By Kevin Emert, MEd, CAPP

After being in management for 20 years and parking nearly as long, I thought I had it all figured out. I didn’t. Quickly, the world changed and so did the people. Just this morning, I whipped out my phone and ordered my groceries to be delivered to my house before I get home from work. Crazy, right?

How does this affect parking you might ask? Management used to be someone in nicer clothing barking orders and a subservient who would say, “OK, boss,” and get the job done to the best of their ability. I think of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada.  Today, that’s no longer the case, and often for the betterment of employees and management.

With instant access to so much information, including job postings and social media posts about friends’ work environments, I have found that employees, especially younger employees, really desire to feel appreciated–not with the traditional annual unhealthy pizza party on a Friday afternoon, but by actually being part of the team. They long to know why they are doing what they are doing. They need to be engaged in meetings, decision making, and future plans.  They truly desire to have a voice and the more they are engaged, the more they buy in and the better the results.

Sounds simple doesn’t it? But I see parking managers (including myself) fail at this all the time.

Kevin Emert, MEd, CAPP, is assistant director of the Georgia Building Authority.