VisitorBay | Blog

10 Reasons to use Visitor Management Software in the Workplace

Posted on January 19, 2023January 19, 2023

VisitorBay’s management software is a valuable tool for any business or organization that receives frequent visitors. It streamlines the check-in process, increases security, and ensures compliance with regulations, all while improving the overall visitor experience. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at why visitor management software is so valuable in the workplace.

Streamlined check-in process: With visitor management software, visitors can check in and sign in electronically, reducing the need for paper sign-in sheets and manual data entry. This not only saves time and resources, but it also creates a more professional and efficient check-in experience for visitors.
Increased security: Visitor management software allows you to easily track who is in your building and when they arrived, making it easier to identify potential security threats. This can be especially important for businesses and organizations that handle sensitive information or have a high-security environment.
Compliance with regulations: Many industries are required to keep track of visitors, and visitor management software can help you comply with these regulations and maintain proper records. This can include industries like healthcare, finance, and government.
Better communication with visitors: Visitor management software can be integrated with email and SMS, allowing you to communicate with visitors and keep them informed about their visit. This can include appointment confirmations, check-in reminders, and even post-visit surveys.
Customizable templates: Many visitor management software platforms allow you to create custom templates for different types of visitors, such as contractors, vendors, and guests. This helps ensure that visitors are greeted and treated appropriately, and that all necessary information is collected.
Easy tracking of visitor history: With visitor management software, you can easily see who has visited your facility in the past, making it easier to identify repeat visitors and track their history. This can be useful for businesses and organizations that want to improve relationships with their visitors and build a sense of community.
Improved visitor experience: With a streamlined check-in process and better communication, visitors are more likely to have a positive experience and return in the future. This can be beneficial for businesses and organizations that rely on repeat visitors, such as retail stores and museums.
Easy access to visitor data: Visitor management software allows you to access visitor data and records easily, making it easier to track visitor activity and generate reports. This can be useful for businesses and organizations that want to understand their visitors better and make data-driven decisions.
Integration with other systems: Visitor management software platforms integrate with other systems, such as access control and security cameras, to provide a more comprehensive view of visitor activity. This can be especially useful for businesses and organizations that want to improve their overall security and compliance.
Cost-effective: Visitor management software can save time and money by reducing the need for manual data entry and paper sign-in sheets, while also improving security and compliance. This makes it a cost-effective solution for businesses and organizations of all sizes.

Visitor management software is a valuable tool for any business or organization that receives frequent visitors. It streamlines the check-in process, increases security, ensures compliance with regulations, improves communication with visitors, and enhances the overall visitor experience. Plus it is a cost-effective solution that can help you manage visitors more efficiently and effectively. Implementing a solution like VisitorBay in your workplace can bring numerous benefits and help your organization run smoothly.

V-SAN And VisitorBay Partner for Production Health and Safety in Canada

V-SAN and VisitorBay collaborate to provide a unique and comprehensive health and safety system for the film and production industry.

V-SAN and VisitorBay have created an End-to End-solution to the sanitation challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic which will help film productions ensure the health and safety of their cast and crew members in a post-COVID world.

V-SAN was poised to lead in this space when its founders became the first producers to resume production during the pandemic in the spring of 2020. Using VisitorBay’s industry-leading technology platform will enable V-SAN to create deliberate action items for our sanitation team to be an ally to producers as we return to work amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

As a catalyst for change, V-SAN and VisitorBay intend to accelerate long-standing principles into real-world action that will strengthen the V-SAN and VisitorBay culture as well as the film community at large.

“V-SAN believes that health and safety is key to allowing the film industry to get back to work and restoring the livelihoods of thousands that are at stake,” said Richard Greenhalgh, VP of V-SAN. “This partnership allows us to fulfill our vision to provide world-class support, resources and leadership, helping every member fulfill their goals on and off the set. V-SAN benefits immensely from the diversity of its members, and it is this attention to detail that drives outstanding performance, innovation and excellence.”

“VisitorBay is pleased to partner with an organization that shares our values,” said Brett Carrier, President of VisitorBay. “It allows us to fulfill our vision of applying a VisitorBay use case to exciting new markets. Working closely with the leadership team at V-SAN will provide us with the key insights necessary to make the film industry more safe, efficient and secure for staff on production sets.”

The founders of V-SAN are respected film specialists who have created visual experiences for over a decade. These individuals were able to sustain COVID-free production sites and a healthy crew throughout the pandemic. They found a process that worked and are now taking this craft and providing a first-class service model for COVID compliance to their clients.

VisitorBay is a digital visitor management system that allows a company to track visitor sign-ins, notify hosts and sign digital documents on an office sign-in tablet via one easy to use interface.

For more information visit vsancleaning.com. For media inquiries contact rcasanova@visitorbay.com.

Visitor Log Template Download

Posted on July 22, 2021August 2, 2021

Looking for a visitor log template download? We have a standard visitor log template available for you to download and use in Microsoft Excel (.xlsx). Download our free standard visitor log template by clicking this link. We won’t ask for your information to download the visitor log template, but if you would like to discuss a better approach to visitor management we would love to speak with you!

Looking for a better solution to visitor log templates?

Though visitor log templates can capture basic visitor information, they’re not the best way to increase the security and efficiency of your visitor sign-in experience. Visitor log templates capture basic information about your visitors, but often come with issues like illegible scribbles, low privacy (anyone can see), difficult to produce visitor and evacuation lists in emergencies, track down visitors that you need to send post visit communications to and reconcile visitor records later if needed. Sound familiar?

With VisitorBay, we make the requirement for a visitor log template a thing of the past. Our comprehensive and simple to use visitor management system allows you to shred your visitor log sheet and replace it with a modern solution to visitor sign-in for the workplace.

A visitor management system allows you to digitally capture key visitor information as people are entering your location, meaning better security, a modern and impressive sign-in experience and capturing the visitor data that matters most, all while being secure and backed up to the cloud for access at any time.

Watch the visitor management system teaser

Key benefits of VisitorBay sign-in over a visitor log template:

Digital visitor sign-in
Contactless sign-in via QR code
Host notifications (SMS and email)
Badge printing
Visitor photo capture
Customized visitor documents
Evacuation notifications and lists
Visitor reporting, contact information, photos and more
All backed up and saved to VisitorBay cloud

Interested in taking your visitor management experience to the next level and upgrade your visitor log template process?

visitor management system - iPad iPhone sign-in

Feel free to contact us here to schedule an meeting with us, or try VisitorBay sign-in completely free for 30-days by signing-up here.

Visitor Management System Canada

Posted on February 5, 2021July 23, 2021

Are you looking for a visitor management system in Canada? VisitorBay is proudly Canadian and a fully customizable visitor management system and sign-in tool for your business to take advantage of several important aspects that come with keeping a workplace safe and efficient in today’s dynamic workplace.

Designed here in Canada and with resources across the country, we help companies of all sizes to facilitate effective visitor management in a variety of business settings.

What is a Visitor Management System?

A visitor management system is a technology that helps you to sign-in and track visitors entering your location. These visitors can be clients, interviews, contractors, consultants, deliveries and things like the occasional personal visit. A visitor management system replaces traditional paper sign-in sheets with a powerful digital sign-in tool that tracks when these visitors are entering and exiting locations, including real-time head counts in emergencies, visitor emergency evacuation notifications and granular reporting when you need to refer back to historical visits. Some additional features like visitor photo capture and badge printing enhance the overall visitor experience and the security of your locations.

With a visitor management system you can be rest assured that visitors have signed-in, are permitted to be on site and traceable throughout the enterprise. Our visitor management system software can also be utilized by security teams to monitor foot traffic and potential threats at your location, including watch list and blacklist capabilities. A visitor management system is a great addition to your points of entry.

Who uses a Visitor Management System?

A visitor management system can be used by companies of all industry and size. There’s no best single configuration for visitor management and that’s why VisitorBay has placed a lot of emphasis on making it’s technologies fully customizable, branded to your organization and easy to use. Visitors will assume that your visitor management system was built specifically for you.

VisitorBay’s visitor management system technology is being used in office towers, by property managers in multiple facilities, campuses, construction companies, industrial work sites, loading docks, retail locations, film production sets and in a variety of other unique applications to make visitor management in the workplace clear, concise and actionable. You may have even already signed-in to a location using VisitorBay!

Key features of a visitor management system in Canada:

Increased security at your location
Improve the overall visitor experience
Modernize your front-end lobby and reception areas
Sign important documents are visitors enter your locations
Store all of this information in an easy to use cloud based visitor management portal
Your data stays in Canada

With the VisitorBay visitor management system, you are able to sign-in visitors with a digital sign-in device, by using our contactless QR sign-in technology, or both. The VisitorBay contactless sign-in feature allows your visitors to simply scan a QR code with their mobile device for expedited sign-in, all branded to your company and with the ability for special sign-in flows to ensure that you’re capturing the information that’s important to you.

Try VisitorBay for free by signing up here

Book a meeting with us by contacting us

VisitorBay’s Visitor Management System

VisitorBay’s visitor management system was developed to be easy to setup and use, with comprehensive back end functionalities that make visitor management secure, efficient and pleasant to use by end-users and company administrators.

VisitorBay’s Visitor Management System Features:

Electronic visitor sign-in
Host notifications (SMS & email)
Emergency evacuation notifications and lists
Badge printing and photo capture
Accurate, legible sign-in information and tracing
Screening questionnaires
Office agreements and policy signing
Contactless sign-in (visitors use their own phone to sign-in)
Detailed visitor lists and reporting capabilities

Watch the VisitorBay teaser

Learn more about VisitorBay’s features

Safety and Screening in the Workplace

VisitorBay has built several tools to help your business screen visitors and sign off on digital agreements that specify your entry criteria. This could be a health and safety document, NDA’s or general safety best practices. Signed agreements are stored as a PDF document to each visitor sign-in session.

Improve Manual sign-in Process

Illegible sign-in’s, lost visitor logs, people forgetting to sign-out are common challenges and why many are leaning toward a visitor management system that increases the effective logging of visitors entering and exiting locations.

Know who was at your locations, how many times, who they were there to see and even refer to photos and signed agreements for these visitors at any time in the event of an incident.

Notifications

Notifications play a major role in choosing a visitor management system for your business. With VisitorBay you can quickly notify employees that visitors have arrived to see them and in real-time. This means less time spent by office reception and staff to notify employees when a guest has arrived to see them. Host notifications include guest information and quick 2-way communication options to reach visitors directly when needed.

Canadian data Residency

VisitorBay is proudly Canadian and houses it’s data in world class data centers located in Canada for it’s Canadian customers. Your data is safe, secure and never leaves Canada.

Security white papers and documentation are available on request and suitable for enterprise compliance requirements.

The reasons for choosing a visitor management system in Canada to increase office safety, security and efficiency are clear over manual sign-in sheets which is why VisitorBay offers a free 30-day trial. There’s no obligation and setup can be completed within 60 seconds.

Try VisitorBay for free by signing up here

Book a meeting with us by contacting us

Contactless Sign-In Software for Visitors

Posted on December 31, 2020July 15, 2021

VisitorBay is pleased to announce our new contactless sign-in feature. Now more than ever Canada businesses are looking to reduce touchpoints in offices, buildings and facilities to keep people safe as we introduce visitors back in to the workplace. Providing your visitors with the option of contactless QR sign-in at your points of entry is a hygienic touch free way of ensuring safety and cleanliness in offices, buildings, facilities and retail locations.

How it Works

Visitors sign-in to your location by scanning a QR sign-in code located at your point of entry with their smartphone, which then directs them to a customized sign-in page. Once signed-in, your visitors are granted access to your location and stored in your VisitorBay portal for reference. This includes alerting their host that their visitor has arrived in real-time to ensure unexpected guests can be better managed during sensitive times. Hosts can get in direct contact with visitors in one tap with quick communication options as visitors sign-in to see them by text message, email and phone.

Contactless QR Sign-in Without a Tablet

With the optional VisitorBay contactless QR sign-in feature, your visitors are able to scan a QR sign-in code that appears on your office sign-in tablet. You can also accomplish this by printing a QR code sign-in station poster which directs them to a secure web sign-in page for your company. This means that you can now provide visitors more options when signing in, including the option of just displaying a QR sign-in code station poster and avoid installing a tablet sign-in device altogether if you choose.

Screen Visitors Before Entering your Location

Along with contactless QR sign-in, your company is able to present visitors with customized screening questions that must be agreed to before entering your location.

Send Visitors Signed Agreements and Post Visit Emails

Provide your visitors a copy of signed agreements after they have completed their visit. Signed agreements are delivered to your visitors by email after they sign out from your location for post visit reference.

Try contactless sign-in free for 30 days in your workplace

VisitorBay in EDify Magazine

Posted on November 4, 2020November 20, 2020

VisitorBay and its founders are excited to be included in the November issue of EDify Magazine as a local Edmonton tech innovator, discussing some of the ways that we have adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic to help businesses as they reintroduce visitors back in to the workplace safely.

Link to the web article:

https://edifyedmonton.com/urban/innovation-technology/right-place-right-time/

VisitorBay is Helping Businesses to Reopen after COVID-19

Posted on June 18, 2020July 16, 2021

VisitorBay has been featured in an article by the Downtown Business Association Edmonton. Learn how we’re helping companies to reopen safely with COVID-19 visitor screening and logging.

Read the full article from the Downtown Business Association here:

https://www.edmontondowntown.com/news-publications/news/an-edmonton-company-creates-technology-help-offices-reopen-after-covid-19-103/

How VisitorBay can help to manage and screen visitors in the workplace during the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic

Posted on May 11, 2020July 16, 2021

Summary:

Screen visitors for symptoms with an on-screen COVID-19 notice as visitors enter your location.

Require that visitors sign an agreement outlining location policies and procedures.

Notify hosts of visitors arriving in real-time with SMS and email alerts.

Send visitors invites for their scheduled appointments with special notes, instructions and predict future occupancy numbers.

Track visitor sign-in information with the ability to view and export reports at a later time if needed, including signed agreements.

The COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic has become a global topic and affected our day to day lives in many ways. With essential businesses continuing operation and many others planning a back to work strategy, now more than ever it’s important to include visitor screening and sign-in process as people enter your premises. But how does a business do that effectively outside of manual paper log books? Whether you’re an essential business still in operation or planning for back to work strategies, VisitorBay can help to prevent the spread of the virus and to help your business get back to work safely with digital visitor sign-in and screening solutions to help protect against COVID-19 in the workplace.

Try VisitorBay free for 30 days to protect your workplace against COVID-19

How VisitorBay protects against COVID-19 in the workplace

COVID-19 visitor screening

An on-screen symptom checker advises visitors to read and accept a disclosure before entering your premises. Should a visitor have any symptoms, they are asked to return home immediately. This feature can be enabled and customized in the Settings -> iPad settings area of your admin dashboard once you have an account created with VisitorBay.

Visitor sign-in information

Each visitor must sign-in to your office iPad, meaning visitor history is tracked for easy reference at any time including visitor name, phone, email, photo and more, all customizable to your preferences.

Host notifications

Real-time notifications by email and text message allow your hosts to be notified as new visitors arrive to your location. This includes photos of your visitors (optional). Should a guest arrive unexpectedly, or your host have any concerns around specific visitors entering your premises, the VisitorBay notification feature helps to prevent unauthorized access to your facilities and allows hosts to proactively turn-away guests during these sensitive times.

Visitor agreements

With new measures being taken to protect workplaces against COVID-19, the agreement signing function ensures that visitors accept your policies before entering your premises. All agreements are stored in your VisitorBay portal and assigned to each visitor for reference at any time. Your visitors are also sent a copy of any signed agreements directly to their email inbox after their visit for a mutually binding process.

Visitor reporting

In the event of an exposure or workplace incident, VisitorBay makes it easy to track and reconcile visitor lists during specific date ranges and time frames. Just navigate to the Visitor logs area of your dashboard to start producing visitor reports based on the required criteria.

Visitor invites

Send visitor invites from the dashboard for their scheduled appointments before they arrive so that your staff know who to expect on any given day and provide your visitors and special instructions with what changes or procedures to expect when arriving to your location by adding notes to your invites. The invites feature adds increased awareness for both internal staff and visitors including which visitors are expected on any given day and time and if capacity issues are a concern, being able to accurately forecast occupancy numbers.

When does your Duty of Care start for employees and visitors at your office?

Companies have a duty of care to provide an environment free of known and preventable risks for employees and visitors. Further to this, employers could be found negligent if they do not have the proper controls in place that mitigate known risks.

While this encompasses many facets including PPE, regular sanitation and other precautions, it begins as people enter facilities. Whether it be employees returning to work, visitors at the front desk or contractors/merchandisers signing into the loading dock – a quick screening and agreement as they enter is key to a RTW (Return to Work) protocol to mitigate known risks.

Companies need to recognize that COVID-19 is a known risk and they are required by law to take appropriate steps to mitigate that known risk, which includes managing the risk of infected persons entering the premises. Although COVID-19 risk is present everywhere, it becomes a meaningful and known risk that your company is responsible for at your front door. Companies should be managing that risk by confirming all visitors and employees are free from symptoms of COVID-19.

Past managing the preventative risk to all employees and visitors, it is critical that your company has a record of all individuals that have interacted at your premises. If an infected person has been identified at one of your work sites, the health authorities will require all documentation of anyone on site during certain time frames. As people become complacent with sign-in processes, they tend to scribble their information or use abbreviations, and this becomes problematic when trying to accurately identify who is actually on site, not to mention their accurate contact information.

Accurately determining the employer, contact information, reason for visit and host is important to quickly identify, contain and address any potential outbreaks. Having outdated paper books with questionably accurate information that needs to be manually found, manually copied and manually sent to health authorities can be a time consuming exercise in a time sensitive situation.

These are key to business continuity and reducing the risk of spread. If an officer determines there are not sufficient protocols in place, this could result in stop work orders or other disruptions that further damage a businesses ability to weather this unprecedented health emergency.