Why your pen and paper visitor management system is hurting your productivity, and what you can do fix that.
So, you’re still using a pen and paper visitor management system. We get it. They’re easy to use, and you’re probably extremely familiar with the process of using it. But what if that visitor book sitting at your reception area was holding your entire business back, as well as leaving you open to potential irretrievable data loss?
So, why is your pen and paper visitor management system holding back your business, and what can you do to boost your productivity? Let’s find out.
Data loss
So, you’re happy with your current paper-based visitor management system. That’s understandable, it’s always worked for you. But what if the worst occurs? A fire or a break-in? What do you do if all of your visitor data is gone and there’s no backup? You have to start from scratch, potentially losing years of visitor information and records.
With a digital visitor management system, your data is safe in the event of an emergency or a break-in. All of your data is stored either on the cloud or on a server, so even if your physical visitor management system is damaged or lost, your data is safely and securely digitally.
Manual data entry
Most administration and reception staff will be familiar with the daily grind of manual data entry. This usually entails handwritten visitor data into a spreadsheet. It’s a laborious task that takes up a lot of time in your day. It doesn’t need to be this way. With a digital visitor sign-in system, visitors enter their data digitally, which is then automatically added to your online dashboard.
This method of data entry also vastly reduces the risk of errors and ambiguity when visitors input their data. With a pen and paper visitor check-in system, visitor data is handwritten. This can often be hard to read, making it more difficult to later type up and increasing the risks of inaccuracies.
With a digital visitor management system, all visitor information is readable, unambiguous, and doesn’t have to be manually entered into your database.
GDPR
GDPR has been one of the hottest topics throughout 2018, and it’s still a point of contention for so many organisations who are still trying to be fully-compliant.
The legislation requires that you ask for consent when storing visitor data. Doing this while using a visitor book is inelegant, at best. If the visitor is being asked for their consent in by another person, they may potentially feel pressured into giving their consent when they didn’t want to. With a digital visitor management system, this pressure is alleviated. You can agree or disagree to consenting to your data being stored by ticking a box during the sign-in process.
If you’d like to read more about GDPR and why a visitor management system is essential to being compliant take a look at our whitepaper: The Ultimate Guide to GDPR and Visitor Management.
Brand image
The image you present to your clients and customer is vital to creating a good first impression, and a paper-based visitor check-in solution detracts from that. Visitors expect a seamless, streamlined sign-in process when they arrive on site, and that’s exactly what a digital visitor check-in system offers.
Not only is a digital visitor management system is a great way to show clients that you’re a forward-thinking business that values security, it also creates better relationships with them which, in turn, enhances your productivity.
We understand the appeal of a pen and paper visitor book, but in today’s security-conscious world it’s a flawed solution. If you’re looking to make the transition to a digital visitor management solution, VisiPoint is ideal. Get in touch with a member of our expert team for a free consultation.
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Still wondering whether to leave the paper book behind? Read our blog on why you should move on from paper-based sign-in systems.
