There are many things to consider when it comes to choosing the right visitor management solution, such as cost, customer support, durability, and most importantly – how to deliver the best user experience with its software features and hardware applications.
The right visitor management hardware is key to delivering the best experience that can accommodate different software features and integrations. In this blog, you will learn the importance and the benefits of an integrated visitor management system, the software we recommend integrating with, and the hardware to choose from to maximise efficiency for businesses and boost user experience.
Why are integrations crucial for visitor management systems?
As one of the key ROI visitor management software delivers, integrations are crucial because they lead to higher employee productivity, better data flow, increased data simplification, reduced errors, and more.
Integration is about connection. The more connections available, the more efficient tools become. Open APIs, or application planning interfaces, can be defined as publicly available access to a software application or web service. It allows developers to build access to specific features of a programme and how it interacts with another and how it allows data to be transmitted between systems.
An integrated visitor management system organises, streamlines, and collects important data that facilities managers can use to understand the ways in which the space they manage while offering a great experience for employees and visitors who enter.
5 essential software integrations
The following are 5 key software integrations that we recommend integrating with your visitor management system. They will help to boost your workplace efficiency and experience. We will explain why they are important and how the integrations work.
Access control systems
Integrating office access control is considered to be one of the cornerstones in turning office spaces into safer and smarter offices. While they control the physical entries to the premises, visitor management systems further enhance efficiency by automating the process of verifying visitors and keeping track of the visitors.
Through integrated visitor management systems, managers can enable customisable access levels based on visitor profiles after checking in, while keeping track of who visited, when, and whom they met.
In addition, office security is further enhanced by features such as emergency roll calls, real-time oversight of visitors, digital compliance document sign-in process, visitor pass printing, and creating digital visitor logs.
Room and desk booking
For employees, room and desk booking integration increases the efficiency of space utilisation. Imagine you have scheduled a meeting and booked a meeting room in a separate system, and you forgot to cancel the meeting room booking after your meeting is cancelled. The meeting room is left unused while other employees couldn’t find any availability in during the time slot. Through integration, the room and desk booking system will receive the most up-to-date information about whether the meeting is cancelled or postponed.
For hybrid workers, being able to see the visibility of available space and the areas on the same check-in kiosk makes the workplace easier to use.
Smart lockers
Smart lockers are another great solution for integration to further enhance your reception’s service delivery. After checking in, visitors or employees can directly choose if they need an office locker to store their belongings on the screen – giving users peace of mind as to where they can keep their belongings safe and secure without the hassle of lost keys.
In addition, an integrated visitor management system is a centralised platform that checks visitors in, handles deliveries, and stores visitors’ belongings.
Read more about why having lockers for staff is beneficial
Interactive maps
For visitors or new employees, finding out how to get to the meeting room is challenging sometimes. Interactive maps can clearly show the facilities of the building, and send the route to their phones, so your visitors can navigate the building more easily.
Without visitors getting lost in the building, your meetings can start on time, every time.
Communication apps
Notify the host of guest arrivals ahead of time via your existing communication channel, such as Zoom, Teams, Slack, etc.
Data reporting
Lastly, data report platforms are what we recommend for integrations. Data-driven insights are crucial for businesses to understand how people are using and experiencing their workplace.
integrated visitor management systems collect informative data, such as visitor details, how long they have stayed in the building, and the ratings of their visits. By integrating with other systems that also collect data, organisations can expect a well-rounded view and feedback on users, facilities, and the ways in which these things work together. Being able to combine data sets and exchange data collected from different areas of the business will help support businesses to drive efficiencies as well as to perform calculated risk management.
What’s on Offer for Visitor Management Hardware?
With software quite literally acting as the brain behind the operations– ensuring that processes are easy to manage and run optimally, it is crucial to consider the role that hardware plays in offering visitors a great experience in your office. From the way it looks to ease of use, visitor management hardware is important to get right from the start.
1. Reception Kiosk
Reception kiosks are designed specifically for visitor check-in purposes and usually come with the software as its whole ecosystem package.
From voice activation, and video call receptionists, to touchless technology, they come with full-blown features that position the company as a premium brand that is tech-savvy. Meanwhile, they offer the most flexibility for user interface and kiosk design to suit the company’s branding.
Vgreet is a self-service reception kiosk that is designed to be fully customisable and impress visitors with its innovative technology. It is a centralised platform that connects siloed systems, facilitating booking resources, checking in visitors and employees, handling deliveries, and more.
Click to download the Vodafone case study
2. iPad
With a more familiar interface at a more affordable price, iPads are a popular option as visitor management hardware. Users can directly download the software from the internet into iPads that take up less office space and can be easily moved around the office.
We’ve pointed out that iPads are not built for visitor check-in purposes, hence posing some downsides to the users, such as the lack of customer service support and limitations in software integrations.
3. All-In-One PC
An all-in-one touchscreen desktop PC is another hardware for consideration for smaller space. With a built-in camera, desktop PC offers more flexibility compared to iPads.
Vpod offer all three options for visitor management hardware, please get in touch with the team for more information.
Other Visitor Management Hardware to Complete your solution
Some other types of hardware that you may need on top of your main solution are:
QR Code Scanner
This can be a built-in or a separate device that reads QR codes for visitor check-in. The QR code can also act as a visitor pass and provide access to specific areas.
Visitor Pass Printer
A cheaper and more convenient alternative to the plastic visitor card, which often got lost or was not returned and was more expensive to replace. Printable visitor passes are quick and easy to distribute and can only be granted for a specific period.
Motion Detector
Used to support a more ‘hands-free’ experience for users. A motion detector will recognise when a user has walked up to a kiosk and signal for them to start the check-in process, without having to press any buttons or tap screens.
Camera
Used to photograph your visitors and capture their physical details for their visitor pass or for your system – to have a record of who has been in the building and what they look like in case of emergency.
Temperature Screening Technology
An integrated visitor management system can add this functionality to keep contamination of illness down by scanning human body temperature and identifying those who may be carrying a fever.
Benefits of having the right integrations and visitor management hardware
Own the whole journey
You can control your visitor’s experience from meeting invites to them leaving your building. Owning the whole journey means you can easily manage your meeting room, visitor entry, and building usage all at once.
Outstanding in every area
Integrate with partners that are best in class. Your reception service will scale and stay at the forefront of each respective field.
Bring your visitor’s journey to the next level
Think ahead. Most visitor management starts with one simple task – to improve the all-important first impression. However, an integrated visitor management system can:
- Improve workplace safety strategy that readily communicates that you take employee and visitor safety seriously.
- Express check-in drastically reduces transition times through the reception area
- Flexibly designed into the solution! Customised visitor journeys cater for every enterprise-grade need and can be accommodated with ease.
Summary
By reducing the heavy burden of admin tasks as well as providing access to the entire workplace, an integrated visitor management system can completely transform a workplace through the perfect combination of hardware and software.
Integrations can empower teams to send comms, add security, and approve/ deny requests from anywhere and on any device. Being able to collate, review and measure data – as well as secure encryption allows organisations to meet the compliance standards set in place.
Visitor management hardware is another key area to look at. With reception kiosks offering the best visitor experience and efficiency, iPads and all-in-one PC are more affordable and friendly for smaller office spaces.
Further reading
- The ultimate guide to Visitor Management Systems.
- ROI and beyond: How can visitor management software benefit my bottom line?
