First Impression is the last Impression

It is said that the first impression is last. This holds particularly true in the corporate sector. The first thing that catches your eye when you look at a person is his or her face. Likewise, the front office can be considered to be the face of your organization. Thus, the first impression your organization has on a visitor entirely depends on your front office.

The look and feel of your front office is the visitor's first glimpse into your organization. It represents the values and discipline in your organization and hence, it is a good idea to pay extra attention to its appearance. The reception staff should also create a welcoming atmosphere.

The reception staff should also be trained to show confidence in their body language. They should also welcome visitors with a smile as a smile works wonders with visitors who've had a tough day. They should talk to visitors in a normal and controlled tone and should speak with clarity. They should also be told to listen to the visitor when he or she is talking, as trying to cut in when another person talks is often considered very rude. They should also be prohibited from eating or drinking while on the desk as it projects a very bad impression.

The front office should look extremely clean. Always remember the old adage "A picture is worth a thousand words" in this case. A clean looking head office creates a very good impression in the minds of visitors.

Front offices often find it difficult to manage huge frenzied crowds that may form when several visitors arrive at one time. Being a part of such crowds is a very undesirably experience and would prevent visitors from ever coming to your organization again. Such problems can be prevented by using a robust visitor management system.

By using a visitor management system, such hordes of visitors can be quickly organized and their waiting time can be reduced to almost zero. By allowing you to create photo ID cards for every visitor at the click of a button, monitoring these visitors is also child's play, thus taking care of the security problems. Such a system can save a lot of anger and frustration that could otherwise result and would also improve the image of your organization.
With the help of these tips, making a good first impression on visitors would be much easier than you thought!

Best practices for Visitor Management System

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.

Best practices for Labour Management System

Introduction

Every company hires two types of workers namely permanent and temporary. Usually permanent workers are issued an I-cards or a badges. However, these are not issued to the temporary workers for a multitude of reasons. This can pose a major security threat.

Following are some of the best practices followed in the industry for security & safety during labour management.

# 1 Take the photograph Photograph : It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. This saying is especially true in the context of security management. Adding a photograph of a person on the badge prevents several problems that may otherwise occur. The security guards can confirm that the same person for whom the badge was made is in the premises.

# 2 Scan the Fingerprint: A fingerprint is a very robust proof for identifying someone compared to just a photograph. Scanning a finger print of a temporary worker is an important step in security. It is recommended that a print of the left index finger is captured. It is essential to verify the fingerprint before storing the image for further usage.

# 3 Perform a Background Check: Attrition is a major problem with temporary workers and hence it is essential to perform a background check of these individuals before involving them on an actual job. Performing elaborate background checks many not be possible because of the large number of temporary workers companies employ and hence, collecting photocopies of government ID like a voter cards or a driver's licenses can help. However, just accepting a photocopy of an ID would not be very useful because it can be a fake. It is a good practice to verify if an ID is genuine before accepting it.

#4 Give Induction Training: It is a good practice to conduct an induction training of temporary workers before they begin working. The nature of the induction training should depend upon the type of work the temporary worker has been hired to do.

#5 Design an efficient Badge: The badge should prominently display the name of the employee. The contractor name should be also displayed below that. Specifying the area of operation can help security guards in identifying the workers who are found in non designated areas.

#6 Put a Color bands based on worker Type: Security persons can categorize workers as Electrician, Kitchen Staff, etc. and assign a color to each type. Putting a color band of the type of worker makes it relatively easy for security guards to identify labourers.

#7 Print Icons on the Badge: Certain icons can be placed on the badge like "No Mobile", "No smoking" etc. which can give a visual indication to the labourer about the security policies of the company.

#8 Print Contact Numbers for Emergency: It is a good idea to include contact numbers to use in case of emergency on the badge. It is the most convenient place to place them.

Issues with Contract Labour Management

Contract Labours are employed in various industries but there are many issues concerning the contract workers. Here are some of the issues concerning the contract Labours.

Background Check : Incidences such as “Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants working in a top space research organizations as temporary workers” frequently appear in today’s news. These kind of incidences can be easily avoided by using LabourWorks. One can make it mandatory for accepting Ration Card or Voters ID before generating a badge.

Proxy Worker : One of the main problem with employing temporary workers is proxy workers. A skilled worker is issued a badge and an un-skilled worker starts reporting for the job very soon. Organizations could save few hundred times the investment within few months of implementing LabourWorks, because with Finger Print authentication, it is virtually impossible for anyone to act like a proxy.

Criminal History : Individuals with criminal history find a safe haven working as labourer.However whenever the Police or other Law enforcement agencies request information on a specific individual, it always becomes a very tedious & time consuming task. With the Search & Photo Identification facility under LabourWorks, it is very easy to search information about any individual.

High Attrition Ratio : Temporary workers have a very high attrition ratio and hence issuing smart cards becomes a very expensive affair. Costing only a Rupee per unit, cards generated through LabourWorks are a very cost effective solution.

Statutory Reports : Many Statutory reports required for PF, ESIS etc. can be generated very easily using LabourWorks. Establishing a control over under age workers is very effective through Labourworks.

Attendance & Timesheets : Generation of timesheets can be streamlined effectively by Labourworks. With Biometrics, effective & correct timings can be recorded which results into huge savings. LabourWorks is a Contract Labour Management System by Scrum System Pvt Ltd which helps in managing the Contract workers in a smooth manner.

LabourWorks - Contract Labour management

Essential features of a Visitor Management Software

Visitor Management can be computerized even in a World document with cutting & pasting the information, however the process becomes cumbersome unless a visitor management software is used for the same purpose. Here are some of the essential features an application should have for a smooth operation.

Features of VisiteX -

Appointment Module: It is always a good practice to follow an appointment based system for visitor management because it not only reduces the burden on the security staff to call the employee every time there is a visitor but it also helps in managing the time of employee in an efficient manner. The appointment module which can be activated from every desktop is used for indicating the security department about those appointments for which you are expecting some external visitors. So the name of the visitor, the expected time, reason for visit, whether an escort is required etc. are the details which are stored. Appointment module also shows few important reports to the user like the list of visitors, a calendar on screen, bulletins from the security department etc..

Badging Module: Badging module is used for creating temporary badges for the visitors. Normally when a visitor comes at the reception, the receptionist or the security person will ask the visitor about the details about the appointment and will try to locate the specific appointment based on the user name or organization name. Once these details are picked up few other relevant details like the Address, phone no, Organization details etc. are also registered. Using a Digital Camera a photograph of the visitor is taken and a badge is printed within few seconds with all the necessary details, terms and conditions etc.

Exit Terminals: When the visitor leaves the organization it is essential to note the exit of the visitor from the organization. This will help in identifying the number of visitors within the organization at any given point of time. This terminal allows recording of the exit of the visitor.

Dash Board: Dash board is used by the top management to know the status of the visitor management across the enterprise. The dash board shows the status of visitors at various locations either in a graphical format or in a tabular format. It also shows various statistical reports which are required for efficient deployment of security guards. Various setting and master data management is handled through the Dash board..

Highlights of VisiteX - Appointment based system. Pre-register a visitor for a faster pass generation - Long term or contractor badges with contractor employee management system - VIP badges - Capture photograph of every visitor - Visitor card scanner interface for easy data input - Digital signature capture - Customized badge design for individual choices - Daily reports via email to Security In charge - Easy integration to access control system - Restrict entry as a visitor for individuals on a watch-out list - Easy data entry via Import facility This article published by Scrum System Pvt Ltd.

VisiteX - Visitor Management Software