Managing visitors during the holidays is tough due to higher traffic, seasonal staff, time constraints, remote work, and distractions.
The combination of increased traffic, seasonal staffing, time constraints, remote work challenges, and holiday distractions makes visitor management especially challenging during the festive season. Implementing robust visitor management systems and procedures can help businesses navigate these challenges and maintain security and efficiency throughout the holidays.
Executive Summary –
- Plan for visitor management is essential during holidays when staff levels drop due to time off.
- Despite fewer onsite employees, workplaces see more visitors and deliveries during holidays.
- A visitor management system automates guest and delivery check-ins, freeing up staff for vital tasks.
- Visitor management tools facilitate two-way communication, reducing human error and security risks during holiday visits.
Steps for Amazing Visitor Management Any Time of the Year
Have a Plan–
View holiday visitors as an opportunity for increased sales and networking. Retail sales in the US reached $886 billion in 2021, offering a chance for businesses to enhance productivity. With many employees opting for holiday time off, effective visitor management planning is crucial to handle the influx smoothly.
Use Visitor Management Software-
Utilize digital visitor management software for efficient handling during the busy holiday season. These systems are customizable to your brand and reception requirements, acting as virtual receptionists. They save time and resources compared to traditional training and outsourcing, managing all visitors seamlessly.
Great Guest Communication-
Visitor management systems are crucial for making a positive first impression and maintaining communication with visitors, whether you’re on-site or working remotely. As the holidays bring more visitors, keeping track of and communicating with them becomes challenging, highlighting the importance of reliable visitor management software.
Why is a Visitor Management System Essential During the Holidays?
Visitor management involves plans, processes, and procedures for welcoming and tracking visitors in an organization. While receptionists traditionally handle these tasks, errors can occur, especially during busy times like the holidays. Visitor management systems provide efficient receptionist tools year-round, ensuring accurate visitor tracking regardless of the season.
Other benefits of implementing an effective visitor management system all year round include:
Freeing Human Resources-
Traditional visitor management, like employing multiple receptionists with rotating shifts, is costly and time-consuming. The average receptionist salary is around $37,000 annually. However, investing in a self-service visitor management system reduces costs and enhances efficiency. Yet, this doesn’t impact the projected demand for receptionists in the future.
Employees Can Work Remotely-
Whether there is another pandemic or circumstance that will require hybrid working schedules, effective visitor management software runs 24/7. This will allow businesses to operate normally even with fewer people on-site at any time of the day, and any day of the week.
Third-Party Software Integrations-
Many companies rely on software for their operations and communications, and most visitor management software options are built with third-party software integrations. With this technology, you can link communications software, like Slack, Teams, and Google Chat, directory services software, for example, on-premise Active Directory or Azure AD, Google Workspace, Rippling, essensys, and others, and more to your visitor management software to flesh out operations.
Conclusion
Visitor Management Tools are Essential During the Holidays and All-Year-Round:
During holidays, when lots of people work from home, managing visitors becomes harder for managers. But using tools like visitor management software can really help. Even in a hybrid workplace with few people onsite, these tools can handle lots of visitors. Also, they make the workplace safer, give a good impression of the company, and keep track of who comes in and out.
Rahman, CTO of visitdesk.io, drives technological advancements and strategic vision. With a focus on cutting-edge solutions, Rahman spearheads the development team at visitdesk.io, shaping the future of visitor management technology.
