Best Practices For Screening Visitors In the Office Before Visits
A visitor management system (VMS) is a trusted tool for screening visitors in the office that ensures only authorized guests enter your work premises.
In fact, the more advanced an enterprise visitor management solutions, the easier it is to pre-screen your guests, adding an extra level of security.
In this article, we’ll discuss some best practices for pre-screening your office visitors and the importance of having a visitor management system that allows pre-registration.
Let’s begin.
What Is Pre-Registration and How Does It Work?
In the context of a visitor management system, pre-registration is a system that allows visitors to enter a workplace by adding their information to the logs before their visit. It enables visitors to finish their sign-in formalities in a matter of seconds. Here’s how.
Expected visitors will receive an invitation link via SMS or email. Clicking the invitation link confirms to the company that the visitor plans to visit the organization. All visitors need to do after that is scan a QR code at a kiosk in the office premises. This activates the pass and notifies the host and security that the guest has arrived.
Walk-in visitors or those who haven’t pre-registered will need the host’s approval to get their registration process going.
Why Should You Pre-Register Your Office Visitors?
You should pre-register your office visitors because it enables their seamless entry to and exit from your office. It also avoids the inconvenience of waiting in lines.
Manually registering visitors to your office is a cumbersome process at the best of times. It’s not uncommon to see a crowded reception area in many offices that haven’t implemented a visitor management system.
As overworked security and front desk staff struggle to maintain order in large offices, they face the following challenges:
● Deciding who came in first.
● Getting the required information from visitors and taking notes.
● Entering data into a word or spreadsheet.
● Verifying ID documents.
● Deciding whether it is safe to grant access or if they should approach someone to authorize entry.
● Dealing with slow networks and technical issues.
Long lines, delays, and inconveniences that visitors experience only reflect the company’s professionalism.
Imagine some of your most important clients visiting you. If they manage to walk in unopposed and even gain unhindered access to every section of your office, they’d feel unnerved (or irate at worst). Chances are they could take away the business from you for lax security.
However, they would be unimpressed if they had to join the jostling crowd in the lobby.
The simple solution is to register the visitors in advance so that they can walk in and gain access. It also benefits the HR to have an account of who pre-registers so they can ensure certain guests meet specific compliances regular employees might not be aware of.
Benefits of Implementing a Visitor Registration System in Your Office
There are several benefits to gain from implementing a visitor registration system in your office.
● The system gives access only to visitors who are a right fit for your business and do not pose a security threat.
● It ensures that visitors don’t come into contact with your company’s confidential information.
● It avoids the hassle of long lines, physically signing in, and coming into contact with objects (like pens) others have used.
● A smooth registration allows visitors and clients to focus more mental resources on their work.
What Does Visitor Pre-Screening Involve?
Pre-screening may involve the following measures:
- Online forms: to help you collect data that can help verify a visitor’s identity, conduct a background check, and ascertain the purpose of the visit.
- Reviewing ID documents: to verify that the person visiting is truly who they are.
- Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA): to ensure that visitors keep certain information discussed or accessed within office premises confidential
- Health Declarations: to ensure that visitors are free from contagious diseases that could pose a health threat to the employees in your office.
Why Screening Visitors in Office Is Easier With Visitor Management Systems
Screening visitors in office using a visitor management system can help your organization improve security, reduce costs, and optimize efficiency. Plus, it lets you follow the best pre-screening practices as they’re built into the visitor management system.
Vizmo’s enterprise visitor management solution prevents unauthorized access and ensures health and safety protocols are followed. The contactless operation ensures that the risk of infections is minimized. It also alerts you if your visitors overstay their visit.
Visit the Vizmo website if you want to learn how your organization can implement a VMS.
