Why visitor management matters – and how/why it’s changing
Pioneering US business guru Mary Kay Ash once said: “Everyone has an invisible sign hanging from their neck saying, ‘Make me feel important.’ Never forget this message when working with people.”
After 25 years at the rapidly advancing forefront of access management technology, I can confidently add: “And never, ever forget this when welcoming visitors to your business premises.”
As our clients at Semieta always tell us, first impressions absolutely do count. For the guests, customers and contractors who access your building, it can even be the way they judge how competent your organisation is.
That’s why I have seen perfect visitor management become an apex ambition in modern-day workplace management technology.
It’s also why at Semieta, we’ve developed digital solutions to help businesses create an amazing personalised welcome that makes EVERY visitor feel truly important – and in these security-conscious days, makes certain that only the right ones are allowed in.
So, I’ve dug into my long experience to create this blog, in which you’ll discover:
- The good, the bad and the ugly: real-life case studies from leading organisations
- What’s really trending in visitor management
- What you can learn from the best to benefit your own business.
In this blog, you’ll learn about:
- Enhancing the visitor experience
- Access management – visitor and contractor
- Security and mitigating risks
- Improving workflows and enhancing productivity through effective system integrations.
Visitor Experience—stories that help you curate the right experience
Getting them in
It’s what visitor management is all about, isn’t it? But it’s also far more than that.
Real-life story: when best intentions go wrong
A major office building installed a sophisticated new visitor check-in kiosk, with an easy-to-use interface and access to a badge printer. But it was 30ft away from the reception desk, with no signage. So guests were walking up to the desk, being sent to the kiosk, trailing back to the desk to show ID and collect the badge, before the desk finally rang the person they were visiting.
The result? Queues at the desk, confused and frustrated visitors, and a poor first impression. Not what the sleek new building’s occupants were aiming for at all.
How software for visitor management makes it happen
When you invite somebody onto your premises, pre-planning enables you to offer a great personalised experience that gives visitors the highest possible opinion of your company.
When you send your invitation, the email requests detailed information that helps you tailor the welcome you offer, ensure initial security, and send a map to help your guest find the building easily. In the welcome email we also suggest adding the “What3words” location finder to get the guest smoothly to exactly the right point.
The questions cover important basics, such as disabled access and parking, but can be highly detailed – for example, you can ask if a person needs a disabled parking space or electric car charging point, and discover if they have dietary requirements or even have a favourite type of coffee.
On their arrival, the map directs them to the entrance of the car park, and the barrier opens automatically because it recognises their car number plate, and directs them straight to a free parking space that suits their requirements.
Entering the building by scanning the pass that has been emailed, the visitor no longer has to sign a paper visitor log – a security risk because of poor handwriting – but signs in digitally using a tablet or kiosk.
The person they are visiting is notified automatically, and good signage welcomes the visitor to a waiting area where their needs (already identified from your questionnaire) are comfortably met.
It’s an effective way to make sure invitees move swiftly and efficiently around your building, accessing the necessary people and meetings, or finding their way swiftly to the location of the contractor work they need to do. Removing obstacles from the minute they enter the building streamlines workflows and enhances productivity on every visit.
Safety, Security and Risk Mitigation
Protecting/managing them (and you) once they’re in
In this section you’ll learn about:
- Data and auditing
- Compliance
- Health and safety (including logging in and out)
- Fraud
- Security.
Once visitors are allowed onto your premises, it’s your responsibility under Health & Safety legislation to keep them safe. It’s also vital to protect your employees and the security of your business – imagine if an unauthorised intruder got in and damaged your servers, for instance.
Software for visitor management captures data that ensures that you have a full picture of who’s on site in real time, which – as our next tragic real life story shows – can genuinely be a matter of life or death.
A key feature is our live roll call which improve safety and accountability, enhances emergency response, ensures compliance with health and safety regulations, and streamlines incident reporting through real-time tracking and accurate personnel data.
Real-life stories: the workers who died because no-one knew they were there
When a young contractor working at a food production factory in the South East of England suffered an electric shock, no-one knew he was still on site. His concerned wife got in touch late in the evening to say he hadn’t come home, but by the time he was found, he had unfortunately died.
In another sad incident, a man working outside the tenth floor of a university building fell and broke his wrist and leg. It was not known that he had not left the building, and he died during an exceptionally cold night.
Both incidents were of course devastating for the men’s families, but they also had repercussions for the organisations, involving extensive investigations by Health and Safety, costing hundreds of thousands of pounds and claims by the contractors and their families. In the first case, a director was interviewed under caution with a view to prosecution.
These cases illustrate the risks of not having the right technology to keep track of who is on site. But the next stories show the benefits of having comprehensive data and a good audit trail made available by visitor management technology.
Real-life stories: catching the fraudsters
When a multi-national construction machinery corporation suspected a senior buyer of committing fraud, the digital visitor management technology helped them catch the culprits.
The fraudster had been inviting suppliers into his offices, doing backhanded deals with them for materials using the company’s money, then selling the goods on the black market – a lucrative crime.
What he didn’t realise was that the software for visitor management had taken and stored images of all his visitors. Investigators used the data to untangle who was involved – and that was the end of his private enterprise.
In a further case, an air freight company suspected a fraud had happened between two dates. They asked their supplier of access management technology for a profile of people who had been into the building in that time and had access to the equipment, looking for any patterns that might help in detecting those responsible.
Managing people on site, and particularly contractors, is crucial to promote efficiency, control workflow and prevent waste and overspending. The following stories show how visitor management technology contributes hugely to creating and maintaining seamless operations.
Real-life story: capturing the moonlighter
A huge multi-national became concerned that certain jobs weren’t being done to the standard they expected at one site; the contractor always seemed rushed.
Using contractor management technology, they analysed visits by this company and one particular engineer over a certain period, and compared the amount of time spent on site to invoices and work achieved.
They discovered that he was logging in at the site, being seen, saying he was going to his van and logging out. Then he was going to another site, moonlighting on another job, and coming back to claim he’d been there a full day; this single case of fraud amounted to overcharging of around £5,000.
Real-life story: managing a historic site
A leading university college needed a more efficient and compliant way to manage contractor access to its historic site than time-consuming manual methods.
With ongoing works and a busy lodge to oversee, the college looked for a solution that would streamline contractor check-ins while meeting strict health and safety standards.
The deployment of the right visitor management technology means staff can now process contractor arrivals quickly and confidently. Contractors follow consistent, job-specific protocols every time, and all interactions are securely logged and auditable.
How visitor management technology makes it happen
Traditional contractor management methods such as manual logbooks are prone to errors, inefficiencies and limited oversight. Modern visitor management solutions centralise data and can ensure that contractors are not only authorised to be on site, but are fully compliant with all regulations.
Tracking the whereabouts of all visitors in real time ensures safety, health and security, and operational efficiency for your organisation and everyone who uses your premises.
Integrated Access Control—the key to both experience and security
Keeping them out
In this section you’ll discover:
- Access control and excluding those without permission
- Multi-tenant building management in a holistic manner
Not all visitors are invited or welcome. But while visitor management technology is not a security system – you still need to lock doors – it helps hugely in keeping the wrong ones out.
Real-life story: catching Premier League stadium gate-crashers
Security and Operations at a state-of-the-art Premier League football stadium manage thousands of workers arriving on-site simultaneously on match days, applying different access control rules to non-match-days, and linking in real-time to third party databases.
On a few occasions, gatecrashers had previously been found on site. But that all stopped once a digital access control system was deployed. In one instance, police were called in when a member of staff reported a pass had been stolen. Using the access control system, they discovered which turnstile the thief had used just seconds before, and that person was caught within two minutes of getting into the stadium.
Real-life story: keeping out potential trouble
At a time when fracking was making headlines and prompting protests, a northern local authority was concerned that access to its premises was not well-controlled. Feeling vulnerable to potential invaders, it commissioned a control system that allows free movement of approved people but restricts movement for those who are not approved.
How visitor management technology makes it happen
Whether you have a single office, a stadium or multi-site premises, security should always be a priority. Access management technology contributes to your security fence by ensuring that those with a real reason to be on site have the correct documentation and access tools, right across your estate.
It captures necessary data on identity and requirements before contractors and visitors arrive, and issues digital passes that make it hard for intruders to bypass turnstiles and locked doors.
The Takeaways
As my real-life case studies show, old-school visitor and access management is no longer fit for purpose – and in worst cases can even lead to injury, death and huge legal and reputational damage to your business.
It’s clear that technology that captures real-life data on who is accessing your premises, where they are and how long they are there provides levels of security, health and safety, and compliance never seen before in the world of facilities management.
To paraphrase the movie title, it’s vital for your organisation to Let the Right Ones In, and treat them as the honoured guests they really are.
By pampering them with the help of digital technology such as our leading Semieta solutions (Watch video), you not only get the chance to make a superb first impression, but also to protect your business from unwelcome and possibly malicious intruders.
Removing obstacles improves workflow, while tracking guests protects them – and your organisation – from costly health and safety breaches; it’s a necessity that is moral, legal and commercially vital.
So, my advice, earned from years of experience in the field, is this: it’s time to take some tips from the hospitality playbook, and deploy the right visitor and access management technology.
It’s by far the best way to make access to your premises personalised, super-efficient and safe – and respect that invisible VIP sign around every visitor’s neck.
Ivor Saunders is the CEO of Semieta, a leading provider of innovative visitor and access management solutions. A risk management expert, he has hands-on experience in software development, IT and entrepreneurial leadership, and is committed to helping organisations implement robust, cost-effective systems that evolve with their needs.
