The Worst Advice About Visitor Management | Greetly Digital Log Book

As entrepreneurs, the Greetly team visits literally countless business office spaces each year. We are repeatedly surprised by the lack and inconsistency of visitor management systems. When we speak to business owners and managers, we often hear they were given the advice below–unfortunately, this bad advice greatly underscores the importance of handling visitors efficiently.

You’re Too Small for a Visitor Management System

There are nearly 28 million small businesses in the US. Many believe they do not need visitor management systems. Especially in an open office environment because “everyone is right there”. Or offices they do not feel they receive enough visitors to worry -- although when asked, they always underestimate the true count.

There are several reasons this is poor advice. First, your reception area reflects your brand. A visitor registration kiosk ensures your office creates great first impressions upon customers, suppliers, and prospective employees.

From a legal standpoint, many states have visitor management legal requirements in place. The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational and Safety & Health Administration (often referred to as OSHA) suggests visitor evacuation guidelines. Smart offices with a cloud-based visitor log make it easy to comply with all laws, minimize liability, and implement best practices.

You’re Covered — Someone Sits Near the Door

The role of receptionist is in decline; few companies today have a dedicated, full-time receptionist at each of their facilities. It place of that traditional visitor management solution, many small offices place one or more employees near the front door. These employees, whose primary responsibilities range from office manager to accountant, act as de facto receptionists.

Distractions are costly to small businesses though. Employees lose more than one-quarter of their working time each day to distractions. This includes visitors ringing a bell to get assistance, asking for help finding their meeting or requesting a signature to deliver a package. The productivity loss associated with additional workplace distractions makes the “near-the-door employees”  approach an inefficient use of capital.

You’re Covered by Your Paper Visitor Log

We all know old-fashioned paper visitor logs are impractical. Visitors often leave inaccurate or illegible information. Further, we’ve all heard anecdotes of visitors flipping through the book to see which competitors have been onsite. Meanwhile, it is labor-intensive to audit a paper log.

Paper logbooks only give the impression of visitor management. A better solution is a digital visitor log. This approach maintains visitor and employee privacy. It is also available to management anytime.

Conclusion

Regardless of the size, layout, and type of work your office does, it is important to have a visitor policy and practical visitor management plan.