4 mistakes to avoid when digitising your company car park

Imagine a company car park that runs smoothly, where every employee knows in advance where to park, where spaces are no longer wasted and where fairness between all users is guaranteed…

Digitalisation promises this kind of efficiency. However, it is (too often) approached as a simple « technical modernisation», when in reality it is a real organisational and human lever.

Many companies embark on this journey without considering the practical implications: impact on internal practices, changing habits, interconnection with existing systems, etc.

The result: poorly chosen, poorly adopted, and sometimes completely unproductive solutions. In this article, discover the four major mistakes that hinder the success of these projects and that many organisations continue to make, despite themselves.

A reminder: why digitise a company car park?

 For a long time, company car parks operated according to a simple and virtually unchanging model: designated spaces allocated on an annual basis, fixed hours, stable usage and an organisation that hardly ever changed.

This logic worked perfectly when office attendance was constant, teams were relatively stable and working methods were uniform.

But today, that reality has changed. Teleworking, nomadism, regular arrivals and departures, and variable working hours are transforming the use of company parking spaces from one day to the next. As a result, many companies find themselves with spaces allocated to employees who are not present, while others are desperately looking for parking.

What’s more, manual systems (Excel, emails, last-minute decisions) quickly become unmanageable and often a source of frustration.

Consequently, the digitisation of company car parks is not a technological whim: it is a means of bringing this space into line with modern work organisation. It automatically frees up unused spaces, ensures fair and flexible allocation, manages visitors and new arrivals, and avoids waste. In short, digitisation transforms a rigid and unfair model into an agile system that is, above all, adapted to today’s world.

Mistake #1: Not analysing your actual needs before digitising your car park.

One of the most common mistakes when digitising a company car park is to embark on the project without taking the time to understand exactly what the real needs are. Many companies are seduced by the technology and purchase standardised solutions, thinking that they « will do the job» for all uses.

However, each car park has its own specific characteristics: the number of spaces, the type of users (permanent employees & applicants, visitors, customers), peak times, and even the physical layout of the premises can influence the choice of solution.

Without a preliminary assessment, it is easy to end up with an unsuitable system: for example, a solution that does not manage all types of users, does not integrate with your existing tools, is too rigid, or does not reflect your idea of fairness. In this case, the result can be counterproductive: internal dissatisfaction, low adoption and disappointing return on investment.

↪ How can this be avoided?

To avoid this mistake, it is essential to approach digitalisation as a strategic project, not just as the purchase of a tool:

• • Carry out a detailed assessment of the car park: occupancy rates, peak times, specific user needs, access control, etc.
  • Involve stakeholders (facilities management, HR, IT, employees) to clearly identify their expectations and constraints.
  • Define real-life usage scenarios to assess whether the proposed solution offers the necessary flexibility.
  • Choosing a scalable solution that adapts to current needs but also to changes in the organisation (number of users, new services, opening to visitors, etc.).

In short, understanding your car park before digitising it ensures that the chosen tool will effectively meet your needs, rather than becoming an additional constraint.

Mistake #2: Not choosing a solution with a fair algorithm.

The aim of digitising a car park is not to create new privileges, but to organise access to the company car park efficiently. However, when a solution is not based on a fair algorithm, it ends up creating what we wanted to avoid: frustration, a sense of injustice and, sometimes, outright rejection of the system.

Without a transparent allocation mechanism, some employees will always have access to the car park, while others will never get a space, even if they need one from time to time. And that’s where tensions begin.

You provoke comparisons, misunderstandings and comments such as: « Why him and not me? I never «get» a space, no matter how many times I request one». «The system does not take our reality into account». 

It is precisely these reactions that undermine the adoption of the project. People do not reject digitalisation as such, but rather the way it is perceived: opaque, arbitrary and unjustified.

↪ How can this be avoided?

To ensure a truly equitable distribution of parking spaces, it is essential to choose a solution that allows priorities to be assigned based on the specific needs of users. For example, some people may require special treatment, such as pregnant women, people with reduced mobility (PRM) and employees with specific time constraints.

Sharvy’s algorithm perfectly illustrates this principle: it works by giving priority to those who have used the fewest spaces over the last 60 days.

This sliding system takes into account not only the number of spaces already allocated, but also the user’s status (holder or applicant) and their priority level on a scale of 0 to 100. Thanks to this mechanism, each employee benefits from a fair distribution in the long term, while naturally integrating the specific needs of certain profiles.

Clearly communicating how this works to users strengthens buy-in and a sense of transparency, ensuring that the digitisation of the company car park does not create frustration, but actually brings efficiency and fairness for all.

Mistake #3: Underestimating integration with existing systems.

Another (common) mistake is to consider the parking management solution as a simple standalone tool, without thinking about its integration with the systems already in place in your company.

However, a digital car park cannot function effectively if data does not flow between different departments. Without a connection to the HRIS, for example, it is impossible to know who is in the office on a given day, leading to unnecessary reservations, duplications and, potentially, parking conflicts.

Managers then have to spend time manually checking absences, correcting errors and dealing with complaints, thereby cancelling out any hoped-for productivity gains.

↪ How can this be avoided?

To avoid these problems, it is crucial to choose a solution that can be natively integrated with the company’s internal systems. Sharvy, for example, connects via API to numerous tools, such as HRIS (Lucca, Kelio, etc.) and various car park access control solutions (cameras, badges, etc.). This integration offers several features:

• • Automatically grey out days of absence: if an employee (parking space holder) is on leave or working remotely, their space is not allocated unnecessarily. It can therefore be allocated to another employee for the day.

• • Synchronisation with employee status: the system knows who is a holder or applicant and adjusts priorities accordingly.

• • Consistency with HR data: absences, team changes, variable working hours, etc. Everything is taken into account, which reduces errors and simplifies management.

• • Automation of booking flows: fewer manual tasks for general services and greater reliability in the allocation of parking spaces.

Thanks to this approach, parking digitalisation becomes a real optimisation tool, rather than a source of complications.

Mistake #4: Not anticipating flexibility and changing usage patterns.

Many companies make the mistake of choosing a solution that is too rigid and unable to adapt to changes in the company. However, organisations are constantly evolving: new hires, team changes, expansion of premises, flexible working hours, partial teleworking and increased visitor traffic.

All these factors have a direct impact on car park usage. If the digital system does not take this reality into account, the consequences are immediate: some spaces will remain unused, others will be overloaded, and some employees will systematically find themselves without access. A digital car park

↪ How can this be avoided?

To ensure effective and sustainable management, the chosen solution must be flexible and scalable. It must allow users to be added or removed quickly in line with recruitment, departures and team changes, while easily adjusting priorities according to individual needs.

The system must also integrate absences and teleworking in order to automatically free up unused spaces, thus avoiding wasted space. In addition, it must be able to manage occasional flows of visitors and service providers without disrupting the allocation of spaces for regular employees.

In other words, a flexible solution anticipates changes in the company and adapts to everyday use, ensuring that every employee has fair access to the company car park.

In conclusion

Imagine a car park where every employee knows exactly where to park, and where the morning stress disappears before they even arrive at the office. This is exactly what well-designed digitalisation can offer. But beware: it is not the technology that creates this fluidity, it is the way it is designed, adjusted and adapted to the real needs of your employees.

A successful digital car park is a space that adapts to absences, new arrivals and the unexpected events of everyday life. It is a discreet but valuable tool that simplifies life, makes traffic flow more smoothly and, ultimately, gives everyone a little more peace of mind.

Therefore, digitising a car park is not just « modernising» a parking facility: it is transforming it into a small convenience that changes the way everyone starts their day. 

Any questions? Check out the following FAQ!  

Want to learn more? Check out our latest articles to stay up to date!