How to choose a visitor management solution

As workplace managers, you know how critical it is to create an exceptional first impression for everyone walking through your doors. Pen and paper are tools long gone. To build a visitor experience that wows people today, you must have the right solution that meets your business needs and goals. In this post, we’ll explore how you can impress your visitors by choosing the best visitor management solution for your organization, including some of the key features you should be looking out for.

How a visitor management solution can help you

Put simply, a visitor management solution helps your organization keep track of anyone visiting your physical workplace. It’s an integral part of your workplace visitor policy. But a good visitor management solution is so much more than that. A visitor management system can help you:

• Streamline visitor sign-in and save your team time
• Enhance workplace security
• Make sure everyone entering your workplace is healthy
• Meet complex compliance needs
• Make a great first impression for every guest walking into your lobby

Factors to consider when choosing a visitor management solution

Choosing the right visitor management solution for your needs is crucial. Here are some of the top factors to consider when choosing the right solution for you.

Does it help with workplace security?

Workplace security should be one of your top priorities when choosing a visitor management solution. No matter the size of your organization, you will always face threats to your security. For media businesses like Buzzfeed, it’s especially important. Julia Goldberg, SVP of Global Real Estate, Office Services and Security at BuzzFeed explains how unwanted visitors can pose a regular and serious risk to the organization:

“Now that security is tied to their sign-in, we can automatically detect that person and stop them from entering. I’ve had security incidents abated because I had an unwelcome person attempting to sign-in that Envoy helped to surface.”

It’s crucial to protect your organization and employees by choosing the top security at the very beginning of people’s visit. This will not only protect your data, but your people too.

Is it easy to set up and use?

Welcoming visitors to your office should be a smooth process. If the visitor sign-in experience is complicated, long, or uses clunky old-school technology, your visitors won’t feel like they’re off to a comfortable start. An ideal visitor management solution should provide an easy sign-in flow. It should collect all the information you need, including personal details and details about their visit. It should also be easy to set up and operate for your people in-house.

Can you integrate with your other workplace tech?

On average, companies today have around 254 applications to run their business. That’s a lot of technology to manage, especially if the tools don’t talk to each other. A visitor management solution with an open platform enables you to connect it with the other tools you rely on to keep your workplace running. The more integrations, the better connected your workplace is. Whether it’s integrating with communication platforms such as Slack and Teams, or connecting with relevant HR and recruiting platforms such as GoodTime and Greenhouse, it’s important to ensure your visitor management solution connects with the right technology you use on a regular basis. When it does, it drives productivity and efficiency in your workplace.

Where is my visitor data stored?

You should always look for a cloud-based visitor management solution. This ensures you avoid any storage issues (or lack of), as well as any manual uploading effort on your part. After all, you have a lot of sensitive and personal information that runs through your visitor management solution. It’s important to ensure that the information is stored safely and securely. Not to mention, one that meets your businesses complex compliance needs.

What does it cost?

Finally, you always have to consider the cost (and look out for any hidden fees). Look for a visitor management solution with up-front pricing. Some companies charge per visitor, others by your employee headcount, and many by office location. You’ll want to do the calculation to determine what makes the most sense for your business. Then there’s selecting the right plan. You should evaluate the features in each plan and select the right one depending on the level of complexity you need. Speaking of features, let’s dive into the key ones you should look out for when looking into visitor management solutions.

Features to look for in a visitor management solution

Whether you’re looking to have a fully contactless visitor management solution or a sleek iPad sign-in at the front desk, here are some great features to consider when choosing your visitor management solution.

Customizable sign-in

Is your guest a potential candidate that you’re hoping joins the team? A regular contractor working on a project? A vendor here to restock your snacks? You likely don’t need to collect the same information from each of them. Customizing your sign-in flow by visitor type will help you get the data you need from each guest. With a customizable sign-in process, you can not only create custom fields and questions, but you can also tailor the invite emails and welcome message for each type of visitor.

Visitor screening

Making your visitors feel welcome is only half the job. The other half is also ensuring they feel safe in your workplace. Visitor screening allows you to set specific criteria for your visitors to come on-site. You should also be able to use your visitor management solution to screen against unwanted guests. Look for features like blocklists, ID scanning, and visitor badge printing to help you protect your team and your property.

Digital document signing

As part of the registration process, prompt your visitors to sign documents such as NDAs and waivers to protect your organization. Look for a visitor management solution that allows you to automatically collect and securely store these documents. Safe and secure, digital signatures are easy and avoid potential data leaks or papers getting lost. A win-win.

Notifications

You’ll want to find a visitor management solution that can automatically notify employees when their guest arrives. Bonus points if they integrate with the communication tools that your team already relies on, like Slack, Microsoft teams, or email. Technology today should meet you where you already are.

Analytics and reporting

As the volume of people in your workplace increases, so too does your responsibility to track them. Gain insight into your visitor volume, who hosts visitors when and where, and their time in the workplace. You can also export the data you need quickly and efficiently—this is key for workplace compliance. Of course, the above features aren’t all that you need in a visitor management solution. To get more inspiration on what to look out for, check out what Envoy Visitors has to offer.

Last thoughts before you invest

Choosing a visitor management solution that’s right for you is a big deal. You need something reliable, secure, and easy to use. It’s important to consider all the factors and features listed above, including why you’re looking for a solution in the first place. Do you want something to simply take your visitor experience to the next level? Or are you looking to revamp your process from start to finish? Last but not least, it’s important to check out existing customer reviews of the solutions you’re considering. Reviews are a trustworthy way to ensure that the technology works as promised, delivers value to those using it, and see whether the company offers good customer support. (Not to humble brag, but Visitors is ranked as the G2 leader in visitor management solutions) –The rise in visitor management solutions means that guests expect sleek, seamless, and easy experiences. To keep up, workplace leaders should invest in technology that will work for them and their visitors.Not quite sure if you’re bought in? Starting with a free trial of Envoy Visitors is a great way to figure out if it’s right for your business.