What is Visitor Management? Everything You Need To Know
Visitor management software helps you keep track of the people who have visited your company or are due to arrive.
From corporate guests to deliveries, everything can be tracked and organized so that you never feel out of control. What’s more, it can be fully digitized.
In this guide, we take you through a detailed look at what visitor management is, how it works, and how a digital system like those offered by VisitUs Reception can benefit your company. The future is here, and it’s time to step inside.
Key Takeaways
– Visitor management is a practice that helps businesses keep track of office visitors who enter and exit the premises.
– It involves registering each person’s details, such as name and contact information, before granting guests access to the building.
– The most common methods for visitor management are physical sign-in sheets or badge systems.
– With digital solutions, companies can streamline the process, create automated registration forms and even use identity authentication technologies like facial recognition for more secure access control.
Quick links
What is Visitor Management?
What is a Visitor Management System?
What Can An Electronic Visitor Management System Do for You?
The Key Features of a Visitor Management System
Why Is Visitor Management Important?
Conclusion
Visitor management is a process that is becoming increasingly popular within many companies throughout a range of industries.
It’s a way to help things become more streamlined in a world that has been rapidly changing since the Covid-19 pandemic.
What is Visitor Management?
Visitor management is the process of controlling access to various locations within a company’s premises.
It involves monitoring who enters and leaves, verifying their identity and purpose for entry, issuing visitor passes or badges, ensuring safety requirements are met, and track visits.
Pro Tip: Keeping track of visitor access is difficult for many companies, and this offers a visitor management solution that benefits everyone.
What is a Visitor Management System?
A visitor management system (VMS) is an automated system that facilitates the registering, tracking, and monitoring visitors who come to a company’s premises.
It can be used for various reasons, such as verifying identity, issuing visitor passes or badges, managing access control and restrictions, collecting visitor data for contact tracing purposes, and providing detailed reports on visitor activity.
What Can An Electronic Visitor Management System Do for You?
If you’re interested in a visitor management system for your company, you might also be wondering what the potential benefits could be.
There are actually several things that a modern visitor management system, like VisitUs Reception, could do for you.
Pro Tip: Visitor management systems filter through all the information needed to ensure a safe and smooth experience. It saves you paperwork and keeps things organized.
Create Improved First Impressions
First impressions are everything, and a digital visitor management system on your reception desk can help you make them count.
Greeting visitors with a professional, organized check-in process immediately sets the tone for your business.
Make Visitor Sign in Streamlined
When visitors arrive at your office it’s important that the visitor screening process is quick and easy for the best visitor experience.
A streamlined sign-in process can send automatic notifications so that hosts can quickly greet visitors and welcome them to the office.
Improve Workplace Security
Modern visitor management systems offer a huge range of security features and integrations, such as access control and identity verification.
When a visitor signs in the system can automatically create a record of them in the access control system, and assign them guest access to areas of the building.
They can also be used to enforce compliance with safety protocols, including Covid-19 measures and play a short safety video.
Track Visitor Activity
Data on visitors’ movements are collected in real-time and stored securely within the system database. This makes it easier to keep track of who has been where, when, and for how long.
Pro Tip: Visitor tracking is all about keeping staff and visitors alike safe. This is also why visitor photos and visitor badges are such popular additions.
Ensure Regulatory Compliance Needs are Met
Digital visitor management systems can be used to ensure compliance with safety regulations.
They will help you keep track of who entering and leaving your premises and offer features that allow you to manage access control and restrictions more easily.
The Key Features of a Visitor Management System
Before you implement a visitor management system in your front desk area, you need to be aware of the key features you should be looking out for.
This can help provide a smoother experience and also ensure you are getting the most out of it.
Cloud based visitor management systems make use of a self service kiosk that is placed in your reception. This provide a wealth of functionality including:
A Sign-in Process That is Simple
A digital visitor management system should offer a simple, contactless sign-in process.
This could involve scanning a QR code or entering details on a tablet or web portal. The goal is to make it easy and provide a positive visitor experience.
Visitor Identification and Verification
Your VMS should also be able to verify the identity of visitors. This can include verifying their ID documents or even scanning for facial recognition.
This provides an added layer of security that helps ensure that only authorized visitors enter your premises.
Digitized Legal Documents
Digitally sign documents documents such as NDAs and consent forms when gather visitor information.
This makes it easier for you to keep track of them and also makes SURE that visitors have seen and agreed to all relevent documents before entering your premises.
Human resources teams can export a report of who has a valid induction and when it is due to expire.
Custom Branding
You can customize and brand the sign-in process of the VMS with your own logo and colors.
This ensures that all visitors are greeted with a professional, branded experience throughout the entire check-in process.
A Digital Log of Visitors
Finally, a digital visitor management system will digitally record visitor information. This makes tracking visitors easier by seeing who has come and gone from your organization and for how long.
This can be especially useful for compliance auditing and to ensure employee safety.
Automatic Badge Printing
Most digital visitor management systems also can print out id badges for visitors.
This can help make a seamless experience while providing an extra layer of security and control over who enters your premises.
Pre-Registration
Digital visitor management systems also provide visitor registration and screening solutions. Preregistering visitors allows them to enter their visitor information prior to arrival.
When they arrive on site they simply scan their unique QR code or enter their mobile number to complete the sign-in process.
These features help to ensure that your organization is complying with all relevant safety regulations as well as providing a secure environment for visitors and staff alike.
Host Notifications
Visitor management software also offer automatic notifications for hosts direct to their smart phones.
This helps to ensure that the appropriate personnel is aware of new visitors or changes in the existing ones.
Visitor Photographs
The systems can also be used to capture visitor photographs.
This helps to ensure that the correct person is entering your premises and provides an additional layer of security.
Workflow Integrations
Some digital visitor management systems also have the ability to integrate with other workplace management systems.
This helps to streamline the process and makes it easier for you to track visitors in different systems.
Integrations can be triggered when a visitor arrives and use the visitor details to send instant notifications.
Another popular integration offers the ability to synchronize your hosts directly from Azure AD. By running a script of a local computer, hosts can be automatically imported into the electronic visitor management system.
Access Control Integration
A modern visitor management solution can offer access control management for various areas in your building.
You can create different rules for each area and also restrict access if needed. This helps to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to specific areas.
Why Is Visitor Management Important?
Digital visitor management systems are a great way to ensure security and compliance for your organization. They provide an automated, contactless sign-in process, verification, access control integration, registration solutions, host notifications, and more.
Pro Tip: A visitor management system elevates a company, giving it a higher degree of respectability and the appearance of technological advancement.
With all of these features combined, you can be sure that only authorized visitors enter your premises while still providing them with an easy and stress-free visitor experience.
Conclusion
Overall, digital visitor management solutions offer a comprehensive solution for managing visitors in any organization.
With features such as automated sign-ins with contactless verification, access control regulations, custom branding and badge printing, workflow integrations and host notifications, they provide effective security while also providing a great experience for your guests.
If you’re looking to improve your premises’ safety or comply with relevant laws and regulations, investing in a digital visitor management system like VisitUs Reception is something you should consider.
Written by: Alister Wood – 25th Feb 2023