As we gain a line of sight into a post-COVID world, many business leaders are asking if a visitor management system is still necessary.
After all, many of the screening processes and procedures and the contract tracing protocols that we relied on to stay safe during the height of the pandemic appear to be less and less needed. Many practices that became the norm, such as temperature checks and answering screening questionnaires, have now been relaxed.
So, the question becomes: Should you continue to use a visitor check-in system when your guests are no longer social distancing and you’re no longer COVID screening or contact tracing?
The short answer: Yes.
In fact, a visitor management system is more important now than ever before.
Make the Right First Impression
We’re two decades into the 21st century. People expect the organizations that they do business with to be up-to-date on modern conveniences and experiences — including the use of technology to replace mundane, repetitive tasks.
When you use a visitor management system, you show that your organization is forward-thinking and innovative. Your use of technology also allows you to present a more professional and efficient image to your visitors and allow your human team members to maximize their effectiveness in best serving your guests and visitors.
An Opportunity to Extend Your Branding
A visitor management system can act as your front-line digital brand ambassador to guests walking through your doors. It can be customized to mirror your organization’s look and feel.
While it may not be human, your receptionist kiosk can offer a consistent and efficient welcome to your visitors that is in line with your brand messaging.
Offer Contactless Check-In
While the world is doing its best to ease into a post-COVID state, there likely will always be a lot of people who are uncomfortable touching public devices. This includes pens, register logs, and digital screens. A visitor management system like The Receptionist for iPad offers visitors a contactless check-in option so they never have to touch the iPad screen — offering visitors added peace of mind when at your facility.
Reduced Confusion
Your visitor management system isn’t just a glorified digital check-in sheet. Your VMS system can also offer your visitors a ton of valuable information that they’ll need to complete a successful visit. This may include watching important safety information or communicating with the staff member that they’re visiting.
By offering your visitor more information upon check-in, you can reduce the frustration that may arise from the visitor not knowing what they should do next.
Eliminate Bottlenecks at the Reception Desk
If you’re asking all of your visitors to check in with a human receptionist, or if you’re asking your human receptionist to track down every employee that has a guest, you may be inadvertently increasing wait times. A human receptionist can only handle one visitor at a time, and each check-in may require a lot of attention as the receptionist confirms the visitor’s arrival, answers questions, contacts the responsible party, and offers paperwork for the visitor to complete before their appointment.
A digital visitor management system can do in seconds what it will take minutes for a human to do while allowing for humans to do what humans do best: make your guests feel welcome and taken care of.
Ability to Pre-Register or Pre-Check-In
Pre-registration or pre-check-in are more options you can offer your guests to reduce their wait time when they arrive. With pre-registration, you can input all of your visitor’s information into the system ahead of their arrival. The only thing your visitor needs upon arrival to do is to confirm their information. With pre-check-in, you can ensure that visitors you know are coming in don’t have to check themselves in, which puts checking in these visitors in your hands rather than theirs.
Either option can dramatically reduce check-in wait times and helps visitors feel more confident about your organization and their visit right away, making a great first impression.
Free Up Your Receptionist
The Receptionist for iPad doesn’t replace your human receptionist. Instead, it works in collaboration with the humans who run your office. Odds are, your receptionist is doing more than answering phone calls and greeting visitors. They’re likely scheduling appointments, filing paperwork, preparing rooms for meetings, performing administrative tasks, and providing excellent customer service. The last thing they need to be bogged down with is checking in visitors when you can seamlessly automate that task.
Instead, receptionists should be tasked with higher-level customer-focused duties, which is what you’ll gain when using a visitor management system.
Act as a Gatekeeper
When a visitor enters your facility, one of the first things they’ll see is your visitor management system. This system is friendly to visitors who are there for the right reasons and can serve as a deterrent to people who are there for the wrong reasons. For example, your visitor management system may require visitors to take a photo before being granted access to your facility. People who don’t want to be seen might take a look at your visitor management system and decide it’s not worth the risk.
Lower Your Overhead
A visitor management system can do a ton of tasks at the same time — from checking in to relaying messages to printing badges. While a digital receptionist doesn’t take the place of a human receptionist, it can certainly reduce the need for you to hire more people for your front office. Your visitor management system can save you the cost of bringing on a full-time employee — a potential savings of thousands of dollars.
Issue Badges
One of the best uses of a visitor management system is badge printing. When you issue badges to all of your visitors, you make it easy to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive areas in your office. Your staff can easily spot who should or who shouldn’t be in an area by inspecting the visitor’s badge. This can ensure that your data and your employees are kept safe from harmful actors.
Track Your Visitors
A visitor management system allows you to keep track of who’s entering and exiting your facility at all times. This information may prove useful in the future if you ever need to re-trace your visitor’s steps. You can also keep track of your visitors in real-time. If they’ve checked in but haven’t arrived at their intended destination within a reasonable amount of time, you can be alerted to check on them and find them if they’re lost in your facility.
Maintain Your Visitor’s Confidentiality
One of the major drawbacks of using a paper registration book is the lack of visitor privacy. Your visitor’s sensitive information, which may include their name, phone number, email address, check-in and check-out times, and reason for visit, is accessible for any passerby to see. This can make a lot of visitors uneasy about sharing their information with you. It’s a huge security risk that can be avoided by using a digital visitor management system.
In a visitor management system, all visitor information is stored securely in the cloud. After the visitor checks in, their information is saved and kept hidden from the next visitor. This shows your visitors that you care about keeping their information safe.
Manage Emergencies More Effectively
Every organization must have an emergency plan. Whether it’s a fire or severe weather or a crime in progress, you have a responsibility to reasonably protect everyone who enters your office. This is one of the major reasons why you need a visitor management system such as The Receptionist for iPad. It’s cloud-based which means that you can access it from anywhere, even if you’re outside of the office. And because of this cloud-based feature, you’re able to always know who’s on-premises and exactly where they are. This comes in handy if you need to evacuate.
Final Thoughts
Using a VMS system like The Receptionist for iPad is one of the best ways to comprehensively manage your visitor’s experience in your office. It will also increase safety for not just your visitors but also for everyone in your office. Start your 14-day free trial here and improve your visitor’s experience with your organization.
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