Visitor Management: A Definitive Guide for Hybrid Workplaces

Hybrid work is growing, and visitor management is evolving with it. Companies now face a wider variety of visitors, including clients, vendors, and remote employees. These needs create challenges: maintaining strict security, meeting compliance, and managing a smooth check-in process. Your visitor management system (VMS) must streamline all these and more while ensuring your team members aren’t stretched thin.

The check-in process may be a visitor’s first impression of your company. Picture this: every guest enters, welcomed by a streamlined, secure check-in system. There is no confusion, no delays—just a smooth, efficient experience from the moment they enter the door.

This article will delve into the challenges you face every day. You'll gain an understanding of how digital visitor management systems resolve challenges and the options you have. 

By the end of this article, you'll see how a robust visitor management solution can boost your office's efficiency and security. It will ensure that every guest, expected or not, is easily managed.

How hybrid work is shaping visitor management

Your organization must rethink visitor management as challenges grow more complex, especially in hybrid work. You need an efficient and secure VMS. This leads us to the changing dynamics of hybrid work and how it influences visitor management.

Your employees need quick, secure access to resources like desk bookings, meeting rooms, and sign-in capabilities. A modern visitor management system simplifies these processes, ensuring a seamless experience for everyone—from contractors to remote employees.

Visitor management systems integrate with directories and send notifications when visitors arrive. By connecting with workplace technologies such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Calendar, these systems ensure a consistent, efficient, and secure process for every visitor.

Your remote workers can book desks in advance and check in using a touchless kiosk. Contractors and vendors will be pre-approved and monitored in real time. This simplicity ensures everyone has access to the areas necessary for their tasks.

While this seamless process sounds ideal, it’s not just about convenience. Adopting a visitor management system has tangible benefits, particularly in today's evolving workspaces.

Key benefits of a visitor management system

With hybrid work models rising, visitor management systems are vital to ensuring workplace security and efficiency. The global visitor management system market was worth about $1.63 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow by 13.4% between 2024 and 2030. Rising security concerns and a need for better visitor tracking fuel this rise.

Here are the key benefits of implementing a VMS:

• Enhanced security: Real-time analytics and pre-approval processes ensure you can track visitors without hassle. Contactless check-in kiosks reduce security risks by minimizing physical contact.
• Compliance with regulations: In sectors like BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance), strict regulations, such as GDPR, require the secure handling of visitor information. Modern systems use encrypted storage and custom reports to meet privacy rules.

• Improved visitor experience: Visitor management software simplifies visitor check-ins using QR codes and kiosks. These codes let guests quickly access meeting details or Wi-Fi credentials, creating a smooth experience that leaves a lasting positive impression.

• Scalability and flexibility: Research shows that over 60% of companies use cloud-based visitor management systems, favoring them for their scalability and adaptability. This flexibility is especially advantageous for businesses with varying visitor volumes.

• Data-driven insights: Advanced systems offer detailed analytics on visitor registration, peak visit times, and security incidents. These insights assist your business in optimizing its operations and improving resource allocation.

• Sustainability: You can automate processes and use digital visitor logs and visitor badges to reduce admin work and support eco-friendly initiatives. This could mean automating the sign-in process and eliminating paper sign-in sheets.

How to choose the right visitor management system

Several important factors must be considered when choosing the right visitor management system for your business. To assist you in making the best choice, here’s a checklist of key elements to remember.

Security features

Strong security measures should be a key focus for any visitor management system. Look for features like real-time tracking of visitor movements throughout your facility, immediate alerts for suspicious activities, and seamless integration with existing security protocols. These tools ensure you can track where visitors go and quickly identify any unauthorized access. This improves workplace safety and provides peace of mind, knowing your facility is protected without requiring additional staff or resources for constant monitoring.

Scalability

As your business expands, your visitor management system should evolve alongside it. Without scalability, you could face interruptions like extended check-in times or manual errors when managing visitors across multiple locations. Whether you have one office or many, the system must adjust to handle the increased visitor activity, ensuring consistent efficiency at every site.

Integration capabilities

Integrating seamlessly with other workplace tools is essential, particularly in a hybrid work setting. Your visitor management system needs to connect with access control systems like Brivo and Verkada to let employees check in seamlessly. These integrations ensure a smooth workflow without the hassle of managing multiple platforms.

Compliance and data security

Managing visitor data comes with critical responsibilities, such as ensuring data privacy, securing personal information, and adhering to legal regulations like GDPR. Failure to meet these obligations can result in severe consequences, including fines, legal liabilities, and reputational damage to your business.

To avoid these risks, your chosen system must ensure that sensitive information is encrypted and protected. Custom reporting features such as automated audit trails, visitor logbooks, and real-time data exports are crucial for maintaining compliance with regulations like GDPR. These features allow you to generate detailed reports on visitor sign-ins. By automating this process, companies can ensure compliance without requiring time-consuming manual data entry or record-keeping.

Ease of use

A complex or disorganized system can hinder operations. Opt for a user-friendly solution with an intuitive interface, making it easy for your employees and visitors. The process should be straightforward, with no assistance from a receptionist necessary, just quick, touchless check-ins.

Customization

Every business has unique brand and operational needs. Your visitor management system should be customizable to align with your company's brand identity. Look for solutions that allow you to tailor workflows and approval processes and even incorporate your company’s logos and color schemes. 

This customization ensures that the system fits seamlessly into your established processes and enhances your brand image in the eyes of your visitors.

Cost-effectiveness

It's not only about seeking the lowest price—it's about maximizing the value of your investment. Look for a platform that delivers all the necessary tools, including real-time visitor tracking, seamless integrations, and touchless check-in/check-out, at an affordable rate. 

By streamlining your visitor management system, you avoid overpaying for inefficient processes and ensure you’re not breaking the bank on unnecessary admin tasks. This allows you to manage visitors effectively while staying within budget, freeing up resources to focus on core business priorities without overspending.

Support and maintenance

Choose a platform with reliable customer support and frequent software updates to ensure your system runs smoothly. Dependable support ensures that any issues are resolved quickly, minimizing downtime and avoiding disruptions to your operations.

Regular updates improve system performance and provide essential security patches and new features, ensuring your visitor management system stays ahead of emerging threats and evolving business needs. This long-term reliability helps maintain operational efficiency and protects your investment.

Key features of Gable's visitor management system

Now that we've seen the benefits of visitor management systems let's look at the features that set Gable's system apart in modern, hybrid workplaces.

This system offers various features, including enhanced security, customizable flexibility, and efficiency in the visitor management process. 

Seamless integration with hybrid work models

Gable’s visitor management system works seamlessly with our office management companies. It lets companies manage employee desk and meeting room reservations alongside visitor experiences—all in one platform. It’s a perfect choice for companies with hybrid/remote employees and visitors on-site. 

Touchless check-ins and QR codes

Touchless check-ins have gained priority, especially in a post-pandemic world where reducing physical contact is crucial for maintaining health and safety. With heightened hygiene awareness, businesses are prioritizing solutions that reduce the spread of germs and create a safer environment for employees and visitors. Touchless systems enhance safety and streamline check-in, offering a more efficient and seamless experience.

 Gable’s visitor management system uses QR codes to facilitate efficient and secure check-ins.

Put yourself in the shoes of a client just arriving for a meeting. Instead of waiting at the front desk, they would use your VMS pre-registration and scan a QR code on their phone to check in. They would receive instant access to their meeting room details and head straight in.

Real-time tracking and alerts

Gable's system can issue instant notifications if someone accesses unauthorized areas or violates visitor policies. For example, If a contractor accidentally enters a restricted area, your security team is notified and can take swift action to prevent potential issues before they escalate. 

It uses a central dashboard to monitor visitors at multiple locations. This tracking lets you respond to security breaches in real time. It minimizes risk and keeps your workplace safe without added stress.

Customization and scalability

Gable grows with you. Whether you have one office or ten, the system adapts effortlessly. More visitors? No problem. Gable can handle it. This flexibility means you won't outgrow the system as your business scales. 

Has your office ever hosted a high-profile event or a conference meeting with dozens of visitors arriving simultaneously? Instead of long lines at the reception area, the system lets you seamlessly welcome visitors with smooth check-ins, easy badge printing, and even NDA signing and questionnaires.

You can manage all of this through one centralized system.

Data-analytics and reporting

This platform goes beyond managing visitors; it provides your business with essential insights that drive smarter decisions for office space utilization. For instance, if data shows peak visitor times in the afternoon, you can adjust staffing and room availability to handle the load.

After several months of use, you pull up a report showing your office's busiest times. Based on this data, you adjust your staffing schedules and room bookings. The result? Visitors' experience improves, and waiting time is reduced.

Comparison of pricing and features

Pricing and features are crucial when evaluating visitor management systems. Platforms like Eptura start at $200 per location, while iLobby follows closely at $199. Envoy offers a slightly lower rate at $109 per location. 

In comparison, Gable provides a competitive package starting at $150 per location, making it an attractive option for businesses in hybrid work environments.

All four platforms provide vital features such as touchless check-ins and real-time tracking. Gable stands out as the most cost-effective choice without compromising on essential functionalities. 

Envoy, Eptura, and iLobby have strengths but lack scalability and good workspace management tools. For example, Envoy has limited workspace management features. This can be a significant disadvantage for companies overseeing hybrid teams or operations across multiple sites.

If you're in charge of several locations, Gable enables you to monitor visitors, manage check-ins, and oversee your workspace effectively. Compared to Envoy, you can save nearly 50% on the same features. Gable's robust features and cost-effective pricing make it ideal for hybrid businesses. It will improve visitor management without overspending.

Take control of your workplace with the right visitor management system

Visitor management has become more than an essential task—it now involves handling increased risks and challenges. A robust visitor management system simplifies this complexity, making your workplace more secure and efficient without adding extra burden. 

An effective visitor management system bolsters security measures and streamlines operations. By improving compliance and enhancing data insights and integrations, you will experience a seamless and efficient workflow.

Transform how you manage visitors with Gable’s all-in-one hybrid workplace solution. Schedule a demo today to see how Gable can enhance your organization's security, compliance, and visitor experience.

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