The importance of a good parking experience

Nothing is worse than not having a parking space when you arrive at the office early in the morning. So it is not surprising that this comes up as the biggest irritation amongst participants (29%). What is also surprising is that, even in recent years when working from home was the norm almost everywhere, more than a quarter (26%) sometimes could not or almost never obtain a parking space. When you then have to find a parking space outside the office and sometimes have to pay for it yourself (11% of the interviewees indicated that they pay for parking themselves), the parking experience does not exactly contribute to a warm feeling towards the employer.

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More than a quarter (26%) sometimes have no or hardly any parking space

The same irritations also apply to those asked when the parking process at a customer or client does not run smoothly. For 39% of them, a bad parking experience has a direct negative impact on their opinion of this customer. If, as a company, you don't have your visitors' parking needs in mind, it could have a negative impact on your business. Sufficient parking space (57%), free parking (50%) and a parking space near your meeting point (33%) are the most important requirements your parking facilities have to meet if you want to satisfy your customers' parking experience. 

Parking issues remain unanswered

As a fundamental part of our business mobility, the issue of parking should be constantly on the agenda. The fact that companies are not always focused on this issue is demonstrated by the fact that almost a third of those questioned do not see any targeted parking solutions from their employer. It is mainly indirect solutions that should tackle the existing parking problems, such as promoting working from home (30%), paying for public transport (20%) or stimulating other means of transport including the bicycle (18%). 

First of all, the above initiatives are not necessarily 'wrong', it's just that companies can be much more focused on their own parking facilities. This starts with mapping out the wishes of employees with regard to parking. What business parkers need most is to know if and where there is a parking space (23%). They would like to see larger parking spaces (19%), a fixed parking space (18%) and more possibilities to charge an electric car (10%) in the parking facilities at the office.

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‍Flexibility as a requirement for optimal parking occupancy

One of the most striking results of the study is that 86% of those asked indicated that they could not reserve a parking space at the office parking lot. A smart parking management system offers a solution. By giving employees the option of reserving a parking space, you can meet most of the parking requirements mentioned above. As an employer, you also have instant insight into how many people are coming to the office. Especially in these times, when employees come to the office at increasingly changing days and times, this data is valuable to use for other facilities in the office, such as catering and cleaning.

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User data is the basis for optimising existing parking capacity

For renters and car park operators, the integration of a smart parking management system is actually indispensable. User data is the basis for optimising existing parking capacity. Think about double occupancy, renting out unused parking spaces to third parties or using shared tooling to make more efficient use of parking spaces in shared business zones. Plenty of opportunities, therefore, it is time for companies to start working on their parking environment in a focused way!

Would you like to know more about our Parking solutions? Read it here.