Utilizing Your Front Desk to Provide a Great Experience to Visitors
The best work reception experiences combine technology and well-trained front desk personnel. Here is how to create great first impressions every...
We all know creating great first impressions will help your business thrive. Here are office reception tips to ensure visitors have a great experience.
Originally published by Lera Blog. Republished with permission.
Every business has visitors but some are better at dealing with them than others. In many cases, businesses tend to underestimate the importance of the first impression of their offices.
If your visitors have a negative experience when visiting your offices, they may not want to do business with you and they may even tell others about it. Here are some things visitors are sure to dislike that you need to fix.
Lengthy check-in processes
When visitors come to your office, their goal is to get to a meeting or accomplish the task they came to do without wasting time. Enduring lengthy check-in processes, especially if there’s a queue or there’s no one at the front desk, will upset them.
Filling in paperwork can take time and front desk staff may not be able to contact a host or even know that a certain meeting is taking place. Visitors certainly don’t feel comfortable if they get the feeling a host was not expecting them.
Upsetting visitors before they even enter the office is never a good idea. Using a visitor management system, such as the one offered by Greetly is a way to offer visitors a streamlined check-in process. Quick sign-in using kiosks and smartphones with real-time notification alerts to hosts upon check-in can make the whole check-in process a smooth one.
A lack of data privacy
Many people are wary of handing over their personal information. If your visitors believe you haven’t taken the right steps to protect their information, they could be well within their rights to refuse to supply it. Their fears may include being exposed to fraud or having their information sold to other companies.
Others may be uncomfortable with the intrusiveness of having to hand over what they consider to be an unnecessary amount of personal details. You can streamline your front desk to impress visitors and keep their data safe with digital registration.
Not knowing where to go
Visitors may walk into a place of business, look around, and have no idea what to do next. No one greets them, there are no signs around and they wander around awkwardly trying to see what other people do. They may ask someone for help or even turn around and walk out.
When visitors feel unwelcome, confused, or lost, they will have an unfavorable impression of your business. They need the initial moments when they walk into your offices to be welcoming and pleasant. This is where using a visitor management system can make a real difference.
Unpleasant or ineffective receptionists
Receptionists who are unfriendly because they are tired or disinterested could cost greatly in terms of negative attitudes toward your business. Inefficient receptionists who don’t know where to direct visitors are just as bad. It can be difficult for receptionists to remain friendly and welcoming if they are overworked and receive frequent interruptions.
When hosts are automatically notified that visitors have arrived, they can contact them directly. Automated sign-in has a number of advantages as it costs less than paying a dedicated person, and although it may not have the warmth of a smile, it can automatically notify hosts that visitors have arrived so they can supply a friendly welcome. Automatic self-sign-in is available 24 hours a day without any downtime.
Not feeling safe
Visitors need to know they’re safe at your offices, especially with the current global Covid-19 epidemic. You need to show them that you are carefully screening everyone for signs of illness and following all the necessary protocols. It will give visitors more peace of mind if you can offer them contactless sign-in.