First impressions are essential for businesses because, more often than not, you won’t have a chance to make another. One mediocre experience can send clients to the competition, costing the company business and reputation.
Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of eight tips for a stellar visitor experience and positive first impression. Have a look:
The space
Let’s start with the basics: the space itself. A lot can be said about a company based on the content in its reception area and what they’re willing to share with visitors.
1. Keep it clean
A tidy space communicates more than just how OCD your receptionist is. A clean room also suggests how often a space is wiped down, dusted, sanitized, and washed, supporting a healthy environment.
Still, “cleanliness” goes further than simple scrubbing. The upkeep of a room also shows how much a company cares about its guests and visitors. Anything in poor repair can set off warning bells, suggesting the company has little care and poor attention to detail.
Keeping your place shipshape can go a long way toward convincing office guests and visitors to first-time trust an organization.
2. Entertain the guests
Entertainment includes anything that can occupy visitors while they wait for appointments. Offering snacks, refreshments, magazines, comfortable seating, and even phone chargers can help visitors feel comfortable, unhurried, and unstressed in your reception area.
3. Decorate the environment
While decorations can contribute to the ambiance of the reception area, they can also share information about the company. Consider displaying company awards and business cards, mentioning top employees, accomplishments, and company mission statements or slogans. The more information a visitor has about an organization, the more they’ll trust its people.
4. Use wayfinding tech
In today’s day and age, people prefer to be empowered, not coddled. An on-brand digital sign can share helpful information such as floor plans, company rules, and other communications. If your company uses Joan meeting room management or desk booking, you can display the office floor plan, company information, or other clear instructions from any LCD. This configuration helps office visitors feel confident about their visit and the company.
The people
Whether visitors are greeted by a receptionist, office manager, or someone else entirely, the front-end personnel plays a key role to make a good first impression. While the condition of the reception area can do a lot to reassure visitors, it’s the people who win them over.
Below are more ingredients for making a great visitor experience.
5. Be professional and courteous
While professionalism and common courtesy are important for any professional role, front-end staff require a bit more training and hands-on experience for greeting guests. These people only have one chance to make a lasting impression.
The stakes are high. Staff in the front office should have the skills to greet visitors and make the visitor experience memorable in the best of ways.
6. Go above-and-beyond
Take care not to simply “stick to the book” with nothing beyond a “good morning.” Thinking out of the box can go a long way to makeing the visitor feel valued. Go beyond the typical procedures. Make eye contact. Ask if they found parking alright, offer a beverage, enquire about the weather, or other forms of professional small talk.
7. Managing without front-end staff
Some companies are either too small or too isolated to employ a receptionist. Sometimes each staff member is responsible for their own guests or the office manager rushes around managing the reception area in person.
Whatever the reason, it’s best to automate as much of the visitor experience as possible. Investing in a visitor management system can help iron out the visitor experience and ensure security protocols are met.
Visitor check-in
Visitor check-in is an essential part of company security. Companies need to monitor who enters and exits their premises to manage information leaks, building security, and remain compliant with security certifications.
8. The sign-in process
Visitor sign-in isn’t a new concept. In fact, it’s very old. Yet, your check-in system doesn’t have to be. As the times have changed, so has technology, providing us with new, automated office management solutions.
Paper guestbooks
Companies have been using paper-based sign-in procedures since the dawn of the visitor check-in process. In this model, the visitor records their own information into company documents. Organizations have moved away from this practice for security reasons.
Paper-based visitor records have a high risk of illegible handwriting, resulting in lacking or wrong information. What’s more, physical visitor records have a higher risk of theft and visitor information landing in the wrong hands.
Receptionists
Many companies have a full-time receptionist at the front desk who collects visitor information. Whether the receptionist stores this information on paper or in the cloud, there’s still a risk of user error. For example, she may misspell “Steven” instead of “Stephen.” Automating the visitor check-in experience not only mitigates room for error, but frees receptionists to focus on what really matters: the visitor experience.
The smart way
You may have gotten the hint by now: automating the visitor experience is the most reliable, user-friendly, and unobtrusive way to collect visitor information. Joan Visitor offers a visitor-led experience that can be completed without front-end staff micromanaging the process. The visitor simply scans a QR code and the Joan visitor check-in appears on their smartphone.
What’s more, companies can incorporate company policies and other documents in their visitor check-in process. The Joan all-in-one solution takes care of the visitor paperwork so front-end staff members don’t have to, storing it securely in the cloud.
The Joan experience
The Joan workplace management solution goes above and beyond the front door. It elevates the workplace experience for visitors and employees alike, smoothing out the entire process. Covering meeting rooms, desks, company resources, and the visitor experience, Joan does it all.
Contact our Sales team to learn how Joan Visitor can fit into your workplace.
