First impressions are of the utmost importance in business – whether it’s welcoming new clients or new employees, the visitor experience can set initial expectations and opinions of your guests.
To create as seamless an experience as possible, you must put yourself in the place of your visitors, and consider the following points.
Footfall and Frequency
To determine your visitor management process, first think about both the footfall and frequency of visitors to your business. A more VIP-style, personalised service may be appropriate if you have less visitors with less frequency.
In comparison, if you experience multiple visitors in a short timeframe, you may want to initiate a faster system, and put importance on getting visitors through reception in an organised manner.
Reception Areas and Entries
Many businesses located in shared buildings spend time and money on creating a welcoming reception area, but forget to consider the main building reception experience.
It’s important to work with the main building reception, and work out how to make the journey from the main building reception to your own business reception area an easy and pleasant one.
Even if you use or own the entire building, remember that your visitors may not find the area as easy to navigate as you may think – ensure facilities and team areas are well sign-posted, or use Wayfinders, to help combat this.
Facilities Management Staff
Having a full and reliable team of staff to greet your visitors is a significant part of making an excellent first impression. If your business experiences a constant rise and fall of visitors, you may want to provide extra staff during peak times, or ensure you have available cover. Outsourcing via facilities management companies can help with this.
Visitor Registration and Passes
Promoting visitor registration is imperative for a seamless visitor experience. The depth of information your gather from your visitors will depend on the nature of your business.
You will also need to decide what kind of visitor pass works best for your building; if there are communal areas or guest facilities that can only be accessed by an RIFD card, do ensure that these are available for guest use.
Remember that according to Health and Safety law, you must have accurate logs of visitors in the event of a fire or emergency.
Waiting Areas
Finally, take a look at your waiting areas and think about what you can provide to make them as comfortable and welcoming as possible. Refreshments are a must, as well as ample seating. In the modern age, with many people working on the go, Wi-Fi can be a positive addition to your waiting area, and may make you very popular!
You can also consider other forms of entertainment, like screens or the traditional table of reading material. Reception waiting areas are also an excellent place to present your brand and achievements – prominent logos and the space to display trophies or awards can help give your visitor a clear idea of your business message.
