Trends in Visitor Management Systems: What To Look For?

Effective hybrid office demand seamless interactions with visitors and ensured security. And that cannot be done without good visitor management. (For a deep-dive, check out guide on What is Visitor Management?)

As you consider making the upgrade for your visitor management system in 2024, it will be important to stay up-to-date with the trends. 

Discover how modern visitor management software gives you back time, guarantees operational effectiveness, and offers valuable insights for your office management. Here is what to look for in the best choice:

1. Touchless Self-Service Check-In 

Touchless check-in features are crucial in adding efficiency and offering a seamless visitor experience, especially in hybrid contexts that are increasingly dynamic and fluid.

Most visitor management systems adopt self-service methods of checking in to make the process easier (guests can do it themselves), speedier (many visitors can be processed at the same time), and more enjoyable (guests don’t need to pass their personal information). 

Self-service kiosks, available in the form of tablet-based or standalone units, allow visitors, guests, and employees to check in quickly and contactlessly by scanning QR codes from their phone. 

You can accommodate a check-in station that fits your needs, whether it’s a compact tablet on a desk or a large, freestanding unit in a lobby.

As a workspace management tool, this will reduce a lot of the administrative work and automate the entire process of managing visitors to your place. 

A simplified visitor management workflow would look like this: 

1. Visitors pre-register or are registered online in advance.
2. Upon arrival, visitors follow the check-in steps sent to them from the system, using the provided QR code.
3. Once checked in, the visitor automatically gets access to facilities such as Wi-Fi and door access. The hosts will also receive real-time notifications to pick up their guests. 

This saves administrators' time for other tasks and makes it welcome multiple guests at a single instance completely hassle-free. 

From the visitor's point of view, the experience is enhanced in many ways as well: 

• Clear Instructions: Visitors are sent digital invitations that come with all necessary instructions and QR codes for them to check in. This ensures they know exactly what to do and where to go, avoiding anxiety and confusion, and contributing to a positive first impression.
• Easy and Fast Self-Check-In: Quickly check in with either a one-click or single sign-on option. You might do this so efficiently that visitors will appreciate the efficiency and ease of the process. They are in a hurry to go through this process and attend their meetings (clients, partners, etc.) / perform their work (service providers, stakeholders, etc.), not to handle logistics related to entering the building. 
• Less Waiting Time: Simplified and touchless, self-service check-in processes reduce queues and wait times, ensuring the guest arrival experience is more pleasant. 

As you think about upgrading your system, these are some of the features that you should have at the top of your list to ensure a modern, seamless, and professional visitor experience.

2. More Focus on Visitor Experience

As visitor management solutions continue to mature, the focus is increasingly on the visitor experience. Visitor management, when done well, wins people over to the brand and strengthens connections with customers, clients, stakeholders, and even employees.

Modern visitor management system software is, therefore, designed to be very smooth and flexible in creating tailored experiences for different types of visitors.

For example, repeat guests may experience a much more streamlined check-in process with pre-entered details, while first-time visitors will receive a more detailed onboarding.

The first and foremost way to improve visitor experience is to personalize their check-in flows.

Advanced visitor management platforms enable different predefined workflows for various visitor categories. This way, they can get individualized and treated with the right level of attention and care. 

For example, VIP clients might be greeted with personalized messages and expedited entry, whereas contractors undergo a thorough verification process. 

This enhances the visitor experience and also aligns the check-in process with the visitor's purpose and status.

In Action: Let's take an example of a technology company that leverages these features to differentiate the check-in experience for investors, job candidates, and service providers. They can set things up and label visitor types for pre-registrations or even a walk-in. Then, who marked as:

• Investors will receive personalized welcome messages and are quickly escorted to meeting rooms.
• Job candidates will receive a welcome package with company information and directions to the waiting areas.
• Service providers receive pre-approved badges, instructions, and access to their work areas.

The following features that delights guests is giving them necessary access to facilities even before they come to someone at the front desk to ask, such as door open key and WiFi password.

Almost every visitor management system is up to this standard and in an automated manner, allowing you to provide the most convenient experience for your guests.

3. Catering to Hybrid Workplace

Now there are new best practices to adopt for running hybrid work models, redesigning hybrid workplaces, and managing hybrid offices—all for managers to focus their attention on. 

The way we run offices keeps changing, and with that evolution, it shouldn’t add another layer of unnecessary friction to how we accommodate hybrid work schedules and dynamic workforce. 

That explains why visitor management system features are becoming an integral part of workspace management technology. This way, you have a comprehensive, integrated solution to manage more with less the entire hybrid office.

For more context, visitor management systems were likely installed as an add-on to facility control systems—like gate or door control systems with visitor management features.

But in recent years, workspace management technology seems to have taken over, and visitor management is part of their comprehensive suites, which also include hot desking booking and room scheduling features.

That, in turn, helps hybrid office management in more ways than one. 

For example, an integration with the employee directory allows the system to recognize employees once they scan their codes at the check-in station and facilitate their access to necessary resources, such as working zones and meeting rooms, as per their bookings. All happen using the same technology and system!

Hence, the better question for operation and workplace managers to think about is: How do you define and design welcoming procedures for various types of visitors, including remote employees, freelancers, and contractors?

Besides, these systems can easily be combined with the features of room booking and desk booking software to allow better management across the workspace. 

You don't have to deploy and juggle several systems; you are enabled to work through the same interface. This also makes scheduling facilities easier and optimizing resources more feasible with comprehensive usage insights.

4. Enhanced Security Integrations

The ultimate goal of implementing such solutions is to keep your office safe and secure. Visitor management systems are striving to incorporate advanced security integrations that best fit the diverse requirements of modern settings.

The visitor management system you choose should enable easy integration with any pre-installed security control framework and allow for further security installations your organization plans for.

They could be among the following Internet of Things (IoT) devices, depending on the organization’s budget, preferences, and security requirements:

• Entry Systems: These devices support automatic control in locking and unlocking doors from a distance. This initiative is essential for ensuring high security by only allowing authorized persons into restricted areas of a building or premise.
• Cameras and Surveillance Systems: Visitor management systems infused with surveillance systems make real-time monitoring possible, allowing quick response in case of security incidents and constant overviews of visitor activities.
• RFID & NFC Devices: RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and NFC (Near Field Communication) are technologies used in visitor management systems for access control. RFID works over longer distances and is ideal for busy areas but is less secure. NFC operates at very close ranges, often with smartphones, offering better security but limited range. Both are advanced solutions for the next level of visitor authentication and access control.
• Biometric devices: These are fingerprint- or facial recognition-based, bringing an add-on effect in terms of safety. Such systems ensure that access can be given to the right person by observing or identifying its unique features of physical characteristics, hence reducing the possibility of unauthorized entry.

With remote access control ability, you will be able to include variable functionality in terms of access levels for different visitor types and specify which exact entry points are to be unlocked and for how much time that space can remain accessible. 

A higher level of remote access control within your visitor management system will result in:

• Smoother visitor experience: As the access procedure gets automated and streamlined, the visitors go through a much easier check-in process that entails minimal or no wait time, thus enhancing their overall experience.
• Higher security standards: The integration diminishes the potential for credential sharing and other unauthorized access, hence enforcing strict security protocols. 
• Time saved issuing key cards, especially when you want to digitalize the whole system.
• More detailed visitor insights: Visitor activity is monitored right down to precise check-out times for helpful data on security audits, patterns of visitors, and better management of security in its totality.

The smooth integration of such innovative solutions is crucial for those who value a safe and streamlined environment while ensuring that the organization’s security infrastructure meets the highest standards. 

5. Cloud-Based SaaS Solutions as the New Standard 

If you’re thinking about upgrading to a digital visitor management system from paper and pen, there are two main categories to explore: on-premise and cloud-based solutions. Both can offer a modern, streamlined, visitor-impressed experience that caters to your organization’s requirements and the frequent types of visitors you welcome.

Unless you have a specific reason to completely control and store your visitor data on site, cloud-based solutions are now also a standard in the visitor management market.

Leading on-prem players such as HID and Lobbytrack are also following the industry trend. With more and more companies moving in that direction, the arguments in favor of cloud-based visitor management solutions get all the more convincing, making them the preferred choice for hybrid office.

Still, let me list down again some (obvious) reasons why it's way more beneficial to go with cloud-based visitor management systems:

• Cost-effective: Cloud-based visitor management systems usually come with tiered subscription models and no need to purchase and maintain physical hardware or servers. There are wide-ranging pay-as-you-go pricing options for office of all sizes, allowing you to flexibly implement the solution with predictable budgeting without a large upfront investment.
• Ready-to-use approach: All features and functionalities are readily usable so that you can quickly deploy the solution. If there are any feature updates or security patches, you're set to benefit from them automatically.
• Remote accessibility: Everything is on the cloud. You can access information or monitor the process on the go or at your home office.
• Scalability: Implementing such systems across multiple locations is less of a hassle, and it is possible for the setups to scale up or down quickly for the potential traffic of visitors.
• Data safety and recovery: Cloud-based solutions have the least chance of data loss as they are not dependent on local facilities. They provide automated backup options and data recovery services, therefore ensuring that visitor data is safe and secure and will be able to be recovered in case of an incident.‍

Tips: The critical decision factor to consider here is the level of data control your organization requires. This doesn’t mean that cloud-based solutions cannot handling your visitor data well. It’s just important to wisely choose a partner with strong security measures and data management capabilities.

What Else To Look For in a Visitor Management System?

I believe the above section gave you a glimpse into the current standard of visitor management system software for hybrid office. However, it might still be challenging to narrow the choices given too many options available on the market.

Besides must-have features like self-service check-in options, pre-registration, customized workflows, and real-time notifications, here are some more critical considerations for choosing your next visitor management platform:

User-Friendly Interface

A good system for managing visitors should be obvious and accessible to all people involved. 

This will allow employees and security personnel to adopt the systems with a minimum learning curve and training time. A user-friendly interface and well-designed UX are also important to let visitors process their check-in routine easily, even for the first time. 

Integration Capabilities

Consider your existing infrastructure and whether the visitor management system needs to work in sync with it. 

This includes from security equipments as mentioned above to other hybrid office technologies and remote communication tools like Slack, Teams, and calendars. 

Analytics and Reporting

Look for insightful reporting capabilities that allow you to track visitor data, identify trends, and enhance overall management. 

The visitor data to keep track includes time-in and time-out logs, visitor frequency, peak periods, facility usage, and compliance tracking. 

Cost-Effectiveness

What does it mean by cost-effectiveness really depends on what you need and is also impacted by the trend of leveraging workspace management systems as a whole for various functions. 

But assuming that you look for all the minimum standards of highly effective visitor management, including access control (security), WiFi and SSO (visitor convenience), customizable forms and workflows (compliance and efficiency), a feature-rich platform with a straightforward and cost-reasonable pricing plan would be an ideal option.

Scalability

Last but not least, choose a visitor management system that can grow with your organization. 

Whether you have one location or multiple sites worldwide, whether you need to handle unexpected scaling numbers of visitors, the system should be able to scale accordingly quickly. 

>> Explore our comprehensive guide on Best Visitor Management Systems in 2024.

Final Thoughts

As you consider which visitor management system is best for your hybrid office, remember to carefully evaluate the (evolving) needs of your organization and its visitors.

I hope this guide on visitor management system trends helps you understand the current state of the technology and better identify which innovations could be beneficial for your organization, whether it's a cloud-based system or touchless check-in ability.

Here's to (even) better management of hybrid offices where technology and hospitality go hand in hand, making every visit a delightful experience.