Over the past few decades, organizations have learned the value of automation. Automating tasks in the workplace has saved companies time and millions. In fact, according to a 2020 In(Sight) report, 53 percent of employees believe they can save up to two hours per day by automating some of their most trivial tasks, leaving more time for the more demanding parts of their jobs.
When it comes to visitor management systems, the results are the same. A visitor management system in your workplace can be a real timesaver, leading to multiple benefits. But what is a visitor management system?
A visitor management system is a solution to automate how visitors are managed when they arrive on site. The system records who arrived, when they arrived, visitor information, and can even provide health screening.
Let’s have a look at some of the benefits.
Benefits of a visitor management system
When considering company employees who really make a difference, we often overlook receptionists and office management — the people who make it possible for everyone else to do their jobs.
As important as it is to automate your kanban boards and document sharing, it’s just as important to automate front-end tasks too.
In our “Top 3 Benefits of Office Automation” article, we outlined the top three perks of automation:
- Saves time and increases productivity
- Cuts costs
- Fewer human mistakes
Saving time
Just like the 53 percent of employees who say automation saves them hours per day, automating the visitor check-in process frees up your front-end staff.
Freeing your front-end staff can have numerous benefits. Particularly, your personnel will have more time to focus on what keeps your customers coming back: the customer experience.
With some visitor management systems, visitors can check in virtually, from their own devices, as they arrive at the office.
These check-ins can include anything from customized policy questions to health checks, making sure your company stores the information it needs to keep track of the visitors.
Without a guest management system, receptionists have the tedious task of handing each visitor paper questionnaires on sanitized clipboards with disinfected pens… a waste of time for someone who, more than not, is the heart and soul of the company’s front image.
Cutting costs
Efficiency is a huge factor in workplace productivity. In fact, the equation to calculate productivity is
|
Value of goods and services produced |
= Productivity |
|
Hours to produce goods and services |
By automating elements of the visitor check-in process, front-end staff spends less time on menial tasks and more on what matters. In simple terms: companies get a bigger bang for their buck.
Receptionists and office managers alike can focus on improving the company’s image and helping the office run smoothly. Ultimately, they’re more productive.
Improving office security
Just as product teams need to keep track of documents, your front-end staff do too. In fact, any slip ups, errors, or missing information in visitor records could lead to legal repercussions.
Data leaks are serious problems. According to Security Magazine, data leaks have become more and more common, with 2021 being a record-breaking year for incidents. While your IT team handles cyber security, your front-end staff are responsible for controlling in-person leak attempts.
Although in most places, companies aren’t required by law to implement contact tracing, they are expected to cooperate with their local health departments when investigating viral outbreaks. Contact tracing requires companies to keep track of employees and visitors alike.
To safely manage office visitors, your front-end staff need to know who was in the office, what time they arrived, where they went, and how to contact them. They need to provide accurate visitor information instantly with no room for error.
Automating the guest check-in process leaves little to no room for mistakes. Visitor data is entered and stored virtually with no handwriting to misread, no papers to lose, and no filing to mix up.
Best practices to improve the visitor management system
Now that we know the benefits of a visitor management system, let’s have a look at getting the most out of one.
Here are five considerations for making the best, most successful visitor experience with your system.
Choose a visitor management system
The best way to improve your visitor management setup is to pick a great system that fits your needs.
Better yet, consider a system that isn’t a standalone solution. We already have too many tools in the office — solutions for every problem. Keep an eye out for visitor management systems that are compatible with your existing tools.
For example, Joan offers a free visitor check-in service for its users. With most companies turning toward hybrid and flexible work environments, meeting room booking systems are on the rise.
The Joan 6 Pro meeting room booking device helps eliminate room squatters, double bookings, no-shows, and more. Soon after COVID-19 struck, Joan identified their client’s needs for a solution that manages both health screening and visitor management.
Joan questionnaires are fully customizable for Joan clients. Visitors simply arrive, scan a QR code, and complete the company-specific questionnaires from their own devices.
There’s no cleaning of pens, sanitizing clipboards, or shuffling of papers. All visitor information is stored securely in the company’s records.
For more information, have a look at our “Make your office safer with free Health Screening and Visitors Check-In” article.
Have a policy and stick to it
A visitor policy includes three parts:
Face-point impressions. How will your guests experience your visitor management setup? Will they scan a QR code? Fill out a paper questionnaire? How will they learn about your in-office policies?
Visitor rules and regulations. What are your in-office policies? Set up office rules that protect the company while supporting the visitor experience.
Employee support. Make sure everyone is on board. It’s not just visitors who need to know your policies and regulations.
This leads us to the next point…
Educate your employees
If you’re implementing a visitor management system, visitors aren’t the only ones who need to be educated. Employees too should know the expectations of visitors.
With everyone on board, it’s less likely for any visitors to slip through the cracks, risking data leaks, health risks, or a poor visitor experience.
Make it visitor-friendly
Not all visitors are clients. Some are service personnel, some are employee family members… Either way, your company should show a good face to maintain a great reputation.
Streamline your visitor process in a user-friendly way that doesn’t leave visitors stranded at reception or locked outside your door.
An easy-to-implement visitor management system lets your visitors focus on their visit and not the paperwork upfront.
Brand your visitor management system
Along with first impressions, the best visitor management systems contribute to your company image.
Consider Joan. The entire Joan experience from e-ink visitor displays to the Joan app is customizable to show off your company’s branding.
Not to mention, Joan’s virtually-wireless, mount-anywhere displays look slick in any office. If you’re looking for a multi-purpose solution, check out Joan.
Takeaway
All in all, the right visitor management system is an all-around win for your company. Automating the visitor check-in experience can save your company time, money, and hassle.
What’s more, streamlining your visitor experience and making it user-friendly can help get formalities out of the way, improve the visitor experience, and store visitor information in a safe, reliable place.
For more information on how Joan solutions can improve your office experience, have a look at our visitor check-in and health-screening solution.