5 Practical Ways to Manage Your Visitor Operations During the COVID-19 Outbreak

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Source: piLOBI

Visitor operation during the COVID-19 times has been a very tough thing to figure out for any establishment across the globe. With the lockdown and quarantine situation still imminent, many establishments had to close down their premises. However, with many places opening up now, the main concern that exists is, how exactly does an establishment ensure optimum visitor management, along with proper measures to ensure no spread of the COVID-19?

The answer to this question is employing competent and smart systems in your establishment, which ensure that visitor authentication is properly carried out for the on-premise population. Here are the 5 most effective ways in which you can manage your visitor operation during these dangerous times:

Asking the Right Questions: While privacy and sharing of personal information used to be an unwelcome thing by the visitors, this pandemic has certainly changed that. To ensure that your establishment is safe and secure, asking the right questions from the visitors can prove to be crucial in determining whether it is safe for them to enter. Screening the visitors before they even arrive can help you in safeguarding your premises and nearby places, along with also determining if the visitor is even eligible for entry or not. Questions such as these should be asked from the visitors before allowing them to enter the premises:

● Have you recently traveled out of the country? If yes, was it in the last 14 days?
● Have you recently experienced any symptoms like cough, fever, or breathing problems?
● Were you recently in the vicinity or in contact with anyone who has tested positive for coronavirus?
● Have you recently come in contact with anyone who showed any symptoms like cough, fever, or breathing problems?

These questions are imperative in determining if the entry of the visitor is safe enough. This process can be conveniently carried out with the help of a visitor management software, which automates this process and also ensures that the reception staff doesn’t have to come in contact with the visitor to record this information.

Invite First Approach: Asking the visitors the screening questions is the part of an “invite first” approach. This is a process that can not only streamline the visitor check-in process, but also elevate the safety standards of your establishment. Collecting all the necessary information from the visitors beforehand makes it easier for the qualified visitors to enter their credentials beforehand, so when they do arrive on the facility, they don’t have to go through the entire check-in process. This especially comes in handy for visitors that require certification or validation for entering the establishment like contractors. Their arrival can be logged in early by sending them an invitation for the check-in or a QR code that can be scanned and used for check-in.

This is an option that can make a significant difference in terms of ensuring zero spread of the virus in your building, unlike the traditional logbook method. This approach minimizes the contact between the visitor and the staff, and ensures optimum safety for both. Using a touchless visitor management system is an even better way to bring down the “contact” factor as well.

Minimizing All Areas of Contact: Human contact is the biggest way coronavirus has spread across the world. Making sure that human-to-human contact is minimalized is the main goal of any establishment nowadays. This way, the risk of infection can be hugely reduced, and the spread controlled or eradicated. Using a visitor management system across various points in your building for tasks such as checking in, accessing areas,etc., can prove to be very helpful in minimizing any potential human contact on-premises.

Periodic Disinfection: The coronavirus has a tendency to stay on surfaces for a long period of time. Studies have shown that the virus can stay on surfaces for 10 hours, to even 2-3 days! Using disinfectant across your building where people are touching surfaces becomes equally important because of this reason.

The measures used to control the spread of the coronavirus go beyond the front lobby and digital reception. Within the building, visitor management can help you in determining the most frequently visited rooms or areas, where you can do periodic disinfection. With the help of the visitor management system, finding out the most accessed areas becomes easy, as it keeps track of all the visitors who have accessed the areas. This is the most effective way to ensure that even if the first 3 pointers didn’t work out, the virus’ spread is still contained or eliminated. ALl the kiosks across the facility should also be disinfected frequently.

Virtual is The New Way: As you can see from the aforementioned practices, the common denominator is going virtual. Whatever activity permits it to be should be made virtual to minimize human contact. Meetings, conferences, social events, etc., can all be conducted virtually via tools such as Zoom or Google Meets. The people visiting the establishment should have an essential reason to visit, and it should also be verified virtually before they arrive. It is imperative that if possible, virtual alternatives are offered to the non-essential visitors to cut down the number of visitors as much as possible.

Conclusion

Making use of these 5 practices can help you a lot in managing your visitor operations in the times of this pandemic. Till there is a vaccine, this will be the new normal, and it is crucial for people to acknowledge this fact. Visitor management systems like piLOBI can help you in building a robust system which can ensure that your building or establishment remains safe from its spread. Denying entry to people who potentially pose a risk should not be looked down on, as being safe is better than being sorry, especially during times like these.

Vinod Janapala
Vinod Janapala - Product (SaaS) Marketing & Customer Analytics Lead. Vinod is keen on such topics as Marketing, Customer Experience, SaaS Challenges, and Personal Growth.

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