The decision makers today are spoiled with several choices when it comes to choosing a visitor management solution. And providers want to stand out and they do that by adding a variety of features to their systems that help the workplace be more efficient. GDPR came out in 2018 and after that security was no longer a negotiable topic. As a result, now all good visitor management systems are quick, efficient and secure.
With so many choices in the market, how do you as a decision maker decide on what visitor management solution is best for your organization? What exactly should you be looking for?
Don’t worry we got you covered in this blog and will help you narrow down on the features of a visitor management system.
Key Features to have in a Visitor Management System
1- Electronic & Agile
Seems like an obvious thing to point out but one should remember that visitor management is a general term. What you are looking for is the one that is completely digitized. Essentially an electronic visitor management system. To make sure you are future proofing your workplace you should move away from a server-based system to a cloud-based system with cloud-based VMS. It offers you much better accessibility, security and less maintenance. Then comes the test of time, you as a decision maker should put heavy emphasis on how much time a check-in takes on average. Why is it important? Because there are many features added to the system, it can take longer for a visitor to get through. All the features that the system offers should be agile.
2- Pre Book & Web Check-In
One of the main benefits of having a visitor management system software is its ability to allow visitors to pre-book and web check in. This allows visitors to notify you about the time you must be expecting them. Allowing you, in turn, to manage your workplace better as now you won’t have any unexpected visitors coming. A simple feature like pre-booking can help you manage your workplace more efficiently. Web check-ins allow the visitors to do things such as health declarations and fill in personal details before even arriving at your reception. So when the visitor arrives the check is just a matter of seconds!
3- Two-Way Communication
Two-way communication enhances the process of a seamless entry-exit process. You can make the entry or exit process as fast as you want but your system should also have features that make sure that when the visitor arrives on your premises it has all the necessary information. Two-way communication does that. When your visitor arrives you get notified about their arrival. Now either you can communicate with them that you are available or there is a wait time of a few minutes. Let’s take a simple example of a visitor called Alice.
- Alice enters the premies
- You get notified about Alice’s arrival
- You communicate and notify Alice that you will be available in the next 10 mins.
- Alice now knows that she can come to meet you after 10 mins.
This makes sure that there is communication without any confusion. In this case, Alice had clarity about her meeting today because she heard it from you, the host. Any visitor management solution you pick should have the ability to do that.
4- Useful Integrations
A rigid system that is capable of adapting will not make your workplace future ready and efficient. What you need is a system that can adapt and can integrate. Why is this important? Because you already must have a lot of systems installed at your workplace. Deploying a visitor management system solution should seamlessly integrate with all your existing systems. Here are some useful integrations that Veris offers:
- Access control– You can integrate it with your existing access control system. This will help increase security and keep you in charge of your premise.
- Meeting Rooms– Let visitors know what meeting room they can come to.
- Wayfinder– Give your visitors precise indoor navigation, enabling them to reach the meeting room or any other area at your workplace easily.
- Parking– Give parking access to make sure your visitors don’t have to go through the hassle of finding a parking spot.
- Wifi – Share credentials with your guests and make sure they have access to the internet at all times to enhance the experience.
- MailChimp– Continue to stay in touch with your guests by adding them to your MailChimp list.
- CRM – Add your visitor as leads in salesforce and never miss a business opportunity.
These are some general integrations that almost all organizations need. Veris has been an industry leader and has made custom integrations for Fortune 500 companies such as Nestle, Bosch, Genpact and several others by understanding their specific needs.
5- Security
Security is on everyone’s mind. Employees, employers and whoever you are security is a top priority for everyone at every place. Security can come in different forms. Veris integrates covid screening, thermal scanning and access control in its visitor management solution to make sure everyone who enters your premise is not a risk and is approved to be there. Other security features include:-
- Approval-based entry
- GDPR compliance
- Blacklist visitors
- Capture live visitor pictures
- NDA/policy signing
- Emergency broadcasts
- Automated visitors check-outs
- Visitor data storage
- Security workflows
- Information security questionnaires
- Overstay alerts
User Friendly
Last but not least while picking the right system solution you should pay attention to how easy it is to use the system. The fact that there are so many features and integrations can mean the system is complicated to understand and use. This will hamper the user experience and will defeat the purpose of deploying a visitor management solution. With the regular users that will use the system every day you will also have visitors that visit your workplace only once. For visitors who might use the system only once the system should be easy to understand and navigate.
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