Choosing the Best Visitor Management System for Your Workplace
Visitor Management is more than just greeting guests, it’s a process that has evolved over the years from a humble sign-in sheet to an all-inclusive digital solution. A great visitor management system can enhance safety, increase efficiency, and customize your visitor experiences. Thus picking your perfect visitor management system should be approached with care. Luckily, we’ve created the perfect guide to help you choose the best visitor management system for your workplace.
What is Visitor Management?
Visitor management, like the name suggests, is the process of welcoming, tracking and handling visitors and guests who enter your workplace or premises. Visitors may include contractors, interviewees, investors, consultants, delivery persons, maybe the occasional relative.
An essential function in any business, visitor management affects your brand’s image and forms a critical part of the employee and visitor experience in your office. Every organization, no matter the industry, big or small, should have an efficient visitor management system.
What is a Visitor Management System?
A visitor management system (VMS) is any tool or technology used to manage and track the entrance and exit of visitors. It ensures that only authorized persons are allowed into the workplace and makes sure you efficiently control the influx of visitors while providing excellent service.
An age-old example of a visitor management system is a sign-in sheet often overseen by a receptionist at the front desk. Visitors come in, sign in, and sign out after. However, this is a tedious and often inaccurate way to track visitor inflow. Not to mention, a waste of resources that can negatively impact the environment.
Thankfully, advancements in workplace technology have produced robust and effective visitor management software that electronically gathers information about each guest, lets them create appointments, and tracks their whereabouts in the workplace as they move throughout. Some visitor management solutions even offer visitor badge printing plugins and can enable you to blacklist unwanted guests.
There are several ways you can integrate innovative visitor management software into your organization’s visitor management system. The two most popular options include:
Receptionist Managed Kiosk
One option is to install visitor management software on the computer at your check-in desk and let our receptionist control data-entry, ID printing, and other management functions within the software.
Although some businesses opt to use a desktop computer, this option can be very limiting. A portable kiosk with a tablet or iPad gives your front-desk staff more flexibility and enables more VMS features. It’s especially useful when a visitor has special needs—like elderly guests—or when your check-in station needs to be easily movable.
Our PowerBx WAVE Tabletop Kiosk can provide you the fluidity needed to manage your visitor experiences and check-in process. WAVE features a light but sturdy build so you can enjoy stylish and durable visitor management in any location.
Self-Service Kiosk
No staff required, self-service kiosks allow your guests to register their arrival on a shared touchscreen tablet kiosk. This method is useful for visitor management in large organizations, at events, or anywhere with limited staff resources. For example, Salesforce recently hosted their yearly Dreamforce event, which used Traction Guest’s visitor management software and PowerBx WAVE Floor Kiosks to create a user-friendly, self-service guest check-in.
What Are the Benefits of a Visitor Management System?
Like we said before, every business needs a great visitor management system. VMS is as important as the products and services you offer. In fact, according to a 2019 Traction Guest survey, “respondents ranked the importance of a VMS as an 8.6 out of 10, with compliance and security as significant benefits to an organization.” Not only does it reduce visitor congestion in lobbies, it has far-reaching advantages which include:
Ensures Everyone’s Safety
VMS can make sure that only authorized guests and personnel have access to your workplace, and unwanted visitors are locked out. This not only protects your employees, it also protects your intellectual property and other sensitive data stored in your office.
A visitor management system can also protect your health—especially since the COVID-19 pandemic—by ensuring that only healthy guests can enter your premises.
With visitor management software, like Envoy, you can screen your visitors before they ever leave their home and even enforce workplace vaccine mandates. You can also check guests’ names against internal or third-party watch lists and set up unauthorized visitor alerts.
Collects Information and Stores Data
VMS also helps you easily, and legally, collect data from visitors. This provides valuable insights that can inform your offerings, facility resources, and even business model. VMS can also be used to track visitors who violate any laws in the workplace, or are exposed to contagious diseases and other health risks. With visitor management software, like Teem, you glean in-depth visitor analytics that help you get to know your guests better and inform important decisions.
Creates a Great Impression
Imagine a guest walks into your organization, and instead of the usual pen and paper sign-in sheet, they find a state-of-the-art PowerBx Astro All-in-one Kiosk that streamlines their visit and leads them exactly where they want to go. Picture the smile on their face when they realize your innovative tech has reduced their wait time, and saved them from being stuck in a crowded lobby. Not only will you create a more efficient visitor experience, you’re also in control of the branding and messaging visitors experience from the moment they enter your building.
VMS isn’t a novelty any longer. If you aren’t using a digital management system, you risk losing your customers to competitors.
Saves You Money
From the cost of paper and pens to the time wasted managing your lobby manually, a digital visitor management solution will save you money and enable you to better utilize your resources.
What to Look for in a Visitor Management Software
So, how do you choose a great visitor management software to up your lobby experience?
Well, it all depends on your business' requirements, but we recommend keeping an eye out for software that offers the following features:
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A secure digital visitor log
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Easy sign-in process
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Automatic visitor badge printing
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Automatic host notifications
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Simple digital documents signing process
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Fluid Integration with your existing workflows
Overall, an efficient visitor management system and software can be a lifesaver. It reduces the burden of manually managing visitor inflow, facilitates safety, saves you money, and gives you the power to create custom experiences.