How Do Smart Visitor Management Solutions Benefit Workplaces?

What is a visitor management system?

Visitor management solutions keep a keen eye over the entry and exit of visitors to your premises. Usually considered a helping hand for the building/premises’ security protocols, visitor management systems nowadays are much more than just monitoring mechanisms. Especially in the present scenario, along with security threats, visitors may also carry safety risks like spreading infections or contaminating the environment. Installing good, practical visitor management systems has become a necessity in order to foster confidence in the premises’ security framework. The best visitor management systems nowadays are intelligently devised with smart devices and software linked and working together to keep the workflow going seamlessly.

Normal VMS vs. Smart VMS

Smart visitor management solutions are becoming increasingly popular as businesses try to adapt to new and developed ways of progressing in the present Covid-19 environment. A smart way of managing visitors depicts that your workplace is technologically competent and secure.

Where a typical visitor management system just maintains the record of visitors and can be integrated with third-party mechanisms like video surveillance, the advanced visitor management solutions go a level up. Smart visitor management solutions offer facilities like

• Hassle-free authentication of visitors through OTP’s,
• Flawless authentication using face biometric (fingerprint or face),
• Data collection parameters like capturing photographs and details of belongings being carried inside,
• Pre-registration of known visitor appointments,
• Speedy verification and crowd-prevention, etc.

Smart visitor management systems for offices also facilitate installing self-service kiosks for visitors to register and authenticate themselves. The kiosks are integrated with the visitor management software that records visitor data, prints visitor badges, allows scanning of visitors’ business cards, even allows complaint registration, and so on. Advanced software can offer a more personalized experience by providing the option of user-customizable visitor pass format, user-friendly graphical user interface, SMS confirmation to visitors as well as hosts for arrival and departure events, etc.

The software also loads up all the pre-recorded data of regular visitors once the visitor tries to register him/herself on the self-service kiosk to save time. Visitors can check-in and check-out themselves without waiting for assistance. This helps your workplace maintain a sophisticated environment without assigning much personnel to manage or guide visitors. Many self-service kiosks have an interactive touch-screen interface for further ease in operations.

For hosts, smart visitor management software simplify scheduling appointments of visitors, generate extensive reports of daily, weekly, or monthly visitor activities, and send separate email/SMS notification to different hosts in case of multiple appointments with different employees, wherein one host is aware of the other’s appointment. Such comprehensive features enable you to monitor even the smallest visitor events in your organization.

What features should your visitor management solution have?

There are several company visitor management systems in India that offer different features, benefits, and specifications. To come to a conclusion about which solution should be adopted we must know our requirements along with the types of solutions available in the market. Let’s have a look at some of the significant features that should be there in the best visitor management system for your office.

Different workflow for different visitors

Different individuals visit workplaces for different purposes. Some come simply as guests, some as delivery agents, while some come as interviewees. Therefore, access requirements for each visitor will be different. Keeping this in mind, a unique workflow for each kind of visitor must be provided by the visitor management solution A customized check-in feature will extend convenience for each visitor.

Recording visitors’ signatures digitally

With the adoption of smart visitor management solutions, the old ways of recording visitor entry and storing files/registers have been digitally evolved. Self-service kiosks can allow visitors to sign digitally in check-in records. This can also be used for any visitor required to sign legal paperwork like non-disclosure agreements or confidentiality agreements, thereby completing important formalities during check-ins.

Immediate notifications to the hosts

The hosts should have the advantage of receiving instant notifications about the arrival as well as the departure of visitors no matter where they are. A quick, automated message through SMS, email, or Push notification must be sent by the visitor management system as soon as the visitor arrives/departs in order to track visitor activity, and also not let them wait unnecessarily. This can save time for both the host as well as the visitor.

Integration with third-party/existing applications

It is essential to know how well every advanced visitor management system on the market integrates with other applications and the ones already in place. An ideal VMS should facilitate biometric and RFID reader integration and barcode/QR code integration. It should also integrate with the kiosk system as well as access control apps and surveillance systems.

Easy to understand and user-friendly experience

A typical VMS might ensure security and monitoring of visitors, the best visitor management systems encapsulate versatile functionalities and present them to the user in the simplest way possible, keeping in mind all potential features that might be required by the user. This is what you should emphasize while opting for a visitor management solution.

Scalability across company locations and sizes

An ideal VMS should not fulfil the requirements of just one kind of organization. Suppose you have a large facility in one city, but small/medium-sized offices in a few other places. Your VMS should be able to adjust its features based on the size and scale of your organization. Basically, your VMS provider should be able to understand your requirements and offer a customized solution that does its job and doesn’t burden you with additional features or components.

By keeping these points under consideration, you can easily compare and choose the best company visitor management system available in the market that also suits your needs in the best way.

How does a smart visitor management system benefit you?

Concluding this long analysis regarding smart visitor management solutions, let’s recap all the major benefits:

• Having an automated check-in process enables quick and seamless authentication.
• Specifically for scenarios like the current pandemic, having an automated check-in process prevents unnecessary human contact, and enforces social distancing by preventing the formation of queues.
• Self-check-in and check-out reduce the need for human personnel.
• Intelligent VMS can study visitor patterns and make corresponding changes in the security protocols and for the reception desk.
• Integration with video surveillance systems not only keeps a close eye on all visitor access points but also sends activity alerts for a flawless security framework.
• A contactless VMS enables visitors to check-in using their own smartphones and scanning the QR codes provided by the software. It creates a safe and secure visitor experience.
• Paper-based logbooks are no longer required as every visitor event gets recorded digitally on a server with ample storage space. This does away with the procurement and maintenance costs of physical records.
• With a digital storage facility, any visitor’s history can be accessed and viewed as and when desired without much hassle. This is also beneficial for audit trails.
• In case of emergencies, a roll call with all visitors present on the premises can be conducted easily by just accessing the ‘Active Visitors” report.
• The need for elaborate hardware architecture is eliminated, and everything is stored digitally instead which can be perused, modified, or upgraded at any time.

By installing a smart visitor management solution, your organization can get reformed as a tech-driven, sophisticated workplace, increasing your repute and standing in the market.

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