By Cindy Campbell
There have been several recent Forum posts regarding the increasing hostilities our frontline personnel have been encountering with members of the public. While not unique to parking and transportation organizations, this troubling trend is affecting our organizations in a variety of ways.
We hear concerns regarding employee safety and well-being (both physically and emotionally), the need for increased training or tools to address aggressive behaviors, as well as challenges with employee recruitment and retention. In recent conversations, there are consistently more questions than definitive answers: What specific trainings address these challenges? Should we deploy body cameras? What tactics are working for other peer organizations–and what hasn’t worked? While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to any of the questions being asked, we collectively have ideas and experience to share.
One of the things I always appreciate about the professionals in our industry is their consistent willingness to share experiences, observations, and potential solutions. These conversations afford us the opportunity to learn from the experience of others–both positive and negative. To that end, I’d like to suggest we keep this conversation going. Have something you need to address? Ask. Willing to share an approach that has been successful for your team? Sign into the Forum and share (there’s a password-free sign-in option if you don’t remember yours). You don’t have to have all of the answers and you certainly won’t be judged for asking your colleagues for input.
In the meantime, I’ll just be over here listening–and learning.
Cindy Campbell is IPMI’s senior training and development specialist. She is available for customized in-person or virtual training; click here for details.
We’re hearing it everywhere: rudeness, conflict, and confrontational behavior are on the rise, and parking and mobility professionals–especially on the frontline–are bearing the brunt. At best, a loud encounter with an angry person can leave a professional’s day dented. At worst, it can be dangerous.
It’s a scenario heard too often:Just doing his or her job, a parking enforcement officer is screamed at, threatened, berated, chased down, or, in a worst case, attacked by an irate driver with a weapon. Nobody likes getting a parking citation, but sometimes people get so angry that the situation blows up out of control. And few PEOs are trained to effectively defuse a bad situation, much less defend themselves without making things worse.