By Robert Ferrin

We as parking and mobility professionals are often pulled in a million directions on a daily basis. We manage complex programs, often with multiple systems and large staff bases. We also regularly find ourselves in the weeds, whether solving a customer issue, navigating a technology problem, or figuring out a process.

In the midst of all this commotion, it is sometimes hard to remind ourselves that we need to rise above the noise and day-to-day and tell our story to the masses. Every payment we process, every ticket we write, and every interaction with a customer produces valuable data. That data, analyzed and synthesized the correct way, can tell the story of the value add we generate for our respective organizations.

It’s important we tell our story for a number of reasons. Helping others understand what we provide can garner additional resources, responsibility, and respect that support our organization mission and vision. Communicating our story through data also gives us a seat at the decision-making table in the broader transportation and mobility ecosystem. I invite you to talk to your staff, analyze the data, and use these facts to tell your story in a meaningful and thoughtful way.

Robert Ferrin, is the assistant director for parking services with the City of Columbus, Ohio.