Best Practices in Visitor Management

Introduction

Every enterprise deals with innumerable visitors on a daily basis. However, it is very difficult to manage the appointments of these visitors and keep a record of them. A visitor management system helps in recording information on visitors which helps in keeping a security vigil. The following are some of the best practices in visitor management.

# 1 Start appointment based visits

An appointment based system helps in ensuring security tremendously. The main advantage is the person at the security gate is aware that a visitor is expected. In an appointment based system, normally a security person from the reception would give a call to the concerned person and confirm whether he/she is expecting a guest. This procedure has many disadvantages. First of all it wastes a lot of time. If the concerned person is not available at his/her seat the visitor has to wait at the reception. And the procedure of appointment does not get documented and hence one has to reply only on individual's efficiency in the process. So in an appointment based system, the best practice would be to request the host to send a note/email to the reception and visitor badge should be made only for those for whom there is a note.

# 2 Design an neat badge

The badge should display the name of the visitor prominently. The organization name should be displayed below that. Specifying the name of the host can help security guards in identifying the visitors who are strolling in non designated areas.

#3 Put Photograph of the Visitor on the badge

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. This is especially true in visitor management including a photograph of a person on the badge prevents several problems that may otherwise arise. The host himself can confirm that the same person for whom the badge was made has visited him.

#4 Put a Color band on the badge indicating the type of visitor

Security persons can categorize visitors as Vendors, Trainees, and Temp Employee etc. and assign a color to each type. Putting a color band of the type of visitor makes it relatively easy for security guards to identify the visitors.

#5 Collect Details about Government issued ID

It is a good practice to collect details about government issued ID like the Drivers License, Passport No, Social Security No. etc. Normally this is more suitable for government buildings since persons in corporate buildings may to refuse to disclose this information.

#6 NDA or limited liability statement

The responsibility for any injury to the visitor lies on the organization unless the organization does not declare the limited liability clause to the visitor before entering the premise. It is essential to write a line or paragraph about to what extent the organization would be liable for the damages on the badge itself. One can even write "Subject to Limited Liability clause ### of security policy" if the information is lengthy .

#7 Contacts in case of emergencies and other safety instructions

The visitor badge should have important phone nos. in of emergency. This is the handiest place to inform contact details. Similarly the safety instructions like "Ignore the siren at 11 am which is for a drill" should also be included.

#8 Collect back the used Visitor Badge

The visitor badges should be collected back when the visitor leaves the organization. This can avoid the misuse of the badges.

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