Hard as it is to accept it, another year is about to end. When we ask ourselves “Where did it go?”, we realise that we have been too busy working to notice the passing of time!
Appreciating Our Regular and New Clients
2013 has been a very successful year for us at Parking & Traffic Consultants. We are very thankful for the strong relationships we have built over the years with our regular clients, and we appreciate the repeat and referral business they bring our way. This is really the best testimonial a consultancy can have.
We have also welcomed a number of new clients to our roster this year and are proud to be working with each and every one of them.
Keeping Current
Our team stays abreast of the industry by attending a variety of conferences, professional development and other training opportunities throughout the year. This year members of our team attended the Mainstreets Conference (Melbourne), the Australian Airports Association Annual Conference (in Darwin where I debated on the topic of whether airport parking is a business or a service), Parking Australia‘s University Workshop (Geelong), the Parking Industry Exhibition in Chicago and the International Parking Institute Conference (Fort Lauderdale) where I presented a session on the topic of Signage. These conferences always present great opportunities to network with “thought leaders” in the industry, and ensure that we are able to offer our clients the latest available information and innovations in our industry.
Spreading the Word
Our mainstay in communications, the Wayfinding Forum blog is in its fifth year of continuous publication and continues to attract visitors to our website from around the globe with our readership growing by more than 90% on last year. The topics of parking, traffic, transport, cycling and the odd amusing video seem to have wider appeal than we ever expected – 173 countries, in fact! Our visitors map is looking very blue, indeed, and we are delighted to be reaching people in such far off places as Qatar, Liechtenstein, and Namibia!
Promoting the Industry
I continue to serve as Vice President of the newly branded, Parking Australia, which itself is growing, having added a new Chief Executive this year, Lorraine Duffy. As promised at the 2012 Parking Conference, Parking Australia launched the Australian chapter of the US based “Women in Parking” group last month. I look forward to working with Lorraine in developing this group and providing some great networking and mentoring opportunities for women across Australia.
Expanding and Recognising the Team
And speaking of Women in Parking, we have done our own bit to correct the gender imbalance in this industry with the addition of two experienced women to our team. Mary Seymour comes to us via the banking industry, and has further strengthened our team of finance-savvy consultants. Susan Lucas has joined us in a hybrid role as Client Services Manager, looking after our Marketing & Communications, and facilitating the smooth move of our administrative systems into the cloud. We are committed to both gender and cultural diversity at PTC, and we can confirm that the place is a livelier, more enjoyable place to work because of it.
A big thank you goes to the entire team at PTC – with their professionalism and enthusiasm, each and every one has made a significant contribution not just to the development of our business, but also to the improvement of the industry.
What’s in store for 2014
In addition to continuing our commitment to our clients, our staff and to the industry in general we have some exciting plans for the New Year which include the launch of a new website and a further expansion of the team. Watch this space!
For Your Daughters
Last but not least, back to the subject of women, I wanted to share this video which is designed to dispel a few stereotypes about little girls and what makes them tick. It was produced by the US-based company GoldieBlox, founded by Stanford engineer, Debbie Sterling. They describe themselves as “a toy company out to show the world that girls deserve more choices than dolls and princesses”. Enjoy!
Our Festive Wishes
As we close up shop for a well needed, albeit brief rest, I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of myself, my business partner Andrew Morse and the entire team to wish each and every one of you…