Parking Provider of the Year: Gemini Parking Solutions

British Parking Awards 2021

Gemini Parking Solutions provides car park site management and enforcement services to clients in the health, retail, hotel and leisure sectors. It is a leading provider of parking services to the healthcare sector, working across 12 NHS sites, including the Barts Health NHS Trust and the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. Gemini also has well-established relationships with leisure and entertainment clients such as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Hilton Hotels, Burger King and Greene King.

Gemini was founded in 2012 by chief executive officer Ryan Jackson, who has grown the business from sole-trading to a professional office of 28 core staff and a portfolio of 110 sites providing an estimated 17,000 spaces nationwide.

“We deliver ethical services and positive impact, revolutionising the industry through a values-based approach, excellent customer focus and effective, empathetic enforcement,” says Jackson. “Gemini provides car park management regardless of size. We offer bespoke solutions to car parks ranging from a few spaces outside a parade of shops, all the way through to a multi-storey car park. Our solutions range from a physical human presence to utilising the latest in camera technology.”

Gemini Parking Solutions describes itself as a values-based company which holds the industry to higher standards by emphasising excellence in customer service and employee development. “Gemini promotes a dynamic, kinder, positive image of the business,” says Jackson. “Our unique values-based business model is geared towards compassion, excellence and employee development. Our values are guiding principles that define the company culture, brand and vision and define how our employees think, speak and behave. As the only values-based parking management company in the UK, Gemini has raised standards in services, taking customer delight and employee development to unprecedented heights, and sparking positive change in the industry.”

Ryan Jackson seeks to be a dynamic role model to his team, using coaching, he shares success formulas, skills and directly changes belief patterns to empower the staff team to achieve and expect more, to create the life they desire.

“Under Ryan’s leadership, the collective force of the team has stripped back our business to its core, to clearly establish and define who we are and what we represent,” says Gemini’s head of site and project management Alastair Finlayson. “We have created a distinct company culture that breaks the mould and is a world-leader, not only within the parking management industry, but also in wider business culture. We fully embrace what it is to be a responsible employer.

“The team is motivated and engaged by the director on a daily basis. Having undergone massive personal transformation through self-development, our director actively encourages staff to participate in their own journey of personal development. We employ a coaching approach, identifying active steps to achieve success, and giving staff direction, purpose, confidence and self-belief. Developing our team members to become the best versions of themselves not only creates a more skilful, efficient and productive workforce, but also empowers individuals in their own lives, building confidence and enjoyment.

“Employees engage best when they are inspired, so we build trust and emotional connection. The senior managers are highly skilled leaders of a strong team who share a clear vision for a better future. Giving staff a genuine democratic voice encourages passionate debate, creativity, and a sense of ownership in the company’s success. Company culture is a major priority for Gemini, driven through a progressive training strategy. We conduct an annual training needs analysis of all staff, with a six-monthly performance review, monthly one-to-one supervision sessions, weekly team meetings and daily formal contact between the director and the team.”