Managing training at scale is never simple, especially for a company experiencing rapid growth. LAZ Parking, one of the largest parking operators in North America, has expanded significantly in recent years – not just in locations and services, but in its commitment to investing in people.
As the organization scaled, it became clear that the legacy training systems in place, while functional, needed to evolve to keep pace with the business’s pace and complexity. To meet that challenge, LAZ Parking’s Talent Development Team partnered with Absorb Software to lead a transformation that delivered a modern, AI-powered learning program built to support a fast-moving, people-first culture. Colt Alton, Learning Technology Manager on the LAZ Talent Development team, talks about how the shift happened, the lessons learned, and what advice they would offer to others navigating a similar path in this Q&A.
Q&A with LAZ Parking
What were some of the early indicators that your legacy training system was no longer sustainable for your growing workforce?
As LAZ continued to grow, so did the complexity of our compliance requirements, training goals, and employee expectations. Today, we operate in over 5,300 locations across 639 cities, with more than 20,000 employees. Supporting that kind of scale required more than just better tools. It called for a more connected, strategic approach to sharing knowledge and reinforcing the LAZ Way across the entire organization.
Our previous system had served us well, but the manual coordination it required was no longer sustainable. We weren’t just replacing a system. We were looking for a smarter, more flexible solution that could keep pace with our operations and remain accessible to every employee, regardless of role or location.
How did you approach designing a training program that could scale across thousands of locations while still accounting for local compliance differences?
We approached it with two goals in mind: consistency and flexibility. We needed a core training foundation covering compliance, safety, and essential job skills that would apply company-wide, while also maintaining the ability to tailor content to the local level. Absorb LMS helped us strike that balance.
Regional leaders now have the freedom to adapt training to meet location-specific requirements without disrupting the overall structure. That flexibility has been critical. It keeps our training aligned across the enterprise while allowing us to stay responsive to the unique needs of each location.
With so much of your workforce on the frontlines, what considerations shaped your approach to making training accessible and engaging for those employees?
Designing training for our frontline employees meant we had to be thoughtful about their time, work environment, and access to technology. Since many of them aren’t sitting at desks, we focused on making learning bite-sized, easy to access, and easy to use during the flow of their regular workday. With Absorb LMS, we created short, easy-to-follow learning materials that fit into their schedules without being disruptive.
For example, we paid close attention to the format of learning so that all training modules made sense for the function. We align formatting to match content and attention span – a five-minute lesson is better suited for a quick safety essentials recap, while a lengthier video can break down more complex topics like change management tips. This personalization brings both diversity to training, which has increased employee engagement with the content, while making sure that learning fits nicely into our employees’ day-to-day workflows. The key is to listen to your employees, understand the desired outcome, and design learning from there.
Absorb LMS also lets us track learning progress and send gentle reminders when employees have outstanding modules to complete, which helps shift the mindset around training from being a task to being a valuable part of their job. When training is designed with empathy and delivered in a way that fits into their daily routines, we found that our employees are far more likely to engage with it.
What positive impacts have you seen across LAZ Parking after the transition from your legacy training system over to Absorb LMS?
The results have been significant for both employee engagement and overall business performance, and we’ve been able to track that progress using the Engage tool. It provides real-time reporting that shows managers exactly how their teams are progressing toward learning goals. This visibility has made it easier to follow up and ensure training is completed. One of the most valuable features is the ability to customize reports by region, giving our local leaders data that is both relevant and actionable. That has led to stronger accountability and more meaningful follow-through at the regional level.
We’re also moving faster. For example, our small but mighty team partnered with our Healthcare service line to develop weekly microlearning content aligned with their specific training objectives. Using Absorb Create, we built and launched a complete set of targeted lessons now delivered consistently across more than 150 healthcare locations nationwide. The speed and precision of this rollout were made possible by having the right tool and strong internal collaboration. Without both, it would have been a much greater challenge. Absorb Create enabled us to scale quickly, while our close partnership with the Healthcare team ensured the training was relevant and practical.
What advice would you give to other L&D leaders who are modernizing training programs, particularly those still reliant on manual processes?
Start with your people. The technology is important, but success comes from involving your teams and ensuring learning works with them. We worked closely with our employees across the company and treated them as partners throughout the process to ensure the training system reflected real on-the-job needs and challenges.
Don’t try to do everything at once – begin with small wins, learn from what works, and build from there. Since there isn’t an endpoint to learning, you should be constantly iterating to find new ways to improve your team’s training programs.
Finally, find a partner who doesn’t just understand your goals but also your values. Absorb Software gave us more than a product – they worked with us to create something that will grow with our people and our business. We now have the tools in place to keep us agile while maintaining the people-first mindset that drives our culture.
