Insights

The main goal of any Visitor Management system is, of course, to properly and effectively process and track guests.

The impetus behind this goal can vary from site to site, but one main, across-the-board reason is that organizations want to take steps to protect their people and premises, and restricting access to facilities is a huge part of achieving that goal.

When purchasing a Visitor Management system, then, it stands to reason that you know what you're getting: additional safety for your site and a way to better track who's on your premises.

Is that all?

Nope!

Like a cheesy, late-night infomercial, "but wait — there's more!"

Aside from giving your organization a better way to track who's on-site at any given time and ensuring that only welcome guests are able to access your facilities, having a Visitor Management system installed at your site provides a number of additional benefits.

From making a strong first impression to covering your back in case of issues down the line, installing a Visitor Management system will have a positive impact on your site far beyond just issuing badges.

1. A Visitor Management system offers a professional first impression to guests of all kinds.

From start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, the old adage rings true: you only get once chance to make a first impression.

While a guest may come in with preconceived notions due to reputation or research, for most businesses, a guest's first impression is going to come when he or she first enters the facilities.

It's true that exterior appearance and things like the parking situation or surrounding area can also contribute to a first impression; however, nothing hits quite as hard as actually entering the facility and interacting with a receptionist or secretary.

If you looked at the situation in your lobby or reception area right now, what would it say about your organization?

• A notebook "Uh...just sign that so it looks like we're doing something. No one really cares."
• A worn-out lanyard with a beat-up PVC card at the end "We don't really even care that you're here."
• Nothing at all "As you can see, we don't really care about our people here at XYZ Industries."

It may seem to be slightly overstating things, but it's true: your visitor program is the first real interaction that an outsider will have with your company, be it a soda vendor or a billionaire potential investor.

By having a comprehensive Visitor Management program installed at your entrance, you're showing every guest that you take both their security and the security of your employees seriously.

You're also showing professionalism by eschewing a raggedy notebook and choosing a sleek, iPad®-based kiosk instead, projecting an image of "we're an established, modern company."

With a quality Visitor Management installation inside your front door, your guests will have just one reaction:

"Wow!"

2. Keeping visitor records with a Visitor Management system helps with compliance and insurance issues.

It's a normal Wednesday in your office: morning coffee, a couple of meetings, maybe a walk outside to get the energy level back up. 

Yes, things are going great. Suddenly, you get a call from someone who visited your facilities earlier in the week. He's claiming that he was there on Monday morning, and he tripped over a loose rug and injured himself. He's threatening a lawsuit, and your legal department is freaking out. "Relax," you say. "We'll check our visitor records." You go to your Visitor Management system, as your company policy is that every guest signs in and out. You check your records, and notice that no guest matching the phone caller's name was on-site on Monday. You look further back and see no guest with that name has ever visited your facility. When your caller is confronted with this information, he stutters, backpedals and hangs up. Crisis averted, and a scammer shut down.

With a good Visitor Management system, you'll have an electronic or written record of every guest who has visited your site! Depending on your system, that record can be as detailed has having the date and times the visit began and ended.

Should you end up in a situation like the one described above or should there be an emergency at your site requiring a roll call, you'll be able to tell exactly who was on-site at the moment the emergency occurred.

Due to this hard data, Visitor Management systems can often help an organization become compliant with government regulations or industry-leading organizational standards. 

In fact, leading organizations like the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration and The Joint Commission both recommend having a process in place for welcoming and tracking visitors, due to the obvious benefits such a process provides.

3. A quality Visitor Management system serves as a visual deterrent, preventing issues before they have a chance to happen.

You already know that a Visitor Management system serves as a security tool, keeping a facility safe by clearly identifying those who are visitors.

However, Visitor Management systems provide additional security in another way: by preventing incidents from even happening in the first place.

If a nefarious character arrives at your site with the intention of causing a disturbance, the last thing he or she wants to see is a staffed front desk with a computer and a sign that says "ALL VISITORS MUST SIGN IN."

While it's true that some people won't be deterred, many would-be troublemakers don't want to deal with having to sneak by a receptionist. Plus, if your system requires the issuance of visitor badges, that troublemaker will be spotted by security before too long.

Having a Visitor Management installation at your entrance sends a message to all would-be visitors, including those who would visit with bad intentions, informing all that security is taken seriously at this site,

Like a security guard stationed at the entrance of a bank, a Visitor Management system serves as a deterrent to would-be intruders, enhancing site security by stopping incidents before they start.

It's clear that a Visitor Management systems provides tons of benefits to sites of all kinds, from the hidden benefits listed above to more obvious, security-focused reasons. Interested in learning more about getting a Visitor Management system installed at your site? Use the button below to contact one of our Visitor Management experts for a free, no-obligation consultation. We'll discuss the needs of your site and work with you to create the perfect solution.

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