Customers being put off by unhelpful or unfriendly reception areas is a widespread problem in the B2B sector. When you don’t have a “customer-facing” element to your workplace, it can be easy to slide into functional, unfriendly presentation methods.

 

Another sector which can suffer from this is the small and micro business, which even if they need to speak to customers directly may not have enough staff to “waste” someone at the front desk all day. A good example is a car bodywork garage.

 

An unfriendly, unwelcoming receptionist can be caused by many factors. First, of course, is a simple lack of job engagement by the employee. This should be quickly picked up by management and addressed with a frank discussion about expectations. 

 

Secondly, the receptionist may not be actually unfriendly! They might just come across that way because they are nervous and unsure what exactly to say or do. This is commonly seen in companies where receptionists aren’t receptionists at all – they are staff with other roles on a front-desk rota. 

“Oh, Alex, just answer the phones today, will you?”

 

 

So what should you do?

 

The solution is to integrate as much technology into your reception process as possible, in order to give visitor a smooth, professional and friendly experience. We have many different options to help with this.  

 

Our Management of Contractors and Visitors Software (MCVS) app allows visitors to book their appointments in advance in their browser. A confirmation email is sent to the visitor and to the person they are visiting (the host). 

 

Once the visit is set up, it can be entered onto the host’s diary or visitor list, or wherever would be clearest. This maakes checking-in easy and unambiguous. 

 

The true integration comes with the inclusion of a good access control system. The visitor’s submitted photograph and vehicle registration can be entered into the company’s facial recognition and Automatic Number Plate Recognition modules, and their information can be linked to an access profile which pre-sets their door permissions.

 

This means that when the visitor turns up they don’t have to go through security at the gate, they don’t have to write their number plate down in a sign-in book, and they don’t even need to wear an annoying visitor pass. 

 

Reassuringly for managers and security staff, there is also no way for the visitors to get through doors that they do not have access permissions for, thanks to Tensor’s high quality door readers and powerful locks. 

 

If you’re thinking that this sounds like the receptionist would be a little redundant … well, you’re not wrong. For companies who don’t need a receptionist (or, to go back to the beginning, small companies who can’t afford one), we can offer an Unmanned Reception App, otherwise known as the Self-Service Visitor Management App (SSVM). This app runs on any Android or iOs tablet and allows visitors to check themselves into their appointment without a receptionist needing to be present. 

 

A less expected benefit is to health-and-safety. If a fire alarm sounds, the central system will print an up-to-date, real-time list of everyone who is in that building or zone. So even if the visitor has nipped to the loo on the way out of their meeting, they will not be overlooked or forgotten about when it comes to the emergency roll call. 

 

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Integrating systems deeply into all areas of your workplace might feel like an unnecessarily futuristic plan. But it is almost 2020 and technology is marching on, and if you’re not careful to keep up with your competitors then you could lose business for your unfriendly and unprofessional demeanour. 

 

Talk to us about our Visitor Management software, or to Tensor about their Access Control solutions (including ANPR and Facial Recognition).