I’m often asked, “Why do I need a visitor management system?” Before I answer that question, I ask them if their organization has a visitor sign-in sheet at the front lobby. If they answer yes, I respond by asking them, “How effective and confidential is your visitor sign-in sheet?”. They usually give me this blank look. Then, I proceed to explain that having a visitor sign-in sheet at the front desk can become a security concern.
It can make the company vulnerable. I often use my examples and life experiences. This is something that many of us can relate to. One example is a dear friend of mine who shared with me. He’s been working for a large
pharmaceutical company for several years. There was an opportunity to work for the competition. When he went to the interview, he had to sign in on a paper log sheet. He could not help but notice some familiar names in his industry. Some of them were his actual colleagues. Some are his counterparts in different organizations. As one could imagine, this is very sensitive information. It could be used to exploit someone or an organization. You don’t want your employers to know that you are looking for another job. However, my friend did use this information to his advantage. In his limited time in the interview, he quickly highlighted his strengths and his skills he knew his other colleagues, who already had their interview, do not have. He successfully landed the job. Although, if the tables were reversed and he was one of the earlier applicants who came for the interview, someone could have exposed him. It would have made things difficult with his current employer.
This is one area where the electronic visitor management system stands out as it will not expose or display any previous visitors. It will be like a blank page every time the person signs in. The other challenge with the traditional paper and pen visitor sign-in sheet is the front lobby receptionist might be busy on the phone answering one call after another. They may not be available to alert the host that the visitor has arrived. Furthermore, receptionists often have difficulty locating reaching the host as they may not be at their desk. This causes further delays and difficulty for both visitors and receptionists. It overly impacts the meeting with these delays.
Unfortunately, this is a common daily occurrence for most organizations. Another example, when the lobby receptionist and security guard are not present, either on break or in many cases, organizations today don’t have a receptionist at the front desk. They may have a bell on the front desk or a phone and a directory list of everybody’s extension number. Once again, that’s not very practical or efficient as we stipulated earlier, not all individuals are not stationed at their desks. The way the MyLobby visitor management solution remedies this problem is by offering a totally self-service kiosk that prompts you with through text and the natural human voice.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES OF VISITOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Other additional features that you get with a digital visitor management system are the following: Saves time Two-way text messaging Visitor Photo Identification Keeps visitor information confidential Includes back-end management visitor logs Increase security efficiency Reduce operational cost for lobby areas Classifies visitor types Detailed Visitor Log Reports Easy trigger of Specific Emergency Messaging via instant text and email. In conclusion, I hope this article helps you understand why your organization may need a visitor management system. If you’re still not convinced, start with a free trial and see for yourself.