Let’s set the scene: you’ve just pulled up to the offices of the client you have your morning meeting with. You make your way to the building’s entrance, only to be greeted by an eerily deserted lobby with an unmanned reception and an old tattered guest sign in book.
No instructions, no direction, and more importantly, no idea what to do or where to go next. Unfortunately, this scenario is more common than not. With meetings taking up an average of 17, 470 hours over the course of an employee’s career, it’s no wonder that people are less than impressed with a welcome from an abandoned foyer and a dusty sign-in book. But visitor satisfaction isn’t the only aspect businesses should be worried about when it comes to this scenario.
With GDPR coming into effect as of May 25, if your business still utilises the traditional book and pen, your GDPR compliance stops before anyone can even make it past the lobby.
Having all your visitors’ data sitting at your unmanned front desk for the world to see is no longer an option for businesses. With strict regulations in place regarding what data businesses can obtain and store from customers and for how long, having years’ worth of names, contact details, and guest preferences at your fingertips, is just no longer viable. And what happens if that data sitting on your unmanned reception desk ends up in the wrong hands?
Businesses often take a siloed approach when it comes to visitor data gathering. Those in finance may want bank details, those in IT may want account log-ins, and receptionists may want car registrations. And it all has to be GDPR compliant. So, how can businesses effectively provide a seamless and detailed sign-in process for visitors whilst also being GDPR compliant?
The visitor experience
A guest sign-in book is what most UK employees are welcomed with when visiting a business’ premises. But what about first impressions? And second and third impressions for that matter? How do visitors know where to go once they’ve signed in if you don’t have a receptionist? Do they need a badge to proceed? What if they need to sign your data policy or an NDA prior to progression?
Many of us are guilty of making snap judgements when walking onto a company’s premises, but if your visitor is uneasy the second they step through the door, you’re already starting at a disadvantage, and the real question is – is it worth the risk? You’d never expect not to be directed upon entering a hotel, so why should a visitor to your company expect anything less?
The solution
What many businesses are unaware of, is that both the GDPR and visitor experience aspects can be tackled with innovative technology, and the deployment of electronic visitor management solutions is key. There are now numerous smart solutions to streamline the visitor sign in process with GDPR readiness already built in, so there’s really no excuse for non-compliance.
So, let’s set the scene again. You’ve just pulled up to the offices at which you’re having your morning meeting. You make your way to the building’s entrance, only to be greeted by an eerily deserted lobby with an unmanned reception. But instead of signing an old dusty guest book and fumbling around to find out where you’re meant to be heading next, you notice a screen displaying the name of the business you have your meeting with.
So, you walk over and follow the on-screen prompts to sign in. You then enter your car registration, contact details, and sign the necessary documents on screen, it then takes a photo of you and prints an identification badge simultaneously as you follow the directions on screen to get to the correct floor and meeting room you require. Meanwhile, your hosts have already been informed you have arrived, and are already on their way to greet you.
Not only is this visitor experience seamless, it’s personal. Guest information is preloaded into the solution prior to arrival and what’s more, the solution is GDPR ready.
It’s time to bring the visitor experience in line with the technology available.