Image credit: pexel/Torsten Dettlaff
We hope not.
With the latest technological innovations, a visitor management system should be able to do some pretty cool stunts. Including how to manage visitors and protect your workplace at the same time. Especially, during the COVID pandemic - when you need to open up your office premises to the outside world as well as maintain social and physical distancing.
Normally, an advanced visitor management system should be able to, for example, generate instant visitor gate pass or have an in-built attendance system. But now, considering the changes the world is going through due to COVID, it is important that your VMS is also upgraded to one that is touchless and at the same time efficient and secure.
However, many businesses in India do not use visitor management systems. And even if they do, they involve PCs and on-premise systems along with paper registers. Bigger companies that use touch-based biometric attendance systems will have to shift to one that is contactless.
Let’s go through a quick checklist of how an advanced visitor management software should behave. Starting with the most critical.
1. Do you still use PCs, on-premise, and biometric systems?
It's time to invest in a touchless visitor management system.
They are mobile phone based and are also light on your pockets.
2. What about visitor gate passes or badges?
You shouldn’t be having to use them. At all.
3. Is a visitor management software customizable?
Highly.
A visitor management system should be customizabe as per your need. Look for features that suit your business, operational, and security needs.
4. A smart VMS also authenticates and monitors people, and things. Pretty quick. Does your visitor management software fare equally well?
Seconds. That's the time you should take to fully authenticate a visitor entry - about 10 seconds. And repeat entries - less than 2 seconds.
5. Does your VMS give you real-time access to what’s going on at your premises?
A smart visitor management system will help you access real-time information across multiple gates and locations.
6. What about ease of use? How long should a new guard or receptionist take to learn how to use it?
Just about 10 minutes on an average. That’s one reason we call them smart.
7. What about access control?
A smart VMS not only handles thousands of visitors, but also manages materials, vehicles, and even parking.
It is well integrated with acces control hardware such as doors and elevators, boom barriers, turnstile, flap barriers.
It's a complete solution.
8. What happens to the massive data generated at the entry and exit points?
The smart systems keep the data secure and present them to you in a usable format for informed decision-making and security strategies. Whenever you need to.
9. What about integration with existing systems?
A visitor management software should have integration capabilities with existing software and systems.
10. What about pricing?
It's gotta be pay as you go.
Yup.
