Case Study

OVERVIEW 

COVID-19 could be here to stay. The new strains are developing too vastly for countries to reach herd immunity. We now understand that COVID-19 is a persistent threat, but can be managed in the workplace. 

At MyLobby, our visitor management system is proven to be a top option to keep employees safe and provide visitors with a seamless experience. We went beyond just temperature screening and understood that COVID questionnaires are mandatory to keep facilities open during this pandemic. Screening questions are customizable and allow businesses to operate with compliance by restricting access at entry points when applicable. 

This redirection helped us to target large corporations with multi-locations, such as within the financial sector, to be more productive and protect employees’ wellbeing during the pandemic. Overall, it helped us reach companies that were struggling with the challenges of managing COVID-19 and contact tracing when exposure occurs. This company in particular is one of Canada’s largest providers of business and payments processing services and is considered an essential service. 

PROBLEMS AND RISKS

The financial services company realized manual systems are slow, labour-intensive, expensive, imprecise and remove employees from their regular duties. This company was allocating teams of employees to capture visitor details via paper and pen. It was especially difficult to expedite the process of filling out COVID-19 questionnaires per shift daily. With offices across Canada, bottlenecking was occuring with delays and higher administrative costs. 

Social Distancing in the Front Lobby: Excess employees and visitors gathering in the company’s reception area was unsafe. Staff were late to meetings or had to wait for a long time to enter the building. Some workers even attempted to skip the line and forgo the lengthy screening process, which is against public health advice and guidelines. 

Compliance Issues if Audited: It was increasingly difficult for upper management to adequately prove that guidelines were being followed. This led to fear of outbreaks and the company being fined or ordered to shut down temporarily by the Government. Other systems that were implemented did not provide thorough compliance reporting and flexibility to customize COVID-19 questionnaires instantaneously to address the needs of the organization or local public health measures.

Financial Drawbacks of Manual Screening: It is exceedingly pricey to monitor and manage COVID-19 protocols and procedures manually because productivity and accuracy are heavily impacted. Traditional logbooks do not deliver a significant return on investment or support change management.

APPROACH

The pandemic was very sudden, but as an industry leader since 2005, MyLobby was able to pivot quickly with a seasoned background in digital display technology within our parent company, MyMedia Inc. The visitor management system has evolved into a fully automated employee and visitor management system that will be imperative in the post-pandemic world.

Automated systems are faster and error-free. MyLobby’s cloud hosting solution is easy to set up and seamless to use. Our visitor management system is futuristic and modernizes the new era of work. We were able to offer the financial services company a trial to ease any reservations, as well as several product demonstrations in multiple scenarios that could occur within their establishment. In case the WiFi goes down, the team was trained to tap into their personal device and hotspot for access to minimize any potential downtime. 

Prioritizing Versatility: MyLobby’s system offers multiple options to sign-in depending on a company’s preference. Initially, the corporation tested an approach that each individual would use a QR code to identify themselves contactlessly and answer questions through a unique URL, followed by a touchless temperature scan. However, via trial and error, the company was able to recognize that using a Near Field Communication Card (NFC) to identify each employee was the most straightforward and fast approach. Instead of requiring employees to carry another access card, which is inconvenient, a radio-frequency identification sticker (RFID) was attached to one of their current cards. 

Addressing IT Privacy Concerns: In the corporate sector, there are very strict IT policies and using a software as a service (SaaS) that is foreign to their network was a large concern. To offset this, code names were established for each employee rather than using full names. If there was any breach of privacy, it would only be screening answers without any employee identification revealed. Only specific stakeholders in the company have access to the code names. 

Overcoming Language Barriers: Multiple languages are possible with MyLobby’s system and we delivered the technology in French and Spanish as required. Note: we have an android application package (APK) in French as a first language and English as a second language as required for the province of Quebec.

RESULTS

Since 2016, MyLobby’s visitor management system has been the easiest and most efficient way for businesses of all sizes to manage their employees and visitors entering the building via consensual details and a customized questionnaire. Helping organizations to remain sustainable for the future has been the most rewarding aspect of our job. 

Employee Health Screening is Now Rapid, Accurate and Efficient: Employees should not have to arrive 30 minutes early to go through a rigorous manual health screening process, nor be considered late to work due to a 15-20 minute delay in the screening schedule. Employees can now access any of the buildings across Canada via a QR code that is readily available and ensures protocol adherence, all within seconds; this includes ensuring mask mandates are followed, social distancing and tracking the number of people onsite. Onboard temperature calibration ensures temperature readings remain correct with touchless temperature scanning. For any third party visitors and contractors, on-demand, customized visitor badges are printed to check-in, which signifies a “pass.” 

Elimination of Crowded Reception Areas: With each location averaging 150-200 employees and multi-shift starting times, the lobby would have never seen a clear day if change was not implemented. Multiple devices were installed at entry points for this large organization across the country. Without the MyLobby platform, sign-in queue lines would have become the new normal at their large offices. This could have resulted in non-compliance with employees becoming increasingly frustrated with long wait times. 

Lowered Operational Costs: The overall cost of a reception area at a large corporation can average within the hundreds of thousands, and a visitor management system installed outside of the building can help lower this cost. Not only did we help to diminish expenses related to responding to COVID-19 health and safety measures, but we were also able to minimize business interruptions and improve employee productivity. MyLobby’s system reduced the amount of work that their employees had to do manually before at building entrances. Other companies within the financial sector will now look to this company to adopt similar approaches as an industry leader.

MyLobby’s System Supports Automation and Going Digital: MyLobby’s system is AI-driven and integrated with building access. In the case of any emergencies, the company has been alerted via email and SMS immediately to escalate and prevent further exposure. Furthermore, sequential timestamping has assisted with contact tracing and signing-in and signing-out integration with time attendance has been a helpful amalgamation with payroll systems. 

CONCLUSION 

Many businesses are hesitant towards organizational change especially if the pandemic is assumed to be a temporary setback. However, current solutions that exhaust manpower are ineffective. Beyond COVID-19, a visitor management system helps to solve complex problems for many large businesses, including time and attendance and business security. Keeping employees safe should indefinitely be at the top of any corporation’s priority list and MyLobby’s visitor management system has guaranteed quality with cost-effectiveness.