As a business, making the wrong first impression can be costly. You could deter potential customers and establish a poor reputation. This most often comes into play when visitors enter your facility for the first time.

Many companies outsource to virtual receptionists to ensure first impressions go as smoothly as possible. Not everybody understands how to take advantage of this business technology, though. So, what is a virtual receptionist?

We’ve written a brief guide with the key details you need to know. Let’s explore what to keep in mind.

What Is a Virtual Receptionist?

As the name implies, a virtual receptionist can help you accommodate many of your front-office tasks. You can achieve this through automation, remote work, or a combination of both. To clarify, some companies outsource to remote employees to handle front-office tasks like scheduling meetings and taking calls.

It’s not uncommon for people to use virtual receptionists alongside in-house staff. Regardless of how you integrate a virtual receptionist, it’s sure to streamline your company’s responsibilities.

The Benefits

There are numerous benefits to be aware of when integrating virtual receptionist options. Leveraging these can help you run your company more efficiently and provide a better customer experience. Listed below are some of those notable.

Free Up Internal Resources

Automating key tasks allows you to free up internal resources and focus on other responsibilities. This is especially useful for small businesses that don’t have a ton of manpower to work with.

By extension, this can increase your company’s productivity. It can also prevent your employees from having to handle responsibilities outside of their roles.

For instance, let’s assume you run a small business with a team of five employees. You don’t have the budget to hire a front-office worker, so your team members take turns managing these obligations.

This will likely distract them from their primary tasks and decrease their overall happiness in the workplace. Using a visitor management solution will ensure everyone stays on track and reaches their full potential.

There’s also something to be said about the improvement in employee morale. If employees have to work outside of their roles for too long, they might begin looking for other jobs.

Improved Customer Experience

The faster you can handle front office tasks, the better experience you’ll provide. Visitor management software can help you manage these obligations faster than you otherwise would. You can schedule meetings, transfer calls, and answer questions with ease while minimizing interruptions in your customer service.

After-Hours Support

Consider the last time you needed support from a company outside of business hours. If you weren’t able to obtain it, it was likely a frustrating experience.

You may also have had trouble resolving your issue promptly. It’s become fairly commonplace for businesses to offer after-hours support.

If your company doesn’t follow suit, there’s a good chance your customers will choose another business that can accommodate their needs. Using a virtual receptionist is a cost-effective way to offer the support your customers need.

Professional Appearance

One of the most important benefits of using visitor management software options is establishing a professional appearance. Many companies incorporate this technology, and it’s become part of presenting a modern image. When people see that you’re willing to invest in contemporary technology, they’ll inherently trust your company more.

This conveys that you care about providing the best possible experience to your customers. In contrast, imagine if a single, inexperienced employee handled your front-office work. Visitors would likely leave and choose competitors instead.

Improved Security

Unauthorized personnel are safety concerns in many situations. Virtual receptionist software can help identify visitors and allow them to check in before providing access to your facility.

Depending on the provider you choose, you could potentially scan driver’s licenses and provide visitor badges. After granting access, your system can establish a log of everyone who enters the facility. If problems arise in the future, you can reference this list.

Virtual Receptionist Cost

The price you pay for virtual receptionist software will fluctuate depending on a variety of factors. For example, the number of features you need plays a large role in its overall cost. The same can be said about the provider you choose, as brands with high notoriety are typically more expensive.

The number of locations you integrate the software into can substantially raise your budget. For instance, companies that have 50 locations will pay significantly more than a business that has only five.

It’s worth noting that you often get what you pay for when choosing visitor management software. Avoid options on the lower end of the spectrum, as these often come with complications.

This doesn’t mean you need to buy the most expensive solution, though. Somewhere in the middle of the price range can likely meet your requirements.

Finding a Provider

When looking for a virtual receptionist provider, it’s crucial to check their reputation. This will provide valuable insight into what you can expect. See what other people have to say about attributes like accessibility, ease of use, and ongoing support.

Never work with a provider that’s not easy to get in touch with. If issues arise, dealing with problems on your own can be difficult or even impossible.

Ask if they often work with businesses like yours. Some solutions are meant for companies of certain sizes. You’ll want to avoid choosing a provider who can’t handle your needs.

It’s recommended to make a brief list of potential options and narrow down your decision from there. As long as you do your due diligence, you’ll be able to find suitable software.

Get Started ASAP

Leveraging this type of business technology is a great opportunity for many companies. Keep the above answer to “What is a virtual receptionist” in mind so you can make the most of the tools you encounter.

ALICE Receptionist helps you detect, greet, and connect with visitors at your facility. This allows your company to provide a much better customer experience while accommodating their needs. You can learn more about the benefits we provide by getting in touch with us today.

According to the Visitor Management Report, 94% of respondents said that visitor management software increased the operational efficiency of their business in 2019.

Not only does it improve efficiency, but it also helps to give a good first impression to your visitors. However, this only works if you choose the best visitor management system.

Keep reading for five tips that will help you choose the best lobby management system.

What Is a Visitor Management System?

A visitor management system is often a tool or software that will help you manage who is in your building. You can have guests check in and out. This helps your staff and visitors, but it also protects your business from unauthorized visitors.

A visitor management system can also manage where your visitors can go in the building. You’ll be able to manage the flow of people in the building, and you can also optimize and improve their experience as well.

You’ll also have records of who visited your office and can review historical data as well. You can collect important information about your visitors in case you need anything, and you could even have pictures of your visitors on their profile to make it easier to identify them.

Some systems will allow guests to check in on their own through a kiosk, but some will only let employees manage this.

1. Identify Your Specific Needs

Before you start shopping for visitor management software, identify what your business’s needs are. If you don’t choose software that aligns with those needs, you’ll end up wasting resources and could actually create more inefficiencies.

First, you should identify how many people will be visiting your office and how often. Think about what information you’ll want to collect from those people.

If you have extra security protocols, you also want software that can accommodate that. For example, some software can connect to your security cameras to provide real-time tracking of your visitors.

2. Figure Out Who Will Be Using It

Are you going to allow your visitors to sign in and manage it on their own, or are you going to require an employee to check people in? Are both people going to be using it?

Think about all of the possibilities for who might use this tool because this will help you determine what features you need it to have. Some of them offer different packages to manage all types of visitors, and some of them have limited capabilities.

If you’re going to have visitors use it, you also want to ensure that it comes with a kiosk and a user-friendly interface.

3. Find Something User Friendly

Speaking of user-friendly, it’s best to find software that looks clean and is easy to navigate. This’ll make your staff’s job easier, but it’ll also leave a good impression on your visitors. If your visitors are frustrated with the system, you’ll be setting a bad impression for the rest of the visit.

Try to find a solution that comes with clear instructions and an interface that anyone could figure out how to use.

4. Ensure It’s Compliant

Data security should also be high on the list of priorities you consider while looking for the right solution. You need to ensure that the software is secure since you’ll be collecting important data and information from visitors.

You should check your area’s local legislation. For example, if you’re in the EU, you’ll have to follow GDPR regulations. You may also want to consider what data you’re going to be collecting from visitors if you don’t have a secure solution.

You’ll also have to consider how long you’re going to store the data and if it’ll be stored locally or in a cloud. Regardless, your solution needs to be secure so that it can’t be hacked and expose all your visitors’ important information. For example, the data should be encrypted in the system.

Consult with your compliance and IT teams as well to ensure that they’re on board with the software. They’ll be the ones who manage the backend of it, so you need to ensure it has an infrastructure that they can run.

5. Read the Reviews

Lastly, you can always read reviews of the company and its products before purchasing them. You can talk with a sales rep for the company and think the product looks amazing, but then once you put it into practice, you could have all kinds of issues with it.

This situation could be avoided if you do a little external research. You can look for reviews and testimonials on trusted sites like G2, or you could even check Reddit or Google Reviews.

You may find one or two bad reviews, but you shouldn’t be concerned unless there is a pattern or trend of bad reviews and issues. However, a well-working management solution should have plenty of positive reviews. Some companies may even offer their own client testimonials.

Alice Receptionist is one company that has plenty of positive reviews, but they also have case studies on their website to prove that their system works for other businesses. You can check them out here.

Find the Best Visitor Management System Today

If you’re looking for the best visitor management system, look no further.

Our visitor management system has all the features you need, like employee notifications, face mask verification, check-in and out capabilities, group check-ins, induction documents and videos, and temperature checks.

If you’re still not convinced, you can try it for a trial period! Sign up for your trial today.

According to some Salesforce research, 86% of employees believe that bad communication is one of the main causes of all workplace failures.

However, there are ways to minimize this lapse in communication, especially in a manufacturing business.

Keep reading to learn how a business communication solution can help improve your company’s communication and benefit your business overall.

What Is a Business Communication Solution?

A business communication solution is important in any business, but even more so for manufacturing. This solution is typically technology that will help make your communication more efficient.

You’re likely using a communication system already, but using new technology can help automate and streamline it all.

Why Is This Solution Important?

When working in manufacturing, having good business communication with remote clients and teams is even more important. While you likely have some people working at desks, they’ll need to communicate with everyone who’s not always at their desk. This communication ultimately helps the business run.

Your internal communication is important to running your business, but there are many challenges that break down communication. If this is happening, getting a manufacturing business solution can help.

Once you have this type of solution, you’ll be able to have all these employees communicate seamlessly with each other:

•    Secretaries
•    Engineers
•    Technicians
•    Supervisors
•    Inspectors
•    Technical experts
•    Managers
•    Logistic agents
•    Salespeople

All of them will need to communicate with each other to convey important business information, but it might be harder to reach an engineer or a salesperson who is out on the job.

Some businesses will rely on managers for their business communications, but this can be a faulty system if you have bad managers or the managers are too busy to relay important information.

Secretaries and office workers will also need to be able to communicate with clients and customers to maintain these relationships. Without a good system to communicate, it’ll be harder to gain more customers and boost profits.

How to Implement Good Business Communication

One of the first steps you’ll need to take is to give your employees the tools and technology they need to have good communication skills. Take some time to ensure all employees know how to effectively communicate with or use any of the communication tools that you provide.

If you don’t have time to train all of your current employees, at least incorporate this training for your new employees during their onboarding. Effective communication is even more important during the training phase, so make sure that everyone makes this a priority.

Lastly, you want to ensure that people regularly have team meetings. This is a good chance to go over where communication is breaking down, give everyone a chance to catch up on what they missed, and allow people to ask questions about the new communication solutions.

Benefits of These Solutions

There are many benefits of using these types of communications, especially if you have remote teams. These benefits make it worth investing in this type of solution to keep your business running smoothly.

Use What You Have

With the right technology solution, you’ll be able to use the screens of computers, tablets, and phones that you already have. You won’t have to invest in any new devices or collateral, like signs and posters.

You can always search for a solution that is compatible with the devices and technology you currently have.

Communicate Lockdowns

When working in manufacturing, there could be times when the environment becomes hazardous or dangerous. If this happens, you need to notify all employees immediately.

With the right solution, you can send notifications to mobile phones or screens that everyone will see instead of relying on people telling each other. You can even request that employees acknowledge that they saw the notification on their phones so you can keep all your employees safe.

Even if there isn’t something dangerous in your warehouse or factory, there could still be other environmental factors that are dangerous. For example, if there is a large storm, active shooter, fire, or any other dangerous hazard, you can quickly let all of your employees know.

You can notify them of the emergency in seconds, which improves their reaction time and raises the chance that all of your employees will be able to get themselves to safety.

Provide Great Customer Service

One of the most important aspects of running your business is providing great customer service so that your customers keep coming back.

This solution helps by providing you with all the important information you need to know about a client to provide them with a personalized experience. Some solutions will also give you easier channels to communicate with customers, such as a live chat system.

How to Find the Right Solution

Finding the right solution for your business might be challenging because your business is unique, and some solutions are not one-size-fits-all.

There are some factors you may want to take into consideration when deciding which provider to go with:

•    Size of your company
•    Security and Compliance
•    Reliability
•    Cost-effectiveness
•    Scalability
•    Customer support
•    Current technology
•    Where communication breaks down
•    Type of company (finding a provider that specializes in manufacturing can help)

Before you sign up for any of the providers, ask if you can see a demo of their solution. Take some time to ensure that this will be the right fit for your company.

Find a Business Communication Solution Today

These are some of the benefits of using a business communication solution for your manufacturing business, but you’ll only enjoy these benefits if you choose the right provider.

Thankfully, we’re here to help, so you don’t have to spend a lot of time searching for the right one.

Contact us today to learn about how our solutions can improve your business communication!

Studies show that around two-thirds of U.S. adults believe the most important thing a company can do is value their time. With this in mind, the last thing you want is people waiting around your reception or lobby area for someone to resolve their issue. So, how can you speed up your visitor management process to make the whole thing much more respectful?

Below, we evaluate several different lobby management systems you can put in place to make the experience faster. As you check each one out, think about what a system would be like if they were all in the same package and ready to use.

Streamline Your Check-Ins and Check-Outs

One of the easiest wins you can find is by increasing the speed at which people check in and out of your lobby. Instead of asking people to sign in with a physical journal or getting a person to sign them in, you could instead use check-in software. This allows them to perform this action without the need to take time or use other people.

By using a simple UI panel, you could ask for people’s names and organizations, who they want to contact, and whether they have appointments. These can then be passed to a receptionist who will handle the individual or to the person expecting the appointment. If the survey reveals information about the person that flags them as unwelcome, security staff can then escort them off of the premises.

In some cases, if a person is pre-vetted or approved, the system can then print them off a badge to allow them entry to the building. While the system prints this badge, high-quality software can even offer the visitor induction documents, such as an NDA, to speed up entry.

Scan and Screen

Asking a human to check each person who enters the building for both their ID and whether they are COVID-safe, if necessary, can be tedious. It can eat into the valuable time of both the visitor and the employee checking their identity.

Instead, by using lobby management software, you can perform specific checks as you need them without involving others.

For example, a high-quality system can start by scanning someone’s ID, such as a driver’s license. This can then provide all the information someone needs to know if a visitor is who they say they are without needing manual checks.

In such a situation, you can even then compare the ID’d individual with a screening list. If you do not want the person to enter, the system will deny them entry; otherwise, they will receive permission to enter.

After this, if your building is COVID-safe, you can perform extra checks without the need for extra people. For example, an automated lobby management system could scan for if people are wearing facemasks and do not have a raised temperature. It can also ask for verification from the visitor as to whether they feel safe to enter.

This can sometimes mean the difference between fast and effective safety for your employees and whole teams going home ill.

Ensure You Can Pre-Schedule Visitors

If you know someone who might visit, a high-quality lobby management system should be able to register such visitors ahead of time. It can then offer them a QR code with which to scan in, removing the need for any printing of visitor cards or asking for any checks at the entrance. The person can receive this QR code via email or any other form of digital communication.

Any visitor can also then receive all the information they need upon visit via email. This might include the COVID safety steps as above or might include unique safety precautions for specific days.

If you still wish to use a visitor badge and not only a QR code, you can ask for a photo via email. This will allow the person to submit a picture ahead of time, meaning you can have their badge ready when they turn up instead of asking them to wait.

Visitor registration does not only need to be related to individuals, either. If you want to check in a larger group, you can do so with similar QR codes. This way, only one person needs the code, and you can process the whole group in one go.

If you do not wish to use QR codes, you do have other options. These might include unique passcodes for visitor codes or scanning drivers’ licenses instead.

Automated Employee Notifications

It is not only the visitor that needs a good system to speed up their visitor processing. Your lobby management software also needs to inform your employees of when they have a visitor, they must chaperone.

When people check in, you could use a piece of software that notifies your employees by any number of online systems. A simple option is via email, though if you have the employee’s mobile number or a Slack integration, you could choose to use these instead. This helps the employee stay on top of who might be there and want to talk to them.

If you want to go the extra mile, you could even integrate an employee directory with your check-in system. To avoid the need for a worker to come down to reception, you could instead allow people to make a video call directly to the employee. A lot of the time, this will resolve any issues without needing people to even leave their desks.

The Perfect Visitor Management System

The above systems will all make your customers’ experience the smoothest it can be. The best thing is, though, that these visitor management features all exist in a single piece of software. So, if you want to use them, what are you waiting for?

Our lobby management software can help you give visitors an experience where they feel appreciated. They can breeze from the entrance to where they need to be in seconds without much more than a simple automated sign-in. With that in mind, give us a call and find out what we can do for your lobby today.

When at all possible, it’s important that you make your company a well-oiled machine. Few things hamper your company, like inefficiency and wasted time.

According to studies, about 89% of employees admit to wasting time. While people waste time with office chit-chat, social media, and other distractions, built-in flaws in your company can also lead to time waste.

An ineffective system for getting visitors in and out is one of the main ways that companies waste time. Investing in the right visitor check-in software can help you.

Here are some features that you should look for when you need visitor check-in software that can help make your company more productive and streamlined.

Photo Capture for Your Visitors

Any visitor management software needs to have photo capture. Capturing and logging visuals of your visitors lets you put a face with a name. This helps you get acquainted with strangers, helps you remember them, and builds a stronger rapport.

Being able to photo-capture your visitors is crucial no matter what industry you’re in. For instance, a manufacturing company might match this feature with reminders to confirm things like parking location, estimated time of arrival (ETA), and other features. The photos can be easily routed via Slack, e-mail, and other forms of communication so that everyone on your team is on the same page.

A Solid Pre-Booking Setup

When you run a front desk or visitor kiosk, having a pre-booking setup is crucial. This way, your guests can carve out a slot of time that works best for them. You are more likely to avoid scheduling conflicts and can be more diligent over everyone’s time.

Pre-booking is great both for the guest and your team. Internally, your team will be able to carve out meeting room space without double booking. Everyone in the building will have a stronger grasp on their schedules each week. Pre-booking will help make your meetings more productive and effective as a whole.

Printable Badges for Visitors

Even when embracing technology, few things are as valuable as a good old-fashioned visitor’s pass. It lets you identify a person’s name, the business of their visit, and who they’re checking in to see.

Including printable badges with your visitor sign-in system lets you customize it however you’d like. You can include things like an interviewee’s alma mater, a visitor’s fun fact, or color and code systems. Many visitor management systems will let you print badges on the spot.

A Logbook Archive

In addition to effectively welcoming visitors, you’ll need to also keep detailed archives. With today’s software, you can keep a cloud-based log book that you can reference whenever you need to.

Having a logbook this extensive lets you scroll through any date to find out when someone was in your office. When you’re diligent about checking in every visitor, this logbook can help you keep your company more secure.

For instance, if you’ve experienced a theft, break-in, or other incident, you can always go back and consult your logbook to get an exact count of who and how many people were in your office at any given time of the day. This logbook, when combined with a sophisticated lobby management system, will let you provide better records and access control.

E-Signing Systems That Are Seamless

Bringing visitors in often requires some forms to be signed. In addition to standard visitor registration sign-in sheets, you may also need guests to sign documents like non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), employment contracts, legal documents, and other forms.

The ability to e-sign documents helps you get people in and out. They won’t need to worry about finding a pen or finding a surface to bear down onto. Digital signing lets you immediately archive your documents and prevents you from wasting paper. This is an eco-friendly measure that lowers your company’s carbon footprint. Companies today are pushing for sustainability, so e-signing systems are a quality addition.

Touchless Features When Possible

In a post-COVID world, you need to remain mindful of sanitary options. The best way to do this is by incorporating touchless features whenever possible. This reduces the amount of cleaning you have to do and limits the spread of germs and bacteria.

Your visitors will be able to check in with things like voice commands, QR codes, badge scanning, smartphone tapping, and other measures. Many of these systems will also allow you to scan people’s foreheads to take their temperatures before they can enter your building.

Instant Host Notifications

This feature also lets you give people a heads-up whenever a host’s guest has arrived. For instance, an interviewer can get an immediate alert via Slack, text, e-mail, or other means. This gives them the chance to shift gears, prepare, or contact the visitor personally.

Hosts can also customize these notifications in whichever way makes sense to them.

Cost and Easy Upgrades

Finally, always make sure that your software platform is cost-effective and easily upgradeable. Shop around for a price that suits you and compare it with competitors. Any visitor management software that you choose should have extensive upgrades that make it perform better.

You’ll be able to beta test and adopt new features as they come about. The upgrades will also work out bugs and kinks.

Invest in a Visitor Check-In Software

Having access to quality visitor check-in software revolutionizes the way that you do business. You’ll appreciate having these features in your software regardless of how many visitors you welcome each day, week, and year.

ALICE Receptionist is a leading, award-winning platform that can revolutionize your business. You can contact us for more information on pricing and the types of services that we offer. Use our website or call us at (702)284-7377 to speak to an expert.

40% of visitors to any company report having a bad experience and end up blaming this on their first impressions in the lobby. No matter whether you work for a manufacturing company or any other business, this can have a major impact on how external clients engage with you. It is important that you create a streamlined and simple method of checking people into the site while maintaining security.

This article will give you some tips on how to use an electronic system to ensure people feel like their visit was well handled. As you read the post, consider how such a system could improve visitors’ experiences of your business site in the future.

Automated Pre-Visit Reminders

If you expect people to visit, it is always good to send them a small reminder of their appointment. Not only can this act as a way to help people remember to turn up, but they can also use this as proof of an invite.

Such reminders will often come in the form of an email and can contain information such as:

• Your office location
• Parking details
• Room details for meetings
• Emergency phone numbers
• Expected fire drills

It is even possible to automate this process using visitor management software to ensure everyone gets the same message. By doing this in a way that is consistent, you can track metrics related to visitor comfort and improve the process over time.

Greet Visitors

The last thing you want is for a potential client to walk in the front door, look around for a bit, feel flustered, and then walk out again. When they enter, they need to engage with a welcoming sight straight away. This can even be something as simple as an automated system that tells them to sign in.

As such, if you opt to not have a physical person at the entrance, it can be a good idea to recognize people via an electronic process when they arrive. For those who are not scheduled visitors, you can also have displays that welcome them and sign them in on an ad-hoc basis.

On top of this, having someone’s name appear when they sign in can help people feel engaged with their visit. It will cause people to consider themselves welcomed personally. If you want to go into more detail than that, our system goes above and beyond with a full range of check-in processes available.

Get Visitors to Check In

You must ensure potential clients stay as safe as everyone else. They need to check in or otherwise have their presence recorded in case of emergencies. You can either make this your responsibility or theirs.

Company Responsibility

One option is to personally greet people entering the premises. This can take time away from your employees, though.

We would recommend you only do this in special cases. For example, if you need to verify proof of their identity for security reasons.

Having an employee free to divert to visitors can also be useful in the case of unannounced visits by emergency services or to sign for packages. Though, these are few and far between, and you can handle the vast majority of situations on-screen.

Visitor Responsibility

Despite a first impression being very important, there are times you cannot afford a full-time employee to handle visitors. Instead, you need to allow people to manage themselves.

The simplest version of this can happen during sign-up and tells people where they might want to go after signing in. On the more comprehensive end of the spectrum, though, you can use an automated visitor management system. 

Such a system can introduce visitors to the building in detail and tell people where to direct themselves. This then removes the need to distract employees from other work.

Physical Sign-In vs. Electronic

When designing a visitor lobby, you have a choice. You can either allow people to sign in to a physical log or do it with an electronic system.

Using a physical system might be easier for people to understand, but is harder to look through in the case of a mishap. Electronic systems allow for easily-searchable records, and once people get used to them can be a lot faster.

However you sign people in, bear in mind, you should get the following information:

• The visitor’s full name
• The body the visitor represents
• Why the person is visiting
• Who handles their visit (the “host”)

Regardless of which one you choose, though, this is a very important security step. Manufacturing companies have strict secrecy precedents in place that should be adhered to. So, if information or stock gets loose, you have a record to see who has entered the building.

Signing Out

Not only do people have to sign in with such systems, but you should also ensure they sign out. In the case of an emergency evacuation of the building, such as during a fire, this allows you to know who is in the building.

Let the Hosting Individual Know

Part of the sign-in process needs to be letting the host know about their visitor’s arrival. This ensures there is a handover of responsibility from any greeter to the host. There are a few ways to do this, and these are the most common.

Phone

If you cannot simply walk over or yell for someone to take responsibility for a visitor, such as in an open office, you can phone the host instead. This allows them to come and meet them, and any reception staff can know the host has received their visitor.

Automated Notifications

Another option is to ping the host via email or direct message. Alongside some sort of “read” status or one-click confirmation, you can know the host is aware of the presence of the visitor. You can then inform them that they can wait or ask them to come back as necessary.

Upgrade Your Manufacturing Company

With these tips, you can likely start to design a smoother experience for anyone visiting your manufacturing company. You might even be in the market for an electronic solution to help you handle all this with minimal hassle. Lucky for you, we have such a solution.

Alice Receptionist can handle your full visitor management process. It acts as a receptionist, visitor manager, and much more. So, give us a call, and we can discuss everything we have to offer as well as how it can help you.

One of the earliest examples of artificial intelligence was created in 1951. AI has blossomed since then, and it has become a part of our everyday lives. AI comes in the form of many different software options and programs.

A common example of this is visitor management software. Visitor management technology is advanced enough to eliminate the need for a human receptionist. It is also more efficient and helpful than its human counterparts.

But what do you need to consider when choosing visitor management systems for your organizations? Keep reading more below to find out how you can make the right decision.

Is It Easy to Use?

Usability is a big part of what you need to consider when choosing visitor management solutions. Visitor management software should not be overly complicated to use. A complicated piece of software will do more harm than good.

You might need the software to start working right away. But there might be a mound of settings and functions you need to go through to make sure it works properly. It might be hard to access the system, or you might not understand what the software wants you to do.

This is not something you want to deal with when you’re trying to run an organization. A piece of software that is too hard to use is a waste of time. It will also produce unnecessary stress.

It is better to choose a visitor management software option that is very easy to use. Many software options are being designed to be as simple as possible. They might have a few buttons to get the software up and running.

This simplifies the entire process and ensures that you don’t get stuck on figuring out how to run the software.

Automated Functions

Because most of these systems run on AI, many of their functions are automated. There will be no need to do any of the heavy lifting yourself.

The software can instead do everything for you. This makes it easy to keep visitors organized and in check as they come in. The software can document how many visitors there are, when they arrived when they left, and so on.

This allows you to focus on other important aspects of your organization. You can occasionally check in with the software to make sure it’s doing what it’s supposed to do. The software also makes it easy to review past and current data.

Check the Online Customer Reviews

Customer reviews can tell you a lot about the quality and usability of a piece of software. Suppose you find a visitor management system that looks promising. It might seem that it has everything that you need.

But you may find that this product has mostly negative reviews when you look closer. The customers who bought the system may complain that it was far too complicated to use. Others might complain that the system didn’t do everything they were hoping it would do.

Others might be upset that the software was too expensive, too slow, and so on. You should never waste your money on a product that has mostly negative reviews. You will likely become another unhappy customer if you do so.

The Power of Positive Reviews

It is better to save your money until you find a product with mostly positive reviews. Positive reviewers might enthuse over how easy the software is to use. They might love that the software does almost everything for them and saves them time.

If hundreds or thousands of people love how a piece of software works, it will likely be a good choice for you. Avoid software options that have few to no reviews. These options might not be very attractive to most organizations, or they might not be professional.

It is best to opt for options that have more than a handful of reviews. This will allow you to see what many different people are saying about the product. This also makes it easier for you to narrow down your options.

Once you have a list of high-quality choices, you can narrow those down even further.

The Cost

It is important to make sure that the option you choose fits within your budget. Going out of your budget will likely make you regret your choice. There are many different options for visitor management systems, and all of them come at different prices.

Those with more numerous and advanced features will cost more. Those that are very basic will be more affordable, but they may not have what you need for your organization. This is why it is important to balance the quality of the system with the cost.

Choosing based on the cost alone is always a bad option. This is because the quality and capabilities of the software are more important than the cost. But if you consider all these factors at once, it will be easier to narrow your options.

It will also be easier to choose the best option for your organization’s needs.

Choosing Visitor Management Software

Visitor management software is a great thing to have if you are tired of having a traditional receptionist. This software can do everything a receptionist can do and more. It also works 24/7 without the need for a break.

But you need to consider various factors when choosing such software. Consider the reviews, the cost, and the usability before you make your choice. To learn more about it, check out our options.