Updated: March 2020

What’s the best way to go about getting staff buy-in when you implement a new visitor management software? 

Whether you start with no visitor management, a paper-based visitor management book, or switch your visitor management software from one product to another, you’re going to need everyone on board to make it worthwhile to see a return on investment.

Implementing a visitor management system can be quite a significant change for an organization, particularly for staff who have to change some aspect of their routine (by having to sign-in, or change the way they currently do tasks like inviting someone to a meeting).

Visitor management software like WhosOnLocation replaces a business’s paper sign-in book and does any number of other processes which improve the general safety and security. When you deploy a visitor management solution, there will be many different roles and uses for the product within the organization, and the people visiting. From helping to run safe and effective evacuations to managing the insurance validity of contractors and service providers coming on-site, through to sending out health and safety hazard alerts in real-time. The point is that when you deploy a new system, there is a lot involved.

As with the success of any new company tool, it relies on trust and enthusiasm to make it work. New tools don’t get taken up when people see them as another hassle to add to their working day, so it’s key to introduce the system in the right way and get the internal buy-in early on. 

Here are some ideas to use when you are setting up a new visitor management system:

Keep the trust 

Relationship management is essential when introducing your new system. Make sure everyone who needs to know about the changes does and explain the reasons as to why you chose the system you did. If you don’t have any in place already, now is a good time to create some policies for your staff around visitor management. This can seem a little over the top, but there’s no harm in having documentation to support a new system and give a level of clarity to everyone who will be using it, from as early on as possible. 

Bring it back to your company’s vision

If you want to be the best in your industry, have the safest workplace, and have the best customer service, visitor management software is going to get you there.

Policies

Create a Privacy Policy: Visitor management software will likely be storing staff details and, at the very least, will likely involve capturing data such as staff sign-in times and time spent on-site after hours. It’s a good idea to create a Privacy Policy around how to gather personal data, what will happen to this information, who will have access to it with an emphasis on how your organization will protect and maintain user privacy. 

Use a Lone Worker Procedure or Policy – with a new level of tracking possible for employees. There will likely be an emphasis on the health and safety of lone workers and employees or contractors in your duty of care. Create a policy specifically around how their data will be managed and responsibilities that will need to be met using the tool (for example, being responsible for sending a hazard alert, or signing in every 2 hrs if working off-site).

Other policies can come in handy such as a new or updated HR policy that includes aspects related to your visitor management system (e.g. updating your Health and Safety policy to include new evacuation procedures).

Keeping the conversation open

• Have lots of conversations with staff around your new system. Keep these positive and offer ways for people to join in, give feedback, and ask any questions they have. 

• Give examples – Show your team how other organizations are using visitor management to make their lives easier and their workplaces safer and more secure. Physically show everyone how your organization will use it as well, for example, take everyone down to your kiosk or reception desk and run through a sign-in scenario, or do a fire drill.

• People losing interest or showing hesitation? Bring the conversation back to the risks. People deserve to work in an environment that’s as safe and secure as it can be. Let them know how much sense it makes to mitigate as many risks as possible.

• Lead by example – This goes without saying, if you and other managers are leading by example (using the system well and enthusiastically), it will make the whole transition smoother.

• Offer training – If your staff know how to use your visitor management system to make their jobs more efficient, then they are guaranteed to use it more. Give everyone introductory training of the product as a whole. Then, you train staff on role-specific usage, drilling deeper into the features each person will need to use in their jobs – for example, brief your executives on how to pre-register and send automated emails to their guests. 

Bring it back to the benefits

• Show everyone how the new system will make their life easier. With WhosOnLocation, employees can send an automated invite to anyone they are meeting. This registers their details in the system and will make it quicker for their guest to sign-in. They can also get an email or SMS when their guest has arrived, so they don’t waste any time waiting around for them in the lobby.

• Your employees will be safer in many ways when you are using an electronic visitor management system, so bring the conversation back to that when you can. WhosOnLocation comes with a Panic Alarm feature, for example. This feature allows anyone who might find themselves in a position where their safety is compromised (e.g., a disgruntled customer is demanding to go through to the factory) discreetly raise an alarm by clicking a button.

• Visitor management software is good for the bottom line, and your organization will be saving not only money but time, especially those responsible for those time-consuming jobs like filling of visitor records (usually reception or admin staff).

Let it happen

It doesn’t take long for people to get used to new systems and making small changes in their individual routine. After everyone is using the parts of visitor management that will help them in their roles, the only problem you should have is too many requests for extra training (and on-boarding your new employees).