Investing in a self-service visitor management system is worthwhile. It can prove useful at all stages of the Guest Journey. The current generation of systems is efficient, comfortable, welcoming, and can elevate your security to the next level. The system can be tailored to your risks and processes, and often, integrations with other (security) systems are also possible.

In this article, we will explain what a visitor management system can do for you. We’ll do this by highlighting several possible statuses a visitor can receive within the system. In addition to the obvious ‘visitor present’ or ‘visitor checked out,’ many more statuses are possible. These can be defined according to your needs and processes, and access rights or actions can be linked to them. In these examples, we assume that the visitor management system is integrated into the access control system.

Scheduled

An appointment has been scheduled.
The visitor automatically receives an appointment confirmation. Depending on the type of visitor and the associated risks or compliance regulations, the confirmation can include a route description, guest Wi-Fi code, house rules or safety instructions, and a QR code that allows the visitor access to, for instance, the parking lot and the building.

Expected

It is the day of the appointment, and the visitor is expected within a certain time frame.
This status is important for the host, the person who welcomes the visitor in the central reception area, or the one responsible for preparing the booked meeting room. Depending on your organization’s procedure, these people receive a notification of the expected visitor.

At the parking lot

The visitor arrives at the parking lot; their license plate or the received QR code is scanned.
If the visitor’s car license plate was registered during the visitor registration, the visit can be welcomed with open arms—or rather, open barriers—at the parking lot. If no license plate was registered or an error occurs when reading it, the visitor can scan the QR code they received. Once the license plate or QR code is scanned at the parking lot, the visitor’s status automatically changes to ‘at parking lot.’ This status indicates that your visitor has arrived, and you will know whether they are on time or delayed. If the visitor is delayed, the host can receive a notification and take action if necessary.

In building

The visitor has arrived at the reception area of the building and scanned the QR code at the reception kiosk.
The visitor was instructed in the appointment confirmation to scan the QR code at the reception kiosk upon arrival at the building. Once this action is completed, the status changes to ‘in building,’ and the host is notified that their guest has arrived. If your procedures require it, the visitor can now watch an instruction video and sign the house rules. If your building still uses temporary access passes for guests, this pass can be printed with limited access rights at the same time. This pass, or even the QR code, can also be used to get (free) coffee at a vending machine. If you set up your visitor reception process this way, you don’t need a fully staffed reception. A lobby with a digital reception kiosk, seating area, restroom, and coffee machine is sufficient. By adding the status ‘in building,’ security or facility managers have insight into the number of visitors in the open, publicly accessible zone of your building, which can be highly relevant for safety purposes.

Present in secured zone

Visitor enters the secured zone.
How the visitor gains access to the secured zone depends on your organization’s procedures. It makes sense that the visitor can only enter this zone together with the host, for example, after double verification at the access control point to the secured zone. The visitor first presents their QR code (or temporary pass), followed by the host presenting their access card or tag. In high-security environments, you may choose to add a time limit to the visitor’s access rights. In this case, the visitor is granted access for the duration of the appointment. If that time (plus a buffer of, say, 1 hour) has passed, all access rights expire. If the visitor has not left the secured zone or building within that time, contact can be made with the host.

The visitor status ‘present in secured zone’ contributes to safety within organizations in several ways. For instance, during an emergency evacuation, it provides insight into the number of people inside.

Checked out from secured zone

Visitor has finished his appointment and leaves the secure area.
The visitor has finished their appointment and exits the secured zone.
After the appointment, the visitor leaves the secured area. They again present their QR code or pass at the access control point. You can also choose double verification here, where both the visitor and host must present their access credentials. This prevents visitors from wandering alone within the secured zone of the building and reduces the risk of theft in organizations where this is considered a risk. After pass control, the visitor receives the new status ‘checked out from secured zone,’ and all temporary access rights are revoked, except for the main exit and the parking lot.fter his appointment, the visitor leaves the secure area. He offers his QR code or card again at the access control point. Again, you can opt for two-factor authentication, where visitors and hosts must both offer their means of access. This prevents visitors from roaming around independently within the secure area of the building and it lowers the risk of theft at organizations that have defined that as a risk. After the passport control, the visitor will be given the new status of ‘deregistered secure area’ and will lose all temporary access rights, except for those for the main exit and the car park.

Exited building

The visitor leaves the public reception area and exits the building.
This new status is linked to leaving the building. Once again, the visitor must present their QR code. The visitor now heads to the parking lot to depart with their car.

Completed

The visitor exits the parking lot through the barriers.
For the final time, the visitor uses the QR code to open the barriers at the exit. If license plate cameras are used, the QR code is not needed, and the barriers will open automatically once the license plate is scanned. At this point, the status changes to ‘completed.’ If you set a time limit between the previous and this status, you can still detect and act on any unwanted loitering on your organization’s premises.