3 NZ enterprises that improved their staff parking with Parkable

IAG Christchurch, European Motor Distributors, and Dentsu Aegis on eliminating poor staff parking experiences

A plethora of international research has found the work commute to be the least enjoyable part of the day, as well as a lead cause of staff disengagement and attrition. However, one of the most painful parts of the commute - staff parking - has had far less attention. This is despite staff parking being the part of the commute which employers can do the most about, through smart car park management.

Today we’re putting the spotlight on three New Zealand enterprises which used to have stressful employee parking, and which changed the game using Parkable.

IAG Christchurch: Staff never knew if there would be a park for them

IAG Christchurch has 755 staff members and just 255 parking bays. This led to staff sacrificing family time in order to secure a car park, and created frustration as staff couldn’t see in advance whether on-site parking was available.

“As a busy working mum doing kids drop off and pick up, ease of parking has been a pain point. Parkable has completely changed the game - getting to and from work easily is now totally stress free!”
- IAG Christchurch employee

Implementing Parkable gave IAG a number of tools that transformed the team’s parking behaviour. These include the ability to view parking availability in real time, reserve a bay in advance, and share allocated bays on days that they are unused. This has reduced commuting uncertainty for staff, increasing staff engagement, and made it easier for IAG to provide flexible working arrangements. IAG’s parking space is also being used far more efficiently, which means both more staff with on-site parking each day.

“So easy to use and made such a difference to my morning knowing that I was able to just book a park with the push of a button!”
- IAG Christchurch employee

European Motor Distributors: Staff were moving their cars every few hours

Because of EMD’s inner city location, parking options for staff were scarce. Their on-site parking bays were allocated as a perk, with all other staff using either 120-minute restricted street parking, or parking at a significant walking distance. Staff were unhappy with the inconvenience, and management was concerned about the lost productivity that came with staff needing to move their cars up to four times every day.

“Staff faced the daily stress of either needing to arrive early to secure a good parking spot and then walking to the office, or parking in the time-restricted zones and moving their cars every couple of hours.”
- John Frear, Group Business Quality Development Manager

At the same time, EMD’s internal car park wasn’t being used as efficiently as it could be. When staff with allocated parking were away from the office their bays sat empty, while their colleagues struggled to find parking.

Using Parkable, EMD staff can share their allocated park whenever they don’t need it, significantly increasing the utilisation of the on-site car park. Some of these on-site parking spots were also turned into ‘carpooling only’, incentivising staff to ride share and making even better use of limited parking space.

EMD also decided to secure a long-term subscription to eight of Parkable’s off-site parking bays, increasing the options for staff. This provided those staff without allocated bays cost-effective parking options either at or very close to the office.

For EMD, the most important result of using Parkable is that their employees now have easier mornings. Staff have the comfort of checking parking availability and booking a bay in advance, which removes a lot of stress and allows them to plan their days. Plus, employees feel that the business has listened to their concerns about commuting and parking, and gone to significant lengths to improve the options available.

Dentsu Aegis: Parking isn’t just a small part of someone’s day

At Dentsu Aegis’s Diversity & Inclusion Council meetings, parking was continuously brought up as a source of frustration among staff. While around 50 staff members at the Auckland office have an allocated parking bay attached to their role, around 100 employees do not - and outside of Dentsu’s on-site car park on Sale St, it’s “slim pickings”, with scarce options, many of them short-term parking only.

Kimberly Kastelan, General Manager MKTG and Heading of Diversity & Inclusion, said that while the Dentsu Aegis team had “several inventive … creative and at times amusing” ways to keep an eye on the parking warden, the time it was taking to check on and move cars was impacting productivity.

Not only was this a productivity issue; it was also affecting staff satisfaction and perceptions of company culture. The business’s on-site car park could have up to 1,250 instances of bays lying empty each year, because when staff with allocated bays were out of office, there was no easy way to share their park with colleagues. Instead, their on-site parks sat vacant while other members of staff circled the block in search of a car park, worried about getting fines, and moved their cars multiple times during the workday.

As with EMD, Dentsu Aegis implemented Parkable to facilitate the sharing of allocated parking bays, ensuring that all of their parking space was being used by staff, and improving the sense of unity in the team.

“Parkable is the solution we’ve been looking for to solve our parking woes. It may sound like a small part of someone’s day, but finding a car park can take time away from work, family and children and I don’t want what should be an inconsequential moment to become such a stress in my colleagues’ days.”
- Kimberly Kastelan

Think Parkable could improve staff parking experiences at your workplace? Contact us to organise a chat!