Teem
August 20th, 2021

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As return plans kick off, the office once again is taking on its role as a hub for collaboration, unity, and company culture. Going from nearly two years of separation to being able to connect with one another face to face is exciting, to say the least.

But for some employees and visitors, the transition might also feel a little stressful. That’s why employers are relying on return-to-office tech to accompany workers and guests along their journey back into the office.

Visitors will start returning to your workplace soon. How will you welcome them back?

If you’re still managing visitor registration like you did before the pandemic, it’s time to adapt your approach to meet shifting work preferences and new needs. Your employees and visitors deserve a better visitor registration system.

What is visitor registration?

Visitor registration is the process of keeping a log of all office guests. In the modern workplace, the goal is to make a great impression on guests and increase the security in the workplace.

Why is visitor registration important?

By ensuring a seamless sign-in process, guests can get straight to the point of their visit rather than deal with a slow check in or having to sit around and wait in a crowded lobby.

And the best visitor registration solutions help organizations verify that the people coming into their building are supposed to be there, and they make sure anyone who isn’t allowed to enter doesn’t.

What is visitor registration software?

Visitor registration software takes your visitor registration to the next level by helping automate tasks, streamline processes, and keeping guests and hosts informed and up to date while protecting the workplace.

Pre-register your guests

With visitor registration software, it’s easy to get all your guests the information they need ahead of their visit. For instance, if you use our visitor registration system LobbyConnect, hosts can pre-register their visitors and provide all the details they’ll need for their visit.

Save time at sign-in

Nothing stands in the way of a decent visit as much as an inefficient or inconvenient check in process.

When people come to your workplace, they’re trusting that you’ll respect their time and not waste it. If you seem unprepared for them when they arrive, have a paper and pen system for signing in, or keep them waiting too long in your front lobby, it can leave a bad taste in people’s mouths. And after just a single bad experience, they probably won’t want to visit your office again.

Increase office security

The best visitor registration software will also boost office security and safety by allowing companies to check all their visitors against a security watchlist to prevent unauthorized entrance.

Privacy and data security

One of the most important parts of visitor registration is making sure that you’re keeping all the information you collect from visitors secure and only available for those with the right permissions.

Personalize the process

From the start, the process is a piece of cake for your visitors. Depending on what type of visitor they are, you can prompt guests to complete certain steps — for instance, asking them to sign contracts or non-disclosure agreements or even prompting them to complete wellness checks prior to entering the office.

With the very best visitor registration systems, the second visit is even better than the first. That’s because once you know your guests, it becomes easier for them to sign in when they return next time.

Automatically print visitor badges

If you hook your visitor management system up to a badge printer, you can also print out visitor IDs with their picture, name, and other details so employees know who they are and where they need to be.

Host notifications

After a guest finishes the check-in process, your visitor registration system can take it from there. Teem’s software, for instance, will automatically send hosts a notification about their visitor’s arrival — that way there’s no delays.

It helps create maximum convenience and efficiency for both your guests and the person they’re coming in to see.

Why you need a visitor registration system in the post-pandemic office

Even though this year is flying by, sometimes the ongoing pandemic makes each day feel like an eternity. So much has happened: Technological advancements. Demands for greater work flexibility. In some cases, people are working longer hours. Zoom fatigue became a hot topic. Burnout took its toll. Plans for returning to the office have started, been put on pause, resumed, stopped, delayed, and abandoned altogether.

Here are some of the ways you can use a visitor registration system in the post-pandemic era after your organization starts returning to the corporate office.

Restore a sense of certainty

Throughout all of the events that have unfolded in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the only thing that’s been consistent is the lingering feeling of uncertainty.

Now, workplace leaders have to figure out how to support a hybrid workforce, and balance new safety measures with the need to adapt for changing employee expectations.

Things get even more complex when you factor in the need to balance new safety measures with the need to deliver a great office experience. And then, there’s contractors, vendors, job candidates, customers, and other workplace visitors to consider.

Visitor management helps workplace leaders re-establish a sense of control in the office by connecting them to the biggest factor influencing the future of their workplace: Their employees.

Support flexible working arrangements

Experts predict a drastic increase in demand for flex work after the pandemic, and the data backs them up. Survey after survey, the data continues to show a rising number of employees want to alternate between office-based and remote working.

And with threats of a “great resignation” looming, employers have to address the demand for flexible work arrangements.

Be prepared for anything

Contact tracing, security protocols, response time when an issue pops up.

With the surge of the delta variant, many companies have put their reopening plans on pause. While some employers are forging ahead with their return to the office, others are delaying plans, extending the length of their current phase of reopening, or even hitting the brakes on things altogether.

As you know, there’s no room for error when it comes to returning to the workplace. Employers need a reliable way to solve real-time issues as they pop up, in addition to forecasting changing needs, such as space and resources, as their in-office attendance fluctuates.

Advanced visitor registration tips for returning to the office

With the right technology in place, juggling all the responsibilities of a safe office return becomes a lot easier.

  1. Make sure you have a workplace visitor policy in place. If you already have one and you haven’t reviewed it since before the pandemic, it’s time to review it and make sure no changes are needed.
  2. Consider whether your organization needs a more comprehensive visitor management system. Is it time to upgrade your existing system or implement a better solution?
  3. Understand what people need to feel safe when they get back to the office. With capacity limits and new safety measures to consider, your workforce wants to know their guests will be safe during their visit.

Learn more

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Teem

Teem by iOFFICE provides enterprises with space scheduling and management, workplace analytics, building, and campus wayfinding, and visitor management to help cultivate workplaces that fuel productivity, efficiency, and creativity.

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