Put simply, visitor management is any process that an organization uses to keep track of who enters and exits their property. Until now, manual visitor registration methods such as visitor badges and physical logs were the only options for office buildings. However, the increased use of technology in the commercial real estate (CRE) industry has paved the way for more sophisticated visitor management software solutions.
Visitor Management Solutions: Then and Now
Before the widespread adoption of technology in CRE, a visitor’s journey started in the reception area. They would manually sign in at a front desk staffed by a security guard or receptionist. They would then need to sign additional legal documents depending on their visit, or even wait a few minutes for their host to receive them.
Today, the rise of workplace technologies has introduced more secure, efficient ways to manage and track building guests. Complex visitor management systems cater to high levels of security and emphasize occupant health and safety in ways that weren’t attainable before. For instance, modern systems leverage visitor sign-in apps to achieve some level of automation.
The capabilities of today’s visitor management software are not limited to office entry. As The Receptionist highlights, they can also maintain a cloud based visitor log, take photos of visitors to help identify them, and capture signatures for NDAs and legal documents. Visitor management systems can even send SMS, email, and Slack notifications when visitors arrive, as well as accept food and document drop-offs to ensure a truly touchless sign-in experience. When reflecting upon the visitor management processes of the past, the current-day visitor experience is all about convenient, connected experiences.
Seamless Visitor Experiences Differentiate Your Assets
Imagine being able to enter a building without touching a single surface. You can simply approach the visitor kiosk, automatically sign in, and be notified of where you need to go. There is no need to dig through your pockets for identification, because it’s already digitally logged and recorded ahead of time. Better yet, this can all be accomplished in real time through an easy-to-use app accessible through your smartphone.
This is the modern experience that office workers are looking for. Thus, aiming for a frictionless office visitor experience like the one described above is one of the key ways landlords can harness visitor management software to attract and retain key tenants.
In 2018, 48% of surveyed working professionals reported having a bad experience in a corporate lobby. These types of touchless technologies — like commercial access control and visitor management solutions — not only provide comfort in the wake of a major health crisis, but also leave a lasting impression. Tenants want visitor experiences to be as safe, painless, and efficient as possible.
These experiences can also collect data that is valuable to office owners and operators. While adhering to security and compliance guidelines, occupancy and visitor data can be combined with tenant engagement data to figure out how often tenants visit certain spaces or reserve specific building resources.
Each room that an end-user requests access to serves as another valuable data point to help paint a bigger picture. The more data points an office has, the more you can learn about the needs of your tenants — and the more quickly you can execute on strategies to meet those needs.
Intuitive Solutions to Meet Tenants Where They are
A well-structured tenant experience platform can take all of these important building entry moments and fuel them through a single, easy-to-use phone application.
For years, HqO has been integrating with the world’s leading visitor management systems — such as Openpath, Proxy, HID, Envoy, and Building Engines — to merge the best aspects of our operating system with deep, rich integrations. Each of these integrations are mini apps, meaning they provide a truly frictionless office experience because property teams and tenants never need to leave our app to use them.
Since we work with all well-known systems, our platform can integrate with a building’s existing systems and scale across entire portfolios to ensure that every experience feels the same. This ease-of-use and activation is the future of tenant experience.
To learn more about how you can create a frictionless visitor management experience for your office, sign up for a free consultation today. We’d be happy to show you the possibilities.
