Tag Archives for: PIE 2019

Parker Technology: A Newbie’s Perspective on PIE 2019

March 25, 2019

A Newbie’s Perspective on PIE 2019

By Heidi Barker, Director of Marketing at Parker Technology

As the newest member of the Parker Technology team, and still a fresh face in the parking industry, attending PIE last week was a refreshing experience. I’ve attended and exhibited at dozens of trade shows in my former industry, and yet, PIE is by far the most open, engaging and technology-driven. An overarching theme was how successful PT was at creating the intersection of vendors and consumers.

One of my first impressions was the emphasis put on education. It’s brilliant to structure exhibit hall hours at different times than the seminars so that exhibitors and attendees alike can sit in on sessions. Not to mention, then they aren’t detracting from one another, meaning attendees don’t have to choose either/or. This has always been my experience, so although it may be second-nature to parking veterans, it’s not something to take for granted.

Another highlight was attending all the conference-sponsored networking events i.e. Exhibitor Welcome Reception, Beach Party, Speed Networking, etc. In all my years going to shows, I’ve never witnessed such a concerted effort by the show organizer (PT) to create opportunities for connection between exhibitors and attendees, not just once, but several times over.

I was also impressed by the tremendous role technological innovation plays in the parking industry. I can certainly empathize with attendees – there are so many options to choose from! However, it is abundantly clear how crucial both technological adeptness and innovative thinking are to be successful in this industry. Way to be ahead of the curve.

Which brings me to my next thought… The Parking Today Awards. For being the first annual awards event, I have to give the PT staff an emphatic “Well done.” We were thrilled and honored to be the Technical Innovation Award Sponsor and look forward to taking part again next year.

Lastly, this industry strikes me as a close-knit community. Transitioning from one niche industry to another has been seamless, and in large part because although parking is small, it is open, and willing to embrace outsiders. With an influx of so many technology solution companies, I’d say this is a very good thing.

A bit about us… Parker Technology delivers a turnkey solution for parking facilities to offer a full-fledged, premium customer experience. We provide patented two-way video intercoms that enable guests of parking facilities to connect and speak face-to-face with a remote attendant via live HD video whenever the “help” button is pressed. The call is then answered in our cloud-based software by trained specialists in the Parker 24/7 Call Center. Utilizing our robust platform, they respond to guest issues per the exact instructions of the facilities served. As the parking industry’s only operator-independent call center, we put the human touch back into parking, bridging the gap between human failure and automation.

Get rid of your intercom problems, increase your revenue and enhance your guest experience.

Learn more here.

Parking Today Media Announces Winners of First Annual Parking Today Awards

March 20, 2019

Parking Today Media Announces Winners of

First Annual Parking Today Awards

Los Angeles, CA (March 20, 2019) – Parking Today Media today announced the winners of the first annual Parking Today Awards. The Parking Today Awards, which recognize excellence in a several parking-related categories, were presented at the Parking Industry Expo (PIE), an annual gathering of parking industry leaders. Award-recipients include:

Lifetime Achievement Award—Chicago parking legend Larry Donoghue is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. The former Chairman and CEO of Ralph Burk Associates was instrumental in the development of many legendary parking and non-parking projects, beginning with the siting and design of O’Hare International Airport in the mid-1940s. He also participated in the development of two of downtown Chicago’s earliest underground parking garages, the Grant Park garages beneath Michigan Avenue. In the mid-1970s, he began focusing on revenue fraud in parking facilities and soon earned a reputation as one of the foremost experts on the topic. He conducted more research into detecting and stopping fraud than any parking consultant had—or has since—and he identified more than 300 ways fraud can occur in garages and 50 ways fraud can be committed at parking meters. Donoghue finally retired in 2014, but he remains active, volunteering approximately 20 hours a week to work with homebound seniors and nursing home residents.

Customer Service Excellence Award—Dallas-based ParkHub was recognized for outstanding customer service. ParkHub’s subscription-based solutions help parking professionals improve the customer experience and drive revenue with streamlined operations and real-time insight. ParkHub manages over 1 million parking spots and has parked and digitally transcribed over 18 million vehicles to date.

Parking Innovation / Innovative Parking Solution Award—The City of Seal Beach, California was recognized for its use of cutting-edge technology, including EV charging stations and License Plate Recognition-based permitting and enforcement tools, in municipal parking facilities.

Best New Parking Structure—Berkeley, California’s Center Street Parking Garage, designed by International Parking Design of Encino, California. The 250,000 SF, eight-level garage provides 720 spaces for cars and 350 spaces for bikes and contains a number of sustainable features, including rooftop solar panels, electric-vehicle charging stations, rainwater collection cistern, and stormwater treatment vegetation. The garage also features an art exhibit space, café, bike valet, public restroom facilities, state-of-the-art security system, and a parking count system with red and green indicator lights designating open spaces. Additionally, the garage houses a bike share network and includes a BART Bike Station with bicycle-equipment repair shop and 55 secured bicycle spaces.

Sustainability Excellence Award— Barnacle, providers of the cutting-edge parking enforcement tool, were recognized for their commitment to sustainability. The cutting-edge device not only enables enforcement officers to immobilize vehicles immediately without extra trips but also allows the offending driver to pay their fines on line and release their vehicle themselves, thus greatly reducing miles traveled and gallons of fuel used.

About Parking Today Media
Parking Today Media publishes Parking Today, the most comprehensive and informative publication serving the parking industry. The company also sponsors the Parking Industry Expo (PIE), the leading annual conference serving the parking industry. More information can be found at parkingtoday.com.

Thank you for making PIE 2019 the best ever!

March 14, 2019

Thank you for making PIE 2019 the best ever!

To everyone who attended, exhibited, spoke, engaged at PIE 2019, thank you! Each and every one of you is incredible! We at Parking Today Media, appreciate you all with all of our hearts.

ParkNews.biz has been tending to PIE this week. We are back to normal next week.

Thus, please send me your news, your press releases and articles for ParkNews.biz and Parking Today.

Wishing everyone safe and pleasant travels home and the most successful and peaceful rest of March.

We at Parking Today Media cannot wait to see everyone soon and then next year at PIE 2020 in San Diego.

With kindness and appreciation,

Astrid Ambroziak

Editor, ParkNews.biz

310 390 5277 ext 9

astrid@parkingtoday.com

www.parkingtoday.com

PIE 2019: A Wake-Up Call for Parking Employers – Laney Solutions

March 04, 2019

PIE 2019: A Wake-Up Call for Parking Employers – Laney Solutions

The customer comes first. It’s a mantra heard in so many companies these days, but it’s one that is deeply flawed. See, there’s a problem with putting customers first.

It means that employees come in second, at best.

So much energy is spent today surrounding innovation, technology upgrades, and customer, yet many of us fail to recognize the importance of creating a positive employment experience for employees.

After all, a business is only successful as its employees, and that goes for any industry.

Whether you are a business owner, manager, or professional looking to move to a management role, those of us in the parking industry must understand how to attract and retain talent today.

This topic has never been more important than now. Between the mobility revolution and the record low US unemployment rates, parking employers are having to work increasingly hard to hang on to their best talent.

Furthermore, the employee-employer relationship has evolved and looks much different than even just a few years ago. The employee journey is fluid, and organizations must plan for movement into, within, and out of their company with flexibility and ease. Employees look at their jobs now as opportunities to pursue their passions, experience professional growth, gain new experiences, and expand their networks. And more and more, if employees aren’t getting these, they’ll leave.

To help managers and leaders in the parking industry develop strategies and tactics that will attract and retain top parking talent, Kathleen Laney of Laney Solutions will host the panel discussion, “Shifting Gears: How Hiring and Managing Parking Talent is Evolving in Today’s Mobility Market” at the PIE Expo in Chicago. This session will focus on how parking employers can create a positive employee experience to gain a competitive talent edge.

Take the wake-up call and don’t miss Kathleen’s session on Wednesday, March 13 at 10 am as she examines top parking employer’s issues with:

Stephane Jean-Marc Adovelande, General Manager – Chicago, LAZ Parking
Bryan Blackwell, Vice President of Business Development & Marketing – Amano McGann
Vanessa Solesbee, CAPP, Parking & Transit Manager – Town of Estes Park
Nicole Wylie, General Manager, SpotHero

Kathleen Laney

President & Executive Search Consultant, Laney Solutions

kathleen@laneysolutions.com

Laney Solutions is the leading parking industry recruitment firm specializing in middle and senior management, experienced sales professionals and executive level placements. Driven by client and candidate satisfaction, we target and locate quality candidates who possess very specific skills, experience, education, training and more – to match our client’s exact requirements. Learn more by visiting www.laneysolutions.com or contacting Kathleen Laney directly at kathleen@laneysolutions.com.

PIE 2019: Are Candidates Flaky or Just Not That Into You? – Vicki Pero, Marlyn Group

February 25, 2019

PIE 2019: Are Candidates Flaky or Just Not That Into You? – Vicki Pero, Marlyn Group

Job candidates sometimes get a bad wrap from employers, because they don’t always follow through after applying for a job. We’re letting ourselves off the hook a bit too easily if we put all of the blame on candidates though. What gets overlooked in the labeling of candidates as flaky is a true understanding of the reasons why they disappear from the process. Employers have a lot more control in the hiring process than they sometimes realize, and can keep candidates engaged and ultimately hired by making enhancements to the talent acquisition process.

Three areas that make a big difference in the process and can help your company stand apart from others competing for the same talent include:

Employer brand – does your website, social media and job ad content tell a story that will appeal to candidates and attract them to your company?
Application process – is it simple and easy or lengthy and complex?
Speed of the process – can candidates move quickly and efficiently from application to hire or are there time lags and many steps that draw out the process?

At the PIE Show on March 12^th, I will be delivering a session focused on hourly workforce hiring in the parking industry called T-Minus 24 Hours to Hire The Best. We will discuss these three areas and other ways you can improve your talent acquisition process so that your company has the opportunity to hire these applicants instead of someone else.

Vicki Pero

Principal, Marlyn Group

vpero@marlyngroupllc.com

Marlyn Group is a consultancy specializing in building and advancing strong teams in the parking industry. Our holistic approach combines executive search and placement with management consulting to provide unique insights. From search to strategy, we shape and advise excellent teams to drive business and intrinsic results. Learn more by visiting www.marlyngroupllc.com.

PIE 2019: The Words We Choose – Colleen M. Niese, Marlyn Group

February 19, 2019

PIE 2019: The Words We Choose – Colleen M. Niese, Marlyn Group

Who has the more effective voice in the room: the smart one or the articulate one? My vote goes with the articulate one every time. The most brilliant thought may not be heard in the moment if the speaker unknowingly gets hung up on a dreaded communications tick. We have all been on the receiving end of one of those ticks, namely:

“The Repeater” – that’s the one who shares the same sentiment over and over again by re-packaging it with different words.
“The Embellisher” – someone who may not know the exact details of any given point so opts for overly broad statements or exaggerated facts and figures.
“The Filler” – this is the profile that can fill the room with words but not many are quite sure the point.

Want to find out how to avoid the communications tick syndrome and help a conversation get back on track if you find yourself off point? Then join me at this year’s PIE Show and Exhibition on March 13^th to learn more about potential communications bear-traps and how to best articulate in any given situation, from a formal presentation to a spontaneous moment of speech and everything in between.

Colleen M. Niese

Principal, Marlyn Group

Cniese@marlyngroupllc.com

PIE 2019: Shift Your Talent Strategy to Meet the Realities of Today – Laney Solutions

February 12, 2019

PIE 2019: Shift Your Talent Strategy to Meet the Realities of Today – Laney Solutions

With the 2019 Parking Industry Expo just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about how you are going to plan your busy days in Chicago.

Make sure to mark a spot on your calendar for what is certainly going to be a highlight of this year’s show, the panel discussion, “Shifting Gears: How Hiring and Managing Parking Talent is Evolving in Today’s Mobility Market,” hosted by Kathleen Laney, President of Laney Solutions.

With unemployment at an all-time low, the job market is now largely candidate-driven, with more jobs available than candidates to fill them. For parking employers, that means it’s getting harder and harder to find and keep quality talent. And in today’s fast-changing world of mobility, it’s important for parking employers to attract and retain the best teams possible in order to stay agile and competitive.

During this panel discussion, Kathleen will sit down with four of parking’s brightest leaders from various industry sectors to consider questions related to recruitment, retention, and management of employees. This will be an engaging session complete with audience interaction, games and thought-provoking discussions. Please join Kathleen on Wednesday, March 13^that 10 am as she examines top parking employer’s issues with:

Stephane Jean-Marc Adovelande, General Manager – Chicago, LAZ Parking
Bryan Blackwell, Vice President of Business Development & Marketing – Amano McGann
Vanessa Solesbee, CAPP, Parking & Transit Manager – Town of Estes Park
Nicole Wylie, General Manager, SpotHero

Kathleen Laney

President & Executive Search Consultant, Laney Solutions

kathleen@laneysolutions.com

Laney Solutions is the leading parking industry recruitment firm specializing in middle and senior management, experienced sales professionals and executive level placements. Driven by client and candidate satisfaction, we target and locate quality candidates who possess very specific skills, experience, education, training and more – to match our client’s exact requirements. Learn more by visiting www.laneysolutions.com. or contacting Kathleen Laney directly at kathleen@laneysolutions.com.

PIE 2019 – One Interview – Lots of New Hires: The Group Interview – Vicki Pero, Marlyn Group

February 11, 2019

PIE 2019 – One Interview – Lots of New Hires: The Group Interview – Vicki Pero, Marlyn Group

If you oversee a location that has high turnover at the hourly worker level or are about to open a location with several open positions to fill, you know interviewing, evaluating and hiring at a quick clip is essential to maintaining operational standards and meeting expectations. Sometimes taking the time needed to interview several individuals one by one simply isn’t feasible for the hiring manager due to the sense of urgency inherent in these operational situations. When time is of the essence, hiring managers can use a “Group Interview” approach to meet several applicants simultaneously to then evaluate and select, for either a second interview or in some cases, straight to hire.

When using the Group Interview approach, keep in mind job ads, the interview agenda and logistics, along with candidate communications all need to be analyzed and modified to ensure you attract a high number of applicants who align with the job expectations and requirements. You’ll also have to consider a shift in effort for both HR and the hiring manager; i.e., HR likely has to put in a higher number of prep hours, however will spend less time on the back end with administering the iterative process that comes with single candidate interviews.

During my presentation at this year’s PIE Show and Exhibition on March 11^th we’ll take a deeper dive on how to successfully establish and manage a Group Interview hiring process so that you can immediately put into play at your location a program whereby you gather as many applicants as you’d like to go through a set agenda that allows you to both interview and evaluate candidates at the same time, to hopefully hire a good number of folks who meet your requirements and move away from the days of just looking for bodies to put into a uniform!

Vicki Pero

Principal, Marlyn Group

vpero@marlyngroupllc.com

PIE 2019: Who’s Emotional Button Pusher? – Colleen M. Niese, Marlyn Group

February 04, 2019

PIE 2019: Who’s Emotional Button Pusher? – Colleen M. Niese, Marlyn Group

Is there someone in your work life who just knows how to goad you? Within in minutes of any given exchange, you find yourself perhaps frustrated or shut down? In our leadership development world, we call these folks “Emotional Button Pushers”. We may promise ourselves that the next exchange with this particular profile, it’s going to be different and yet inevitably we end up in the same place. Sometimes in these situations, our emotions can get the better of us and we end up saying something we regret later. In the Emotional Intelligence (EI) world, experts call those moments an “Emotional Highjack”. Interestingly enough, our bodies physically warn us of those moments before we hit the point of no return: there’s a change of voice tone or volume, faces feel flushed, palms sweaty, etc., it’s literally our physical selves warning: Danger! Danger! Turn around before it’s too late!

During my presentation at this year’s PIE Show and Exhibition on March 13^th we’ll review different behavioral profiles and articulate to ourselves which ones push our personal emotional buttons and which ones swim easily in our same lane. More importantly, we discuss ways to manage ourselves through any situation so we handle these emotional highjacks better and avoid agenda derailments like having to apologize for popping off!

Colleen M. Niese

Principal, Marlyn Group

Cniese@marlyngroupllc.com

Smart Parking Symposium Slated for PIE 2019

January 21, 2019

Smart Parking Symposium Slated for PIE 2019

A Smart Parking Symposium is scheduled for Thursday, March 14, 2019 winding up four days of the Parking Industry Expo being held March 11-14 in Chicago. This half day symposium offers parking professionals insight into the continually changing landscape of the Smart Parking and Technology. Join us to hear how cities and service providers from across the country have worked together to implement new and innovative transportation and parking policies and services.

Sponsored by Arrive, the program will include:

Mobility as a Service – Jack Opiola will bring us up to date on how MaaS is affecting transportation not only in the US but also in cities around the world

AI and How its transforming Smart Parking and Smart Cities – Dr. Subhash Challa will walk us through the latest developments in AI and Machine Learning Principals

Michael W. Lowder, retired Director, Office of Intelligence, Security and Emergency Response will shed light on how the DOT manages transportation and security issues impacting parking in cities, airports, universities and parking operations throughout the U.S.

Making the Smart Parking Smarter

Join Verizon Smart Communities for a conversation on future-proofing your Smart City investments and to cost effectively deploy Parking, Mobility, Lighting and Public Safety solutions. The key is to protect investment with the ability to add sensors and build new features onto existing infrastructure as technology advances.

Plus: A major presentation on “The Last Mile”and the difficulties of bringing high tech solutions to market

The Parking Industry Expo is being held March 11-14, 2019 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare adjacent to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Find it on line at pieshow.parkingtoday.com. Contact: Eric Abel, eric@parkingtoday.comor +1 310 390 5277 ext. 1

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