Learn three simple ways to make visitor management easier for your staff. From using name badges to implementing visitor management systems.
Much of the world, and the United States in particular, has gone about two years without accepting visitors in public places, but this is quickly changing as mandates and other COVID-related restrictions are lifted. The sudden surge in guests inside offices all over the country reminds many office administrators of the difficulties of visitor management. Whether remembering who’s in your facility, filing and organizing sign-in sheets, notifying staff of their visitors’ arrival (or even finding your staff’s phone numbers in the first place), visitor management is often composed of many moving parts. We wanted to put together a quick refresher on three simple things you can do to streamline your visitor management workflows and make your life a little easier in the process.
The “Hello, my name is…” name badge sticker was originally introduced in 1959 by C-Line Products and has remained a staple of social gatherings ever since. But there’s a reason they’re so popular for office visitors as well. Particularly for startups moving at lightspeed to carve out their corner of the market or for facilities that just have enormous numbers of visitors, it’s important that your staff can know who’s who at a quick glance. Furthermore, when all of your staff are calling your visitors by their name, this leads to a better experience for your guests and a more favorable impression of your company. While some companies simply have a stack of name badges and a marker at reception for the visitor to use themselves, many modern check-in kiosks come with badge printers that can automate this process for you.
If you’re not using a check-in kiosk in your office, you’re likely missing out. Check-in kiosks can automate many of the processes necessary for visitor management, such as printing badges, scanning IDs, and even notifying staff of a visitor’s arrival. Furthermore, check-in kiosks can even handle visitor orientation by serving visitors videos about your safety or security policies, and can give visitors quizzes or questionnaires after viewing. Check-in kiosks function as a reliable means of data collection about your visitors, ensuring that you collect all the same information for every guest, and many office administrators like to think of their check-in kiosks as a means of making a great and consistent first impression with those visiting your facility. Lastly, check-in kiosks can be used to automatically dismiss unwanted visitors, like solicitors, without the need for your staff to get involved.
The words “check-in kiosk” often evoke images of clunky, directory-sized screens, but the fact of the matter is that check-in kiosks come in all shapes and sizes nowadays. Transmission offers everything from a tablet-sized device to a 55” touch screen, but most users prefer something between these two extremes. “Kiosk” doesn’t even necessarily have to mean a free-standing kiosk, as many modern check-in solutions can sit on your countertop or even be wall-mounted. Furthermore, as most businesses move to more no-contact solutions, modern check-in kiosks often allow your visitors to check in by scanning a QR code displayed on the home screen.
Check-in kiosks go hand in hand with visitor management systems, which are simply software that office administrators use to track who is coming and going, as well as manage the check-in experience for visitors and hosts. Using a visitor management system makes it easier on your staff because this software does much of the heavy lifting that receptionists or other staff would generally do. For example, modern visitor management systems enable you to set up custom trigger notifications using text messages or emails that will go out to your staff upon the arrival of a guest. What this means is your staff no longer have to reach out to other employees to inform them that someone has arrived to see them. Thus, your check-in kiosk collects the data your visitor management system needs to be able to notify the proper people, and your visitor management system would also store all of these records indefinitely in a database. Storing visitor logs in the cloud is a simple way to bolster your adherence to specific regulations you may be subject to.
Modern visitor management systems, like Transmission, also make it easy to establish differing check-in flows for different kinds of visitors. What this means in practice is that, for instance, you can require contractors to sign an agreement acknowledging that they understand your security policies, whereas someone delivering food to your staff could skip this step. Visiting executives could be presented with a video highlighting your facility's production growth, while job applicants could be served a video discussing all the benefits of working for your company. Certain visitors can also be served questionnaires to collect data unique to them–like a truck driver specifying what sort of material they are delivering–or quizzes to test the visitor’s retention of the information served to them in a video. The idea is that not all check-ins are equal, and different visitors need to experience very different check-in experiences.
As the world opens back up again, it is once again important for you to consider how your visitors experience your company. From the moment they step through the door to the moment they leave, it’s crucial that you give them a positive image and demonstrate that their experience is a top priority for you. Whether it’s a visit from an inspector, a contractor, a delivery driver, or, most of all, a customer, using a visitor management solution like Transmission can dramatically aid in furthering that goal. Companies worldwide have discovered that implementing something as simple as a check-in kiosk and giving visitors name badges has made life so much easier on their staff, saving time and money in the process and enabling their employees to get back to work that really matters.
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