6 best practices for creating a great visitor experience

Visitor traffic is up 84% between 2021 and 2022. Considering how many visitors are returning to the office, it’s a great time to re-evaluate the experience you provide visitors. It’s not enough to simply welcome visitors back to your workplace. You have to go above and beyond to make sure their visit on-site is personalized, positive, and memorable. Why?

A poor experience can leave your guests with a bad impression of your business. If you have an investor, client, or job candidate visiting your workplace and they walk away feeling unwelcome, they will be less eager to want to work with you. On the flip side, a great visitor experience can leave your visitors feeling excited about your business, passionate about your mission, and ready to work with you. Remember, creating a great visitor experience doesn’t have to be as elaborate or fancy as hosting the Queen. A few small details can go a long way in ensuring your visitors feel a strong connection to your workplace and your community.Let’s go over six best practices to make sure your visitor leaves your workplace happy and excited to return.

1. Create a 5-star experience in 5 minutes

You’re not going to have all the time in the world with each visitor that walks in your door. Creating a five-star approach is about creating comfort, meeting immediate needs, and exceeding expectations. Your visitor management technology can help here, too.

For example, use your visitor management system to pre-register your guests. You can send out a calendar invite, NDA and safety paperwork, and health verification documents all in one swoop. Plus, once your visitor arrives on-site, your visitor registration tool will send a notification to the host and alert them of their visitor’s arrival. That way the host can greet their guest right when they arrive.

2. Invest in seamless technology

A visitor registration system that allows visitors to pre-register, enter the building, get wi-fi access, and sign necessary documents will make the entire experience easy for visitors. Your guests will walk away impressed and excited by how easy their visit was and how intuitive the process was.

3. Create a clutter-free entry space

Treat your lobby like you would your home when you have guests over. A clean, well-organized lobby can reflect an organized and thoughtful company. On the other hand, a messy and disorganized space can leave a bad first impression. Set the right tone by tidying up that space on the days you have visitors registered to come on-site.

4. Be kind and friendly

A “hello, how are you” or “can I get you anything while you wait?” can go a long way in making your visitors feel welcomed. A friendly and optimistic attitude towards your visitors will set the tone for their visit. Train your front desk staff and security or even the employees who sit in the desks near the lobby on best practices for welcoming and guiding visitors when they arrive.

5. Give visitors something to do

Meetings can run late and other unexpected things can get in the way of a timely greeting. Instead of keeping your visitors waiting in the lobby twiddling their thumbs, provide your guests with something active to do. Offer visitors drinks and grab-and-go water and snacks to show them you care for their comfort. Also, have marketing collateral and one-pagers of your company laid out to read so investors, clients, or candidates can start learning about your business.

6. Don’t let your guest leave without swag

Last but not least, don’t let your guests leave without some fun company goodies. These can be as simple as pens, stickers, or water bottles. You can even invite your visitors to grab a snack or two from your kitchen. Little details go a long way in making the experience memorable and special.

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The experience you create for your visitors is important in making them feel comfortable and welcome in your workplace. More than that though, the visitor experience helps you build your brand, improve the workplace experience, and strengthen your workplace community. By opening the doors of your workplace up to the world, you foster a more intimate sense of human connection. And it’s those human connections that create strong workplaces.