The Meridian Blog: Technology information for SMB and enterprise environments in the DC metro area

7 Reasons to Use a Visitor Management System

Written by Brad Ancell | April 11, 2023

How does your organization manage visitors?

In the past, you’d employ a full-time front office worker. This friendly person was in charge of greeting guests and ensuring they got where they needed to go.

Today, this solution fails to meet evolving business needs and consumer preferences. Plus, it misses a chance to use innovative, tech-forward solutions like a visitor management system (VMS).

Managing visitors is now possible with a broader approach to digitizing operations. 72% of small businesses are accelerating digitization efforts to keep up with where mid-sized and enterprise companies have already landed.

Tracking guests, collecting information, and alerting relevant staff members are all part of a visitor management solution. Let’s review the top seven reasons your businesses should leverage the power of a fully digital VMS for guest intake.

7 Reasons to Use Visitor Management Solutions

Meet ALICE, a live interactive customer experience virtual receptionist. ALICE provides a vast array of features that all serve the same goal: taking care of visitors.

We’ll use ALICE to illustrate what an elite, streamlined visitor management system can do. This robust digital system satisfies all seven compelling reasons to power up your welcome system.

1. Prioritizes Staff and Building Safety

While traditional log books and receptionist duties provide a degree of security for visitor intake, VMS solutions like ALICE provide superior business security management. After all, your staff and guest safety should be a primary concern.

A visitor management solution can efficiently perform digital screening, alert staff to emergencies, and protect valuable employee data. Virtual systems can also assist in overall building safety. ALICE can track employees on property, register visitors in your database and have them sign documents or provide ID for entry.

2. Manages Workplace Health Risks

In the post-COVID era, organizations are hyper-aware of how illness can affect daily operations. With a VMS, businesses can quickly assess health and the level of risk for each visitor. The ability to mitigate risks with screening features not only protects staff but can help reduce bottlenecks and disruptions to daily operations.

3. Streamlines the Guest Experience

A VMS offers guests a modern, streamlined way to enter your business. This can come in the form of touchless entry methods that leverage a user’s smartphone or customized intake processes defined by the business itself.

Advanced visitor management systems are fully customizable—meaning your team can tailor the solution to your business. Companies can configure their VMS to automatically notify employees when guests arrive so they don’t spend all their time waiting in the lobby.

4. Tracks and Learns from Visitor Data

Data is becoming a valuable asset for almost every business. With a VMS, organizations can better understand who is visiting and why they are there. A virtual management solution can track, capture and process all this information automatically. Having unprecedented visibility into business operations can provide valuable insights and offer an organization a significant competitive advantage.

5. Adds Digital System Integration

While some platforms act as standalone systems, robust offerings like ALICE easily integrate into existing commercial security systems like access control or video surveillance. Organizations can gain more insight into daily operations by leveraging these security integrations.

6. Presents Your Business as Modern and Forward Thinking

Your contemporary business has to make good on growth pledges. This often means putting technological advances front and center for all to see. The last thing you’d want is a potential partner to get the wrong impression of your organization.

Simple additions like a VMS are perfect ways to present your business as modern and forward-thinking. Not only are these solutions effective, but they offer visitors a glimpse into your ability to adapt to current trends.

7. Manages Multiple Sites Simultaneously

A single human receptionist can only manage one front office at a time. For businesses with multiple locations, this means staffing several full-time workers just to manage visitors.

A cloud-based digital system makes it possible to manage visitors at several locations with a single platform. This can have net benefits for overall operational consistency and fostering transparency and collaboration throughout a business. Moreover, a VMS provides flexible controls for managing growth—meaning these systems scale with your organization.

Choosing the Right Visitor Management System for Your Organization

A powerful visitor management system helps ensure the safety and security of visitors, employees, and customers. The ability to control access, track visitors, verify credentials, and alert staff of suspicious activity can help reduce potential threats while ensuring all visitors are identified and accounted for. With a visitor management system, businesses can be confident that they are taking the necessary steps to create a secure environment.

Businesses should get in touch to learn how your company can scale with a reliable VMS like ALICE. The right managed security provider will determine the VMS solution most suitable for your needs and budgetary requirements.