Parking - April 2010 - 34

A process coined “stubbing” is a perfect example. Circa 1985, this involved finding handwritten citation stubs in a 3x5 index card box, matching that to the citation a customer is attempting to pay, taking payment, stapling the appropriate information together, and filing again. Processes like this defined parking operations up until the most recent decade. Operations were considered inefficient and hectic because they were in the business of putting out fires; in essence, managing a controlled burn and not the people and processes under their purview. Managers were responsible for making sure the parking operation employee (and customer) did not become the new postal employee so famous during the 80s and 90s. It would not have taken much for the term ‘going postal’ to have turned out ‘going parking!’ In a recent, eye-opening interview, Hunter Hughes, director of Parking Operations for Florida State University, echoed this idea and described the new parking operation as a “faceless office.” “Parking can be a frustrating process, let’s face it,” Hughes says. “The convenience factor of technological improvements has done a world of wonder for public perception of the parking office. From a customer service perspective, employees used to be verbally beat up day after day. This had a serious negative effect on their day-to-day job satisfaction and customer interaction, perpetuating a downward spiral for our employees and customers. As a result of moving to online permit disbursement, staff professionalism has increased significantly.” Faceless businesses like Amazon.com and iTunes allow millions of customers to conduct transactions without ever directly communicating with another person, yet these business models are clearly preferred. The point here is that parking professionals are now allowed the opportunity to be creative and find new ways to increase customer satisfaction. As a result of taking a lot of customer interaction out of the parking office, managers and employees of the new technology-laden parking operation, comparably, experience less stress. Students at universities across the country can now pay citations and purchase permits online, receive the permit in a couple business days, and use this same permit in both open lots as well as

gated facilities. All of this without stepping foot into a parking office! Many university parking operations have been going through a number of amazing transformations. Hunter described this transformation as “having both increased revenue, while also dropping employee turnover close to zero.” Again, employee turnover close to zero! The inevitability of constant employee churn is slowly dissipating, and the parking office is now in a position to retain good employees and, as a result, build long lasting, positive relationships with its client base. So, the question of the day is—how does this change the manager of today? Parking operation managers of today are now expected to refocus their energy and time to the more creative side of business, like finding new ways to reach existing and potential customers, impacting the bottom line, and creating an office environment the employees enjoy. As parking has grown into a legitimate big business, that manager also needs to understand how to get information out of a system, analyze it and create better processes. The new parking manager is moving into the realm of a knowledge worker, adding value through services and focusing on traffic and data flow over cars and spaces. As technology automates processes even further, the black hole managers must avoid is completely removing themselves from customer-facing functions all together. Technology has and will continue to do wonders by revolutionizing both complex and mundane processes. Managers will have to adapt by replacing thick skin with technical expertise and people with processes; and by being prepared to adopt a lifelong and everevolving learning process.
Zack Harmeyer has worked in various roles within the parking industry for more than six years, beginning in 2003 as a facility manager in Indianapolis. His responsibilities have included managing municipality parking operations, restaurant and hotel valets, and retail/ mixed-use facilities within Indiana and the Washington, D.C. area. He joined T2 Systems in 2009 as an associate product manager in their Indianapolis ofﬁce. Harmeyer earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University Bloomington in 2002, and will receive an MBA from the IU Kelley School of Business in 2010. He can be reached at zharmeyer@T2systems.com.

National Parking Association PARKING April 2010

Parking - April 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Parking - April 2010