6 Benefits of Ridding Paper From Your Visitor Registration Process

Paper is recyclable.

But did you know that there is a limit to the number of times it can be recycled?

Industry standards put that at 5-7 times, with each successive recycling process shortening the cellulose fibres until they lose their integrity.

As is obvious, there is a limit to human intervention. And most of us agree that the environment shouldn’t bear the brunt of this. Thankfully, human invention has found ways to rid us of the overuse of paper.

In the business world, paper usage is falling as workflows, data collection, and accounting undergo digital transformation. And that isn’t even the best part about the anti-paper agenda of the new-age workplace. The digitalization of visitor registration and management processes have now freed up organizations in a host of ways.

In this post, we discover 6 advantages that a paperless visitor registration process lends to business organizations the world over.

1. Your Employees Don’t Have to Handle the Visitor Process

Companies vary in their approach to receiving their guests. Some companies have dedicated frontdesk personnel, while other companies put the responsibility on the employees nearest to the doors, or the ones meeting with the visitor.

1. In a paper-based process, this can leave them temporarily occupied by a visitor—especially if it is a client—for as much as 25 minutes.
2. The visitor’s details will have to be written down in a ledger by the security guard or the receptionist.
3. Then, the guard will have to communicate with the department that the visitor is concerned with.
4. The host from that department will take about 5-10 minutes to prepare and move outside to welcome the visitor.

However, with a paperless visitor management system, your host employees will only have to send a QR code to the visitor, and will be notified of their arrival once it is scanned at the front desk. This allows the front desk managers more valuable time to spend on their own organizational tasks.

2. Security Increases With Paperless Modes

Ensuring that visitors are conforming to the appropriate locations and time slots is harder than it looks. And it certainly is not operable within a paper-based visitor registration system.

But, with a paperless visitor management system, you can digitally record and access the in-times and out-times of people who have entered. This helps managers understand who is on the premises at all times—which reduces aimless wandering.

The entering people can also be categorized appropriately into employees, customers, contractors, delivery people, and the like. Imagine a workplace without these digital simplifications—unverified people could enter, leaving your property vulnerable to mischief, destruction, and burglary.

With a visitor management system, you can send a QR code to the visitor even before they enter the premises. And you can email/message them instructions on where to go (for example, a doorside kiosk) and how to get verified for entry with that QR code. Furthermore, these visitor management systems can also deploy soft passes for certain visitors to fine-tune security.

3. Respects Your Visitors’ Time 

The paper-based, check-in process can often exert an unreasonable pressure on your visitors’ time. Queues build up, reception areas get full, receptionists are caught up in the chain of communication with HR, and someone is invariably tapping their foot impatiently on the lobby’s tiles.

This can leave a negative impression on the visitors, which is not something you want. 

The chain of events in the paper-based visitor process—from turning up at the front desk with an ID, to entering your information in a ledger, to having the receptionist verify your appointment with your host inside the office, to final entry—may take 5-10 minutes.

But a paperless protocol can cut this all down to a minute, even relaying information to the visitor about the designated meeting room inside the office.

4. Establishes Data Privacy for Visitors

Whenever you fill in your details into a paper ledger at the front desk, you can’t help but notice the names of the people who came in before you. Even without any agenda on your part, you can involuntarily learn their phone number, place of residence, or purpose of visit.

This isn’t an ideal situation in a world where troublemakers and identity thieves are always lurking around the corner. Visitors are rightfully protective about their personal data. With a paperless visitor management system, your visitors will be given a private means to enter data into a form. There is no loose exchange of vital information with other parties.

And, after the data is entered into the system, given that it is compliant with data privacy regulations and laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), your visitors can rest assured that it won’t fall into the wrong hands.

5. Save Expenses All Around

Going paperless saves expenses in several departments.

There are so many small purchases that can add up over the course of a year, from printer paper to ink to pens and clipboards.

A paperless visitor registration system, in addition to lowering supply costs, can eliminate the need for a human receptionist. This one change alone can save you thousands of rupees per month.

6. Earn a Snappy First Impression

A paperless office is a model of innovation.

Visitors will be impressed by your use of technology when they enter your office and are greeted by a QR-code-scanning kiosk—it is clever, convenient, and time-saving.

With the increased need for health regulation around offices, a visitor management system can even deploy health screening questionnaires to people returning to the office, impressing a strong sense of corporate social responsibility. 

A paperless visitor management system will enhance your customer experience by a palpable distance. It’s one of the best things you can do for your business and your visitors—a win-win situation for everyone involved, from manager to employee.

Find out more about our visitor management system by browsing through our website and products. VAMS Global makes sure you can customize your own visitor management solution for your type of office. We try to fit the pieces within your special infrastructure.