3 Surprising Uses for Visitor Management Software

Workplace leaders are always on the lookout for ways to gain better insight into the workforce. Most have a standard set of questions they consistently ask – for example:

• Are employees comfortable in the workplace?
• What are the occupancy levels?
• What can be done to improve employee engagement?

But in addition to identifying ways to boost the employee experience, workplace leaders also have another group of people whose experience they need to care about: visitors. And the most effective way to improve the visitor experience is with visitor management software.

Visitor Management Software Uses

What savvy workplace leaders know, however, is that visitor management software has applications outside of simply checking in clients and vendors. Here are three less obvious ways an organization can take advantage of visitor management software.

1. Job Candidate Registration

Clients, vendors, and partners aren’t the only kinds of important visitors who will come to your office. There are two other types of visitors who should have a positive first impression: job candidates and new hires.

As much as you evaluate whether or not a job applicant is a good fit for your company, she is putting in the same effort to decide if your organization is a good fit for her. And if what she encounters when she arrives in the lobby is an old school paper sign-in sheet, an empty desk and a sign from the receptionist that says “Will Return Shortly,” your business isn’t exactly giving off a “modern” and “innovative” vibe.

Of course your receptionist will need to step away from her desk from time to time, but allowing visitors to check in via an iPad even when the front desk is unoccupied makes job candidates feel more confident about how the organization is run.

Additionally, it can be frustrating for a job applicant to arrive early for her interview, only to discover she either has legitimately no way to contact her interviewer or can only call her interviewer’s desk phone. If her interviewer is also away from his or her desk and thus isn’t alerted to the job candidate’s arrival, the hiring manager may not be aware the applicant is waiting in the lobby until after the interview start time.

Now instead of the candidate setting a good first impression by getting to her interview early, it appears she arrived late – a major faux pas. The hiring manager is annoyed by a lack of professionalism and is under an incorrect assumption the job applicant had no control over. Or if the hiring manager realizes the error and apologizes to the candidate, the applicant is understandably annoyed by having to wait and now the roles are reversed: the organization appears unprofessional to the candidate.

But with a service kiosk and visitor management software, as soon as the applicant signs in, the hiring manager is sent notifications via text, email and/or the company’s collaboration tools like Slack. If the job candidate is required to sign any documentation prior to her interview (such as an NDA), she can quickly take care of completing the form on the kiosk or iPad and get started interviewing right away. Plus, the form(s) will be saved directly to the database for easy access in the future.

New hires can also use visitor management software to check in when they arrive for their first day so there’s no confusion about where to go or where to sit if their hiring manager isn’t available. 

2. Security

Unless it’s early in the morning or later in the evening, most visitors won’t need a badge to enter the building. This means the front desk is the first line of defense for unwanted visitors.

It could be an overly eager vendor who can’t grasp what “We’re not interested in doing business with you,” means. Or maybe it’s an employee’s upset ex-significant other who hasn’t accepted the relationship is over. Or it could be a competitor hoping to do some recon and get insider information about proprietary processes. Whatever the reason for the unwelcome visitor’s appearance, visitor management software can stop them before they get past the lobby.

When employees are expecting someone, they can provide visitor information in advance so there’s no confusion about who is authorized and who isn’t. If the visitor doesn’t have the name of the person they’re coming to see, your receptionist or security personnel will need to check with a manager to authorize them. Your organization can also take a proactive approach to security by using visitor management software to provide visitor data for people you know are not permitted on the premises, such as a former employee who was terminated for cause. Visitor management software can be configured to alert security so they can escort the unwanted visitor to the exit.

Visitor management software can help you save time while keeping your workforce and your workplace secure.

3. Contractor Management

With more than a third of the workforce now part of the “gig economy,” independent contractors and consultants are becoming almost as familiar as employees. Someone needs to validate these contractors, ensure they have a place to work and know where to go. That’s a lot to ask of a receptionist who is only using pen and paper for visitors signing in. And if your company is meeting with multiple contractors to get bids on a job, it’s probably best they don’t know which of their competition is vying for the same project.

Unfortunately, with a physical sign-in sheet, this information is on display for anyone to see. But with visitor management software, potential contractors won’t have access to information about other visitors.

When a contractor checks in via an iPad or service kiosk, his or her host is alerted immediately. The contractor can also receive a badge and be assigned to a workstation, allowing them to get to work right away instead of spending half an hour waiting in the lobby.

If anyone else needs to meet with that same contractor, they can view the digital visitor logs to see when he or she arrived and where they are planning to work. Employees can also see if contractors have left for the day or failed to show up.

How Visitor Management Can Help You

Visitor management software is certainly a useful tool for checking in clients and partners, but its capabilities go beyond that as well. If your organization is already using visitor management software, learn how you can take advantage of the full scope of features. Or if you’re looking for a better visitor management solution, discover how ours can benefit your business.

See how iOFFICE’s Visitor Management Software surpasses its competition. Schedule your free demo now!