Over the last year, offices have faced new challenges surrounding health and safety. ALICE Receptionist is uniquely positioned to help with the variety of scenarios as these needs continue to evolve. With its flexible feature set, the ALICE directory can be customized in its utilization at any time to meet your team’s needs.
Our team is happy to discuss how ALICE can best fit your changing office environment and challenges. The system’s configurations can also be backed up, allowing your team to quickly revert back to the previous configuration once you’ve returned back to normal operations.
Below are some examples of how ALICE can meet some of the most common scenarios offices are facing.
Note: System Configurations can be backed up, so former configurations can be restored once your office policies have normalized.
Our office is open, but has limited staff. How does ALICE adapt to the changing on-site staff members?
- Administrative staff can use the ALICE Portal’s Membership feature to easily add or remove employees from the Directory without deleting their data.
- A one touch call button can be configured to dial a group of employees to help make sure visitors
can reach a staff member. Whoever answers will then be connected to the visitor. - If a visitor can complete a task without needing to speak to a team member, you can display instructions on the ALICE system in a video, image or custom message format. Such as:
- Delivery Instructions
- Application Submission Procedures
- Maps to different locations in the building
Our office is not currently accepting visitors. How can ALICE provide a professional, personal and informative experience for those who attempt to visit?
A greeting video of our “Jackie” avatar can be configured on the system to inform visitors that the office is not open.
The new AI Avatars feature can be used to create a customized message to inform visitors of your office’s current status. Additional costs apply. Contact your ALICE sales representative for more details.
Two-way video call support allows your visitors to have a personal face-to-face conversation with your team remotely.
Additional information can be provided on the system using informational videos, images and messages to keep visitors informed or direct them to alternative resources – such as:
- Your website to review and submit information.
- Instructions on how to reach another office that is accepting visitors.
- Information on your team’s re-opening plans.
Our office is open, or we’re planning to re-open our office. How can ALICE help protect our staff?
The visitor check-in process can help filter out potential high-risk visitors through:
- Required pre-screening safety videos or signed agreements of the office’s COVID policies.
- Temperature Scanning – Prevents Users from logging in if their temperature level is elevated.
- Mask Detection – Prevents users from checking in if a mask is not detected on their face.
- Temperature Scanning – Prevents Users from logging in if their temperature level is elevated. This feature requires an additional hardware purchase. Contact your ALICE sales representative for more details.
Additional Frequently Asked Questions.
How do we reduce the chance of surface transmission with ALICE’s touch screen?
- A disposable stylus dispenser can be purchased to allow users to interact with the ALICE Directory without touching the screen. Contact your ALICE sales representative for more details.
- Operator Mode can be enabled so motion detection triggers will place a call to an employee or group of employees in charge of handling communications with visitors.
- A simple hand sanitizer station can be placed alongside the unit.
How can ALICE help us if a visitor or staff member tests positive for COVID?
- When using the visitor check-in feature, ALICE can keep records about your guests that can be reviewed at a later time. This information can include:
- Visitor Name
- Contact Number
- Contact E-mail
- Visitor’s Host
- Custom Fields for Office-Specific Needs
How can ALICE help us if a visitor or staff member tests positive for COVID?
When using the visitor check-in feature, ALICE can keep records about your guests that can be reviewed at a later time. This information can include:
- Visitor Name
- Contact Number
- Contact E-mail
- Visitor’s Host
- Custom Fields for Office-Specific Needs
The ALICE system is a flexible solution for your visitor management needs. If you have any specific challenges, feel free to contact us to further explore how you can improve your office’s health and safety.
2020 was the year that taught the world how to be physically separated.
From contactless delivery to remote learning, everyone re-learned how to interact with each other when forced to be apart.
Many businesses found their operations models upended. With employees sent home and limited office contact, they had to react quickly. As 2021 arrives, the promise of a COVID-19 vaccine means that there may be some gradual “normalcy.” However, many businesses may find that the changes they were forced to adapt will be permanent.
Businesses need to rethink their lobby management in a post-COVID world. Visitor sign in, greetings, directories, and more don’t need to be handled by a person waiting at a desk. Instead, businesses can turn to a virtual receptionist for their lobby needs and find that they can better manage their visitors.
Virtual Receptionist Benefits
There are many efficiencies to be gained in a more virtual experience. As it turns out, businesses could still find ways to connect with their customers without sacrificing the customer experience.
A virtual receptionist like the ALICE receptionist can detect visitors and greet them with a friendly, pre-recorded message. The visitor can use intuitive touch controls. Then, if the visitor needs further assistance, the virtual receptionist can connect the person with a team member.
Having a virtual receptionist benefits companies in several ways, including:
More flexibility. No need to pay someone to sit in a lobby and “fill time.” You can have employees work on other tasks, anywhere.
More availability – With pre-recorded messages and touchscreen service capabilities, you can have a virtual receptionist available when a human is not.
Stress-Free – You don’t have to worry that visitors will need to wait or find desk coverage in the lobby if your receptionist has to step away.
Coverage from anywhere – When your visitors need to connect with a live receptionist on a call, the designated staff can be reached directly. Your employee can also manage multiple buildings or locations as a virtual receptionist.
Reduced physical interaction – With uncertainty around future health protocols, you can keep your visitors and employees safer by one less point of contact.
How a Virtual Receptionist Can Manage Your Lobby
Lobby needs vary from business to business. Some companies need to verify the identity of visitors. Others need to connect the visitor to an employee for assistance upon arrival.
Whatever the business use cases, a virtual receptionist can handle the same functions that an employee in the lobby can accomplish. More importantly, you can provide a more streamlined experience for your visitors.
Visitor Detection and Greeting
By a motion-activated system, your virtual receptionist can detect when visitors have arrived. You can use a pre-recorded greeting to guide visitors to the next steps on a touch screen.
If your visitors need to connect with a company employee, the virtual receptionist can call the employee. The employee does not need to be physically present in the building, and calls can be both audio and video.
Visitor Sign In and Screening
When visitors arrive, they can use a self-check-in process with a virtual receptionist. This can be from a pre-scheduled list of visitors or for visitors that do not have an appointment.
Virtual receptionists can handle visitor verification. Scanned driver’s licenses can be checked. If needed, photos of the visitors can be captured and included in a visitor badge.
Reporting can help your organization review guest activity. You will have a log of all guests and the information collected.
Employee Directory and Notification
If a visitor has arrived to meet with an employee, the employee can be notified via text message or email. This allows the employee to maximize productivity while working on other tasks until the visitor checks in.
Visitors that do not have scheduled appointments can use an employee directory to call employees. Employees can receive both video and audio calls and talk with the visitor. You will not need to worry that you will miss impromptu visitors because a receptionist is not sitting at a desk in your lobby.
In some business models where most visitors are meeting directly with employees, employee notification can replace the need to have an employee dedicated to reception. Instead, your visitors would connect directly with the employees upon arrival.
Provide Visitors with Information
Your virtual receptionist can provide information to visitors outside of employee directories. Help visitors find what they need with maps, calendar events, and web pages. You can engage with visitors by including web pages, photo slide shows, and videos.
Using a touchscreen, visitors can find the information that they need and learn more about your company through the information you provide.
Greet Visitors from Anywhere
Your employees are not bound to the building to use a virtual receptionist. Communication can occur via desk phones, mobile phones, soft-phones, or Skype. If your employees are at home or on the road, they can still answer calls from visitors.
In looking into the future of work, the idea of an “office” will be more fluid. Many companies will offer more flexibility to their employees in where and how they work. A virtual receptionist allows you to maintain your lobby interaction with your visitors without placing too many employees’ restrictions.
Transforming Lobby Management with a Virtual Receptionist
Business models will continue to be examined for a post-COVID world. Many people have become accustomed to self-sufficiency, from visitor sign in to contactless interaction. Many of these changes are going to be the “new normal” in terms of customer experience.
Your business should prepare to meet such expectations. The ALICE Virtual Receptionist is a comprehensive visitor management solution designed to meet any business lobby needs. Schedule a trial to learn more about ALICE today.