Co-working is a hot trend all over the world, but it can be difficult to keep track of everyone in your co-working space without an office visitor management system.
What is co-working?
Co-working – sometimes called hot desking – is a popular method of working where independent workers gather in an office space.
Co-working offices tend to attract independent contractors, freelancers and entrepreneurs. Usually workers will not be employed by the same company.
Why co-work?
For freelancers and entrepreneurs a co-working office can be a great alternative to finding their own dedicated space or working from home.
Co-working office create a space in which people can easily collaborate with others who share their values. It also offers a solution to the isolation that some freelancers experience working from home.
The issue with co-working
Visitors come and go all the time in most co-working spaces, and it can be difficult to keep track of them all. It’s almost impossible to predict exactly who will be visiting your office, and when they’ll arrive. This can cause a significant headache when it comes to managing visitors.
That’s why you need a great visitor management system in place!
So, we’ve put together a list of tips on managing visitors in your co-working office:
1. Evaluate privacy needs
Identifying and meeting the privacy needs of the people working in your office is vital. Regardless of the type of co-working office you run, you must ensure your visitor’s privacy won’t be at stake.
This applies in particular to the reception area of your office, a common area of weakness in terms of privacy and data protection.
If your reception uses traditional paper visitor sign-in sheets that are left out in the open you could be exposing your private visitor data to significant risk. Physical visitor records can easily be stolen or copied.
This is especially important in light of imminent GDPR regulation. Ensuring your office complies with privacy regulations has never been more important.
If you would like to read more about GDPR and see if your co-working office complies with it we’ve created a detailed GDPR guide as part of our road to compliance whitepaper.
2. Minimise interruptions
Finding your way around a busy co-working space can be a nightmare if there isn’t a wayfinding solution in place. New visitors may find themselves interrupting other people working to ask where their desk is.
Thankfully, VisiPoint has a solution!
The system can alert reception staff as soon as someone signs up for a desk. They can then be shown to their desk without interrupting anyone else’s work.
3. Prepare more effectively
The people working in a co-working office can change on a daily basis.
This means predicting the number of people who will visit your co-working space every day is problematic.
That is, unless you have a system for pre-registering visitors. A visitor management system allows visitors to check availability and register for a desk before they arrive.
This guarantees them a desk and gives receptionists a better idea of visitor numbers. This allows reception staff to more accurately plan their day.
4. Stay tidy and organised
A common problem with a traditional reception system is the number of sign-in sheets that have to be physically stored.
A reception area may also require several visitor books, which can look messy and set a bad first impression. You can solve this by investing in an office visitor management system. This will allow you to consolidate all your previous visitor records and sign in books into a single system.
if you want a better way to manage visitors in your co-working office, Get in touch to arrange a consultation with our experts at Visipoint.