Visitor management systems (VMS) are used to sign in and track visitors who come to visit a facility. They are the electronic version of the traditional visitor sign-in book. There are numerous benefits to having an electronic VMS over a manual visitor sign-in book, such as increased data accuracy, better reporting, faster speed of sign-in, and the ability to add a photo to a visitor badge. One other HUGE benefit that is often overlooked: electronic visitor management systems save money in the long term. Implementing an electronic visitor management system can positively impact your facility’s bottom line in several ways:
#1: Improved operational efficiency
An electronic visitor management system streamlines the check-in process by automating various tasks such as visitor registration, visitor badge printing, and sign-in procedures. This reduces administrative burdens and enables staff to focus on more value-added activities, leading to improved operational efficiency.
If you think interruptions aren’t a problem in your office, ask your receptionist or the person who just sits closest to the front door. Even if that person is interrupted only once a day, it could impact their productivity. Research has shown that it takes about 15 minutes to get back into a task after being interrupted, which means that a once-a-day interruption of even five minutes translates into about 1.5 hours of lost productivity each week. Eliminating visitor interruptions can instantly boost your employees’ quality of work.
#2: Time and cost savings
With an electronic system, visitors can self-register, input their information, and sign necessary documents electronically, reducing the need for manual data entry. This saves time for both visitors and staff, resulting in cost savings associated with labor hours.
#3: Enhanced security and risk management
Visitor management software enhances security by effectively screening and tracking visitors. It can integrate with identification systems, perform background checks, and issue visitor badges or access credentials. By mitigating security risks and potential incidents, your facility avoids costly liabilities and damage to its reputation.
#4: Real-time visibility and reporting
An visitor management system provides real-time visibility into visitor activities, such as who is present in the facility, their purpose of visit, and their duration of stay. This data can be used for reporting and analysis to identify trends, optimize resource allocation, and make informed decisions, ultimately contributing to cost savings and operational improvements.
#5: Electronic documentation of contractors cuts down dishonest billing
When managing a building, many times working with contractors comes with an element of trust. If you don’t have an electronic visitor management system, you essentially trust your contractors to bill you correctly. However, using your visitor management system, you can track exactly when your contractors began and ended work because you know when they arrived and departed. Depending on how many contractors your facility sees, it’s possible to save enough money in the first year of verifying bills to recoup the investment made in the VMS. That’s solid ROI!
#6 Regulatory compliance
Depending on your industry, there may be specific compliance requirements related to visitor management. An electronic system can help ensure compliance by capturing and storing relevant visitor data, facilitating audit trails, and enabling accurate record-keeping. Avoiding compliance violations reduces the risk of penalties or legal consequences that could impact your bottom line.
#7: Visitor experience and satisfaction
A smooth and efficient check-in process creates a positive impression for visitors. It demonstrates your facility’s professionalism, contributing to a better visitor experience. Satisfied visitors are more likely to have positive perceptions of your facility and may potentially become repeat visitors or refer others, benefiting your bottom line through increased business opportunities.
#8: “Go Green” and cut down on the use of paper
Electronic visitor management systems eliminate the need for visitor sign-in sheets and logbooks. The manual system costs money in supplies and also in the time it takes to update and archive them, not to mention searching through past records because of an incident in your building. By going digital, you improve efficiency by eliminating the time it takes to do searches.
While they seem expensive up front, visitor management systems can be a good investment in the security AND efficiency of your operation. By leveraging the capabilities of visitor management software, your facility can realize various benefits that positively impact the bottom line through improved efficiency, reduced costs, enhanced security, compliance adherence, and enhanced visitor experiences.
eVisitor Software can affordably increase your facility security and help you always know who is in your building. eVisitor makes it easy for facilities to log, identify, track, and run reports on visitors. Watch this video to learn more, then request a free demo today!
It’s easy and free to activate this feature. Simply call us and ask for “Red Flag, No Badge” to be turned on. Once it’s on, the above pop-up will come up when a red flagged visitor comes back. No badge will print and the attendant will need to follow the facility’s policy for handling red flagged visitors.