5 Tips for Multi-Location Visitor Management

Managing visitors across multiple locations is a challenge. It's hard enough tracking the comings and goings of tens, hundreds, or thousands of visitors and employees in one location, let alone multiple. On top of that, different locations may have their own security protocols, policies, and regulations. Finally, businesses with multiple locations may have different staff members responsible for visitor management, leading to confusion and inconsistency.  

Implementing a more comprehensive visitor management system (VMS) can be an Advil to the headache that is managing multiple locations. Even in the most complex facilities and enterprises, upgrading to automated visitor management is easy and effective.  

Facility and plant managers expedite the visitor sign-in process with highly efficient and accurate VMS platforms. With remote, real-time management solutions for multiple locations, managers improve workplace security, ease compliance, maximize safety, and enhance the visitor experience.  

In this article, we explore tips to empower multi-location visitor management. 

5 Tips for Visitor Management in Multiple-Location Enterprises 

Track visitors and provide a welcoming, well-organized experience with these five simple tips that streamline visitor management across multiple locations. 

1. Create Standardized Operating Procedures

Standardized operating procedures (SOPs) provide a straightforward process with predictable and repeatable steps. It improves an organization's visitor management, information, accuracy, and overall efficiency. The operating procedures should apply to your visitor management strategy as they are assets in managing visitors: SOPs aimed at visitor management will help reduce your overhead costs and improve efficiency.  

Some SOPs for multiple-location businesses include: 

• Incorporating a central visitor management system. Having one cross-location location management system ensures consistent visitor tracking and management 
• Providing customized requirements based on the type of visitor. Some visitors, like contractors, may be required to provide documentation, complete liability waivers, and sign NDAs. With VIP guests, on the other hand, you may wish to simplify the sign-in process, assign an escort, and notify their host on arrival. 
• Conducting regular visitor management training sessions for employees. By developing an SOP around employee education, everyone on your team will be aware of the latest procedures and feel comfortable following them correctly. 

2. Manage Multiple Locations Remotely on the Cloud

Cloud-based visitor management software is transforming the way facilities process and monitor visitors. A single person can control multiple locations remotely through a central, online location. Have a complete overview of all facilities at a glance, or focus on a specific location.   

Manage facility security across multiple entry points and locations on a dashboard that displays everything in a central location. Rather than manually tracking visitors, scheduling appointments, issuing temporary ID badges, and entering visitor data into a spreadsheet, the right software automates your tasks. It saves you endless time and energy in the process. 

3. Real-Time Dashboards Enhance Insights and Visibility

Multi-location businesses oversee a wealth of activities. Not only must you manage daily operations at each location, but you also need to keep a close eye on the big picture. That's where a real-time facility dashboard is useful. 

Centralized dashboards are useful for organizations with multiple locations because it allows your management team to supervise multiple workplace sites from a single remote location. It also grants administrators the ability to:  

• Access data 
• Generate reports 
• Acquire real-time building occupancy information 
• Receive and track deliveries 
• Manage access controls 
• Automate emergency notifications  

View individual location data to monitor a site's performance, compare multiple locations side-by-side, and gain high-level insight into your company as a whole. 

A real-time dashboard lets you see who is in your workplace at all times. Armed with this knowledge, you can manage all visitor and contractor inductions while safeguarding your employees and facilities. 

4. Create Digital Paper Trails

A digital visitor log brings your facility management into the 21st Century. In addition to increasing efficiency, it revolutionizes the storage and recovery of valuable data.   

The digital log automatically generates a digital paper trail when a visitor signs in. Their information, along with supporting documentation and e-signatures are stored on the cloud, ready for automatic recall. As a result, it's easy to review and recall data in individual locations or across multiple facilities. This makes it possible to generate reports in seconds.  

In the past, creating reports for audits, internal reviews, or investigations was a slow, manual process. Sorting through passes and log books can take days and is prone to errors and missing information. Now, you can generate these same reports, with greater accuracy, at the click of a button. It has never been easier to prove compliance or to submit audit reports. 

5. All-In-One Facility and Visitor Management

The best way to manage all your locations is with an all-in-one solution. Facility and visitor management platforms designed to handle multiple locations enable consistent practices and policies. Avoid the hiccups and miscommunication of using mismatched software.  

iLobby's turnkey solution provides all your facility management needs under one umbrella; FacilityOS. This platform integrates seamlessly with enterprises and manufacturing plants' most popular systems and software. The platform has a growing list of available modules to better serve all your locations: 

Seamlessly Manage Multi-Location Businesses  

Manually managing multiple locations doesn't have to be expensive, inefficient, or challenging. A centralized visitor management system seamlessly integrates your operations. A single person can manage all locations remotely through our facility management platform.  

iLobby helps you handle employee and visitor traffic, receive visitor notifications when guests arrive and oversee access to business facilities. You gain useful enterprise visitor management features, such as the ability to print badges, track visitors across multiple locations, and schedule appointments. 

Manage visitors more effectively and efficiently. iLobby improves workplace safety, enhances security, and maintains compliance with internal and regulatory standards. Schedule a demo today to learn how to improve visitor management in your multi-location enterprise.