Here at VisiPoint, our research shows many organisations in the UK continue to utilise traditional, paper visitor logs. However, as more people become aware of visitor management technology, a visitor entry system is often on the radar. This technology has more impact than many initially realise, so let’s have a look at the reasons why:
Going green
Going paperless is the best gift any organisation can give to the environment. Because we are facing countless environmental issues, more and more companies are striving to adopt green working policies. If you’re still using a visitor book for record keeping, this needs to go.
Inaccurate data
Often visitors don’t take the time to fill out their information properly, as they see this process as a formality and don’t consider the importance. How often have you found illegible or incomplete information in your visitor book? Rarely the visitor remembers to sign out, unless the reception staff make the point of reminding them too. On the surface this may not seem like that big a deal, but if you’re trying to track down someone in an emergency for example, it can have consequences. A digital system is much more efficient as visitors are forced to fill out the required fields.
Having accurate data is also incredbly helpful when it comes to marketing to and segmenting your visitors. If your data is an accurate representation of everyone who has visitor your premises, you can more accurately segment your visitors. This then allows you to advertise products and services to them that are appropriate for them.
A visitor entry system hugely reduces the risk of ambiguity in your visitor sign-in data, and ensures all of the relevant data is collected.
Information confidentiality
For every industry, especially education and financial institutions, securing personal details of the staff and the other visitors is critical. If you want to protect the privacy of your guests and keep their information confidential, using a visitor management system may be the best choice instead of a traditional visitor book. Using traditional methods this data could be accessed pretty easily, whereas with a digital system the information is stored securely on site servers or in the cloud.
In light of the recent implementation of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) it’s more vital than ever that your data is captured and stored securely. You can read more about how GDPR effects you in our in-depth whitepaper.
Resource savings
No organisation wants to bare unnecessary costs. Consider saving on staff resources by installing a visitor management system, allowing your reception staff to focus their time on critical tasks. When using a manual log book, reporting can be a tedious and labour-intensive process. With a digital system, you can pull reports in an instant. Additionally, an electronic visitor system will reduce the recurring admin costs of buying visitor badges and paper log books. Think of how easily you can save by going paperless!
Emergency procedures
Signing out is rarely enforced and often a visitor’s host is not recorded on a log book. This makes it difficult for the management to identify who is still present at the facility in care of emergency. With a visitor entry system, instant evacuation registers can be pulled which have an up-to-date recording of who is in and out your building, and who their host is. This allows you to perform a roll-call of everyone on site quickly and easily, so you can make sure everyone on your premises is safe in no time at all.
User experience
A visitor entry system is simply more aesthetically pleasing in today’s digital era. It puts across a modern and professional image of your company. Moreover, it’s a much more efficient system so is better for staff and user experience. If you’re looking to make a great first impression to your guests and clients, a visitor entry system is the way to go.
The verdict on a visitor entry system
A visitor entry system is ultimately important because it is changing the way in which organisations manage visitors, contractors and in some cases their staff. The technology provides a lot of opportunities for increasing business efficiency and improving processes. If you’re evaluating how your organisation could profit from a visitor entry system, take a look at the different options here.