Effective office visitor management is more urgent than ever before. Unfortunately, incidents of workplace violence have been on the rise.

In 2021, the CDC reported that healthcare facilities, stores, and schools have the highest frequency of violent incidents. The agency recorded over 400 workplace violence events attributed to Covid-19 in a six-month period.

Can visitor management solutions help prevent this violence?

Yes, they can.

A visitor management system is an incredible asset when solving the problem of workplace violence. Moreover, these systems empower office managers to:

• Enhance the experience of all visitors
• Increase office management efficiency
• Improve employee morale and retention

These multifaceted systems can solve several problems with one device. But what does that mean for your office?

What Are Visitor Management Solutions?

Visitor management solutions are unique software programs that empower companies to register each guest with a unique ID and track their visit to the facility.

They can also use it to distribute security effectively as screening lists notify team members of potentially hostile individuals through private and US Consolidated Watch List screening services.

How Does a Visitor Management System Work?

There are various ways to implement a visitor management system to accomplish your goals.

A visitor management system generally has a camera or motion sensor that recognizes visitors entering. A virtual avatar greets them and then provides ways to connect with a remote live receptionist or their host via a two-way video call.

Once greeted, the system helps the visitor register and check in. Your team can either request they manually provide information using the interactive touch screen or ask them to scan a government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license.

Once the visitor completes the check-in process, the system notifies their host of their arrival.

Visitor management solutions can also perform a wide range of other tasks, including health verification, interactive directory information, and badge printing—among many others.

Visitor management solutions are customizable to help the system integrate into your office’s existing workflow seamlessly.

What Are the Benefits of Visitor Management Software?

Visitor management systems offer a wide range of benefits. Most can be divided into three categories:

• Greater visitor management efficiency
• Increased safety
• Elevated visitor experiences

Each benefit makes your office a better space for workers and guests alike.

Efficient, Low-Stress Visitor Management

Office visitor management solutions take the stress out of registering, tracking, and checking out visitors on your campus.

Employee turnover and resignations hit an all-time high in 2021. Many workers cite burnout and stress as factors in their decisions to quit.

Automating the stressful, tedious process of checking in visitors offers workers some relief. It also lets teams focus on the more engaging aspects of office management or front desk work.

Streamline Rote Management Processes

Visitor management systems can streamline a variety of rote visitor-interaction processes. For example, they can quickly:

• Check guests in and out
• Screen visitors
• Scan driver’s licenses
• Connect visitors to staff using two-way video or audio calls
• Notify relevant employees of a visitor’s arrival
• Display or print introduction documents and materials

Automating these procedures increases the overall efficiency of your office. It also moves guests through the line faster—decreasing tedious wait times for visitors.

Bring Down Office Management Costs

Visitor management solutions vary in cost, but even one subscription easily replaces the work of at least one front-desk employee.

In terms of value-added, businesses usually see 100% ROI on their investment in solutions like ALICE Receptionist in as little as two months. After using ALICE Receptionist for five years, the typical business saves $192,000.

Increase Employee Satisfaction and Boost Retention)

Reducing the number of repetitive tasks increases employee satisfaction.

Research suggests that the automated work of SaaS programs complements the work of human employees, and their satisfaction increases significantly. This can boost retention, so long as employees are not afraid the software will replace them.

Safety and Security

As tensions rise, security and safety in the workplace are paramount. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of violent incidents in healthcare facilities doubled compared to 2019.

While visitor management systems are not security systems specifically, they can be used to improve office security on multiple fronts.

Improve Visitor Safety

Management systems can improve your visitors’ safety. By creating a safe office environment for your team, it reduces the risks for visitors as well. Health and security screenings help create a safer experience by restricting access to high-risk visitors.

Systems can alert security teams to visitors who have been banned for aggression attempting to enter. ALICE Receptionist notifies security personnel so they can quickly and discreetly deal with potential threats before any visitors are harmed.

Enhanced Visitor Experience

Visitor management systems empower businesses to enhance their visitors’ experiences.

First and foremost, these solutions increase the speed at which guests can check in. This saves visitors’ time waiting in line—a task nobody enjoys.

It also minimizes the amount employees handing off visitor responsibilities. The visitor can directly reach their host, rather than going through team members unrelated to their visit, reducing frustration.

Elevate Public Perception of Your Brand

Visitor management solutions can earn your brand positive reviews.

When guests and employees alike feel safe, they talk about it. When their preferences are catered to, they appreciate it. And when communication flows smoothly, respect for your brand grows.

During checkout, the visitor can complete a survey about their experience at your office.

Which Visitor Management Solution Is Right for Your Office?

All visitor management systems offer certain benefits. But they aren’t all created equal.

If you think a system might be right for your brand but don’t know where to start, learn more about the factors that set systems apart. Ultimately, you know your organization best.

Elevate Office Efficiency with ALICE Receptionist

Visitor management solutions take efficiency to the next level. The right system makes everyone in the office a little bit safer. Office life runs smoothly. And guests know you care about their preferences.

ALICE is a premium solution trusted by experts. Ready to see what it can do for your office? Request a trial today.

Fifty-eight percent of the global population spends one-third of their adult life at work. Further, the American population has a life expectancy of 78 years. This means that most American employees spend at least 26 years of their life in the workplace.

Employees need to feel safe in the workplace. Businesses that don’t have reliable visitor management systems could expose their team to unintended risks. You need to consider reliable visitor management systems to help you keep track of the traffic into your business.  

Here’s what to consider when choosing a visitor management system. 

1. Speed Is of the Essence 

Granted, you want to be thorough when admitting visitors. Nonetheless, you also want to ensure that the process is seamless. 

Speed is a significant factor when selecting between multiple visitor management systems. It would help if you considered a visitor management software that will streamline the tracking of guests instead of slowing the process down.  

You don’t want to end up with a system that complicates the admission of guests. Some of the essential considerations should be a system that allows visitors to be pre-scheduled before they arrive. Working with a system that simplifies the entire check-in process can speed up the visitor log-in process and appease your guests. 

2. Consider Scalability

Your organization won’t be the same size in the next five years. As your business expands, so will the number of visitors frequenting your premise. You’ll need to consider the ability to carry out large-scale admissions in the future.  

Safety and security should be top of your list when thinking about the future. Even so, you also need to consider scalability.

Your visitor management system should be robust enough to grow in line with your business. You don’t want to end up having to change the VMS provider over time due to limitations in scalability. Companies keen on future growth should consider scalability a must-have feature when choosing a management system for guests.

3. Ease of Use 

User-friendliness should be a deal-breaker when considering a visitor management system. Your VMS should be easy to use to ensure full utilization. You don’t want to spend valuable time figuring out how to navigate the system. 

Whether it’s the pre-booking of visitors’ interface or the self-check kiosk, you need to consider a VMS that provides easy navigation for you and your visitors. 

Before implementing the system, you might need to take your staff through essential user guide training. However, a reliable VMS shouldn’t also be overly technical. Avoid acquiring visitor management systems that slow down the processing of visitor information due to highly technical applications.

4. Focus on Affordability 

While you don’t want to compromise on quality, you wouldn’t want to pay through the nose for a VSM. One of your main focuses when selecting a VMS should be on the cost of the system vis-à-vis the value it introduces to your organization’s management visitors.  You should consider a visitor management system that is cost-effective.

Affordability includes factors such as the cost of staffing and any other long-term cost needed to keep the system in operation.  It would help to consider the installation and the system’s running cost before committing.

These additional costs should matter, and the potential service provider should be candid about any other hidden fees. Our pricing at Alice Receptionist is pocket friendly. We also don’t have any hidden charges when processing a quote. 

5. Does it allow you to run either on the cloud or an on-premises configuration?

Technology is evolving at an alarming rate. By 2025, there’ll be an estimated 175 Zettabytes of digital data on earth. The most significant chunk of this data will be in virtual cloud storage.

Many businesses are taking advantage of the benefits a cloud-based system offers. Other businesses prefer to have data and applications reside on their private network. This can be a corporate policy for security purposes or other reasons. Most Visitor Management Systems require you to choose one or the other. ALICE Receptionist allows the customer to choose either a cloud or local configuration, giving businesses the flexibility to select a configuration that matches their needs.

6. Customizability Is a Deal Breaker  

With a visitor management system, there’s never such a thing as a “one size fits all model.” This is considering that businesses vary with the type and timing of visitors they manage. 

Are you looking for a visitor management software that’s reliable? 

Customizability should be essential when choosing a reliable VMS. A customizable system allows you to tailor-make your approach to visitors, depending on your organization’s unique needs. A unique visitor management system should be easy to update in line with the changing visitor trends. 

Customization also helps you incorporate other features such as special greetings when visitors arrive at your building. Ensure that your potential VMS provider is open to further system customization. At Alice Receptionist, we allow you to customize your VSM with greetings and other choice features to suit your needs.

Choose Your Visitor Management Systems Wisely  

Not all visitor management systems can meet all your expectations. However, your organization’s welfare, including your employees’ safety, depends on choosing a VSM that ensures comprehensive screening and tracking of every new individual visiting your premises.

It would help to consider these six factors before selecting a visitor management systems provider of choice. In the wake of Covid-19, a virtual receptionist will make all the difference.

At Alice Receptionist, you’ll get a virtual receptionist and a safe and secure visitor management protocol for your business.

Contact us today for comprehensive visitor management solutions.  

A top-class lobby management system can make a lasting positive impression on your clients and make your employees’ lives easier. It can also streamline your processes and save you money.

While this might sound too good to be true, that’s exactly what ALICE Receptionist provides for our customers daily. But, before you get in touch, we understand you may want to learn more.

Let’s jump in and find out why ALICE Receptionist is the right lobby management system for your business.

Guest Scheduling System

ALICE Receptionist starts improving the efficiency of your lobby long before a visitor arrives. An employee can copy ALICE Receptionist in on a client invitation, and the system will send the visitor a confirmation email. It will also provide them with all the documentation they need to check in on arrival.

This could include documents to confirm their details or health and safety forms to be signed. The email can also include information about any ID the client should bring to verify their identity.

Automatic Visitor Greetings

Your lobby is probably busy, but this doesn’t mean it should be impersonal. ALICE Receptionist uses motion detectors to sense when someone enters your building and greets them with a welcome video. You can pre-record a personal message and choose which avatars should display on the screen.

This can be a nice touch to help your clients feel more welcome and relaxed on arrival.

Health and Safety Checks

Understandably, your employees and customers expect you to take health and safety precautions to look after their welfare. But, this can be difficult to monitor and regulate on your premises.

This is why the ALICE Receptionist performs these tasks for you, standardizing the process to keep everyone safe. For example, our kiosks can detect if a visitor is wearing a face mask. If not, the system will advise your guest they must wear one if they wish to enter the building.

Also, ALICE Receptionist can take temperature readings. Should someone have a high temperature, the system will explain they will have to return when their temperature is within the normal range.

You may also want to ask specific health-related questions, and ALICE Receptionist can help with this too. You can upload questionnaires, and the software will present them to your visitors. Upon completion, the forms will be stored on the system for your records.

These safeguards can help everyone in your lobby feel like they are in a secure environment.

Self-Service and Fast Track Check-In Options

Lobby management systems should be flexible enough to deal with different scenarios. Although some visitors will have filled in the documents sent to them before the meeting, others may not have done so before arrival.

The ALICE Receptionist self-check-in software will identify each person individually. It will then provide them with the next relevant options.

For example, someone who has already provided their details will be fast-tracked through the check-in process. This could involve scanning a QR code that ALICE will have previously sent them to allow them to pass through the lobby straight away.

But, if a guest needs to complete visitor entry forms, ALICE Receptionist will ensure they now complete and sign each one.

This ability to adapt to various scenarios makes ALICE Receptionist an invaluable asset in your lobby.

Visitor Badges

When a visitor has completed the check-in procedures, ALICE Receptionist can print their visitor badge. You can also include plenty of relevant information on the pass.

For example, you can program ALICE Receptionist to add a guest’s photograph, name, and which organization they are from. But, you could also record their check-in date and time. If desired, you can even add a confirmation that they passed their health screening test.

This makes it easy for an employee to check if someone in your building is authorized to be there. They can view the comprehensive details listed on their badge in seconds.

Employee Notifications

Self-service kiosks don’t just make things easier for your visitors. They also improve the lobby management process for your employees. For example, if a staff member is expecting a visitor, they may spend time waiting for someone who turns up late. This can waste your employee’s time and prevent them from getting on with other work.

Similarly, this is inefficient if a human receptionist has to take time out of their day to let a colleague know a visitor has arrived. But, when a guest enters your building, they can use ALICE Receptionist to contact the person they are there to meet.

It’s possible to do this via an audio or video call, and an employee can even receive the call on a smart device. This means ALICE Receptionist can contact your staff wherever they are in the building.

Interactive Information Display

Your virtual receptionist can also provide your guests with helpful information. Perhaps a visitor would like to know when the next train leaves the area, and they can use the touch screen to find this information.

They could also look up the local weather, maps, or anything else that would be useful before they leave your offices. This can be helpful and leave your clients with a positive impression of your business.

Contact ALICE Receptionist Today

ALICE Receptionist is a market-leading lobby management system that can make your visitor check-in processes significantly more efficient. From greeting visitors at the door to performing vital health and safety checks, ALICE Receptionist has you covered.

These intelligent self-service kiosks can also connect your employees and clients when they are in the building. This can help streamline their communications and save time for both parties before their meeting.

Contact the ALICE Receptionist team today to learn more and get a free quote.

A recent survey suggests that 73% of employees find feeling safe at work to be “very important.” Further, when asked about factors that would make employees want to stay with their current employer, the survey suggests feeling safe is as important as the amount of compensation they receive.

There are many reasons that a visitor management solution is critical for the public sector, but one very important reason is workplace safety.

If you do not currently have lobby management software for visitors and employees, then consider this a priority. But how do you find a good lobby management system?

Look for one that has the right features, and here is why.

Lobby Management: How Does It Work?

Most businesses receive a steady amount of foot traffic on their premises. This includes job candidates, contractors, family members of employees, delivery personnel, and more.

With a visitor management solution, it provides a method for visitors to register with their personal details before entry. It collects information like name, contact information, photos, and the purpose of the visit.

A visitor management solution will track visitors in terms of when they arrive, depart, and where they are in your building. This is a way to safeguard the privacy of visitors and enhance your security.

Lobby management serves a grand purpose, and that is to streamline the visitor workflow.

Look for the Right Features

Finding the right visitor management solution? This means finding one that offers the features that you need.

Notification System

It must be capable of notifying and communicating to the right individual, the host of the visitor. The host should receive a notification when a guest checks in.

Particularly if you have a solution that is a self-check-in style, this is a must-have. Either by SMS, email, or via an application, the solution should send a visitor notification.

Beyond the initial check-in, emergencies happen, and a host should be able to send a notification back to the visitor. This could even be a message about the rules of the visit or COVID-19 safety precautions.

Visitor Experience

If you think about it, when you enter the building of a business, you get a first impression. A sense of who they might be. It places an image in your head.

You could impress visitors with having the ability to register remotely, self-check-in, contactless entry, and other features. When finding a visitor management solution, you will want to see what features they offer that will enhance the visitor experience.

A visitor receptionist software should be intuitive by nature, no matter who is using it.

Managing Compliance

Of all considerations, this one is the most serious. For protecting personal data, over 80 countries have established privacy laws. The European Union has GDPR, Japan has APPI, and the state of California has CCPA.

There are industry-related regulations that may affect you, too, such as:

• ITAR–the defense industry
• FMSA–the food industry
• PCI DSS–credit card companies
• T-CPAT–trading establishments

The visitor management solution should contain the data security features you require. Too, you want one that offers a privacy policy that is robust.

Does It Integrate?

There are integrations that can enhance the solution, depending on the needs of your business. It may be necessary to require a visitor management solution that can integrate with video intercom, surveillance systems, access control systems, digital ID software, and more.

Robust Reporting

Facilities often require data insights, which are highly beneficial for the organization. Data is what can drive better decisions.

Plus, if you have a facility with a large volume of visitors, you could end up with a lot of data. This means that it is helpful to work with a visitor management solution that can apply filters. Delivering customized experiences and being able to segment visitors can prove highly beneficial for your business.

Benefits of a Good Visitor Management Solution

Public sectors need lobby management for a variety of reasons. As mentioned at the beginning, business safety is critical for you and your employees.

The right visitor management solution will enhance business security because it gives you better visibility. You have a full scope of visitor registration (who is checking in), who is there for a brief visit, who is physically inside your facility, and when they exit.

Efficient Visitor Registration

It is important to deliver a seamless sign-in process. This is how it becomes a win-win for both you and the visitor when you can increase efficiency. When a visitor can register prior to arrival, that is highly beneficial.

Stores and Compiles Data

In the public sector, your business has a set standard for security policies. The visitor management solution must meet such policies, and this includes the data they keep on your visitors. It is a great way to meet regulations and all compliance goals you have.

Visitor Logs

Someone can quickly export visitor information for security personnel. You may have a mass announcement to make, or in case of an emergency, you want this information available quickly to take action immediately.

Helps in Case of Emergency

You are aware of who your employees are in case of an immediate evacuation, but what about your visitors who are not commonly onsite? This is a way to get the list of visitors efficiently and automatically, so you can add it to an evacuation list. You must be accountable to everyone, and you need a list in hand of who each individual is.

Lobby Management for the Public Sector

Meet ALICE Receptionist! It is motion-activated and with greet your guests with a friendly, intuitive message. ALICE Receptionist offers easy-to-use touch controls that will offer a superior visitor experience and keep your company safe.

This is the visitor management solution you are searching for. Sign up today!