremations we carried out in a particular week, I could have that information ready in moments.

Also, things such as expiry letters - now we can simply go into PlotBox, print them off with all the details already included, and send them out to families in the post.

It’s very good.

How has the team adapted to using PlotBox?

Two of the team had previously used different systems and when they started using PlotBox they were a little unsure [of it]. However, the more we've learned, the more we realise we can get it to work for us - now they really like it!

For example, they like the ability to scan documents into the system, whereas with other systems they couldn’t do that.

Another, newer member of the team liked it right from the off because we were able to train her without us having to work it out ourselves.

How does PlotBox help you to remain compliant?

We’re able to keep all of our records in one place, so there's no more having to find and fill out books - everything is in one place and easily accessible.

It's also very good for keeping track of deed ownership - as long as you are putting the right information in, you can’t go wrong.

In that respect, PlotBox is as good as the user.

Would you recommend PlotBox to other Local Authorities?

Absolutely. The support you get - you can just ask a question, and they’ll come back to you quickly with an answer

Once you know how to use PlotBox, it’s very straightforward and user-friendly.

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