Why you need visitor management in your hybrid office

Visitor registration with pen and paper? that's no longer part of today's visitor management, because in the age of digitalization, this is also being replaced by a completely digital management system. whether in offices or production facilities—large crowds mean a great security risk for employees and intellectual property.

What actually is a visitor management system?

This system tries to represent all activities and processes of a company in order to control visitors and to draw the picture of the visitor experience in a targeted way. people hold on to good memories, they want to feel welcome and safe—also in your company.

with a visitor management system, many processes are simplified. appointments are recorded, both internally and with customers, and reminders are sent out in good time. users also receive contact data for their contacts and directions within the building. Furthermore, there are no more queues at the reception desk, because check-in is done very quickly via a tablet. depending on the system used, a qr code may then be generated, which stores personal data for future visits. a pleasant and hassle-free experience has been generated. 

What types of visitor management systems are there?

a) Old school visitor management

 The traditional, yet very outdated, management of visitors pleads for pen and paper. in principle, this can be used to obtain information and create an overview, but on one condition: the visitor has given his or her real name and has reasonably legible handwriting. apart from that, filling out a paper form takes time and thus causes long queues at the reception.

b) On-premise software

An on-site software solution may at first seem like a good alternative to analog visitor management, but such software involves high acquisition costs, as the hardware has to be installed, and then of course regularly maintained.

c) Cloud-based management system

Probably one of the biggest advantages of a cloud-based visitor management system is the possibility of integration with other platforms. this means that the entire architecture of the system does not have to be reworked when changes are made. the information drawn from the visitor:inside data is stored in the cloud and can be used across a wide range of applications.

Why should I choose a visitor management system?

The working world today is no longer necessarily bound to a physical office, and hybrid work in particular has become indispensable. but just because employees suddenly work in a home office, and we exchange information via video conferencing, doesn't mean that business meetings in person are dying out. hybrid work means that employees do work on-site from time to time, and visitors and customers enter the office building.

And what about data collection? no company wants visitors to feel uncomfortable because they feel they are giving away too much. personal data should be minimized, which means no more and no less than asking for only specific, relevant and limited information. exactly the data needed for the process.

It's also about security. every employer wants to minimize risks and shield his or her employees from danger. a visitor management system significantly reduces the potential for physical danger, because everyone has to pass through reception and leave his or her data before entering the building further.

How do I decide on the right visitor management system?

To begin with, you should think about what kind of visitors you will receive. after all, you want to make the visitor experience as smooth and personalized as possible. in doing so, a company should ask itself a few questions. do i get a lot of in-house deliveries? are there a lot of candidates coming in for interviews right now? do my visitors tend to be one-time or recurring? are there a lot of unannounced visits, and if so, should they be handled differently? the list is long, but asking these questions is essential to finding the right system.

You should also ask yourself what your company's needs are. the more and the more specific the information, the easier it is to find an appropriate solution. finally, a visitor management system, regardless of the provider, should be allowed to be tested free of charge so that a company can find out whether it has found the best solution for itself.