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Visitor management software tracks and manages visitors entering and leaving a business’ office. These tools are designed to make the visitor sign-in process more seamless, which in turn can improve the overall visitor experience. Some solutions offer self-sign-in for visitors. Others are administered by staff, which gives them the ability to manage assets such as access cards and keys. Visitor management software typically has the ability to notify the necessary employee that the visitor has arrived. This software can also document and gather specific information about those visitors’ whereabouts within the building. Overall, these solutions are designed to increase building security and protect its facilities and employees.
Key Benefits of Visitor Management Software
Visitor management software offers a number of benefits to its users, including but not limited to the following:
Improved office security — A visitor management software solution can enhance a building’s existing security system. These solutions require all visitors to sign in, which notifies the necessary party when someone enters and exits the office.
Streamlined visitor check-in process — There is no longer any need for building staff to manually check identification cards or place a call to the office informing them that a visitor has arrived. These solutions allow for driver’s licenses or other forms of identification to be scanned in right to the platform. They can also ping the necessary employee that their visitor has arrived.
Dependable information — Visitor management software stores information about incoming and outgoing visitors. If there is ever an emergency within the building, authorities can review the software to see exactly who has visited the office.
Visitor management software can be used by any business that regularly expects visitors. The following businesses are just a few that can benefit from visitor management software.
Corporate offices — Large office buildings typically house multiple offices. These offices will regularly have visitors, whether they are clients coming in for a meeting or candidates for job interviews. These solutions can help visitors find the correct office to make their appointment on time.
College campuses — Some campuses may have areas restricted to staff and faculty only. Visitor management software will ensure that only authorized faculty and staff will be allowed into those areas on the university campus.
Elementary and high schools — K–12 schools typically require their visitors to wear ID badges when entering the school. Visitor management software can help to manage these ID badges.
As all visitor management software has the same purpose, the different types of solutions don’t vary much. Users may encounter two different options in the way this software is administered.
Self-service visitor management — This type of visitor management software lets visitors sign in themselves. Visitors can enter their information on the device, and once it is submitted, the software will send a notification to the employee expecting that visitor.
Staff-administered visitor management — These solutions are administered by members of building staff. Building staff can check in visitors and quickly scan in any necessary forms of identification. Staff can then call the employee expecting the visitor to inform them they have arrived.
The following features are commonly found in visitor management software:
Visitor management and reporting — This is arguably the most valuable feature of this type of software. This feature retains information about visitors to your office, such as the precise time they enter the office, along with the exact duration of the visit. This data can be used to track down the precise location of specific visitors and create reports on visitor flow.
Self check-in — This allows visitors to check themselves in, as opposed to needing to check in with building staff. The visitor management solution is typically set up on a tablet kiosk and requires them to enter in information such as their name, email, and purpose of visit.
Notifications — Once a visitor is signed in using the software, it can ping the employee expecting the visitor that they have arrived.
Preregistration — Businesses can use this software to preregister their guests. Using these tools, businesses can email their visitors to gather the necessary information needed prior to their visit.
As with any kind of technology, visitor management software can come with its issues. The following are a few potential issues a business might face when using visitor management software.
Cost — While tracking visitors with pen and paper is time consuming and can potentially lead to human error, it is incredibly cheap. Visitor management software can be very expensive, especially for enterprise-sized businesses. Some solutions will require integrating hardware, such as cameras, driver’s license readers, business card scanners, and potentially more.
Sensitive information can be complicated to protect — Visitor data is often pretty sensitive. Required pieces of information can range from email to driver’s license numbers. If the solution you select is cloud-based, it will need to be encrypted in order to protect your visitors’ identities. That encrypted data will also need to be backed up. And of course, your business is liable for protecting visitors’ information.