In today’s digital age, the meaning of workplace security has expanded vastly. Organizations should not only consider employee, customers and financial safety from external factors such as fire, natural disasters, chemical spills, civil disturbances, robbery, etc., but also from internal factors like workplace violence, employee theft, intellectual property theft, and data theft.

There are a variety of security issues that can occur within the premises of your workplace. Thus, it should be your top priority to provide a safe and secure work environment for your employees and visitors.

But security threats don’t just harm your employees. Office theft, fraud, or data theft can cost your company a lot more than you think. Take a look at the impact of security breaches on the U.S. market.

Impact of Security Risks

As per Statistics Brain, employee theft alone is costing U.S. companies $50 billion every year. It is not only the most common but also the costliest workplace security risk that goes unnoticed for years. From office supplies, computer hardware to sneaking cash and committing fraud, all these acts fall under the umbrella of employee theft.

Intellectual property theft is another form of employee theft. The exact cost of intellectual property theft is yet to come out, but even the estimate is shocking. As stated by the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property, the approximate annual cost due to the loss of intellectual property ranges from $225 billion to $600 billion.

In fact, these numbers do not even account for office robberies from outsiders. According to the FBI, in 2017, there were almost 410,000 office burglaries with an average cost of $2,514 worth of equipment or merchandise stolen.

Now that you know the gravity of the situation, you must consider adopting a foolproof security system for your company. When you adopt a more tech-savvy and sophisticated method for registering your visitors, it communicates to the people that your company is not only efficient and organized but also prioritizes workplace security. Moreover, using a visitor management system or an electronic visitor log to record and manage visitor data is far better than other traditional methods. Keeping track of people coming in and out becomes a cakewalk with a visitor management system. It makes the work of your receptionist easy because:

• It accurately captures visitor data like name and picture.
• It creates photo badges for visitors
• It notifies employees via texts or alerts about the arrival of a visitor
• It performs security checks by screening against unwanted visitors

Big or small, bank or hospital, it’s crucial to have a visitor management system in your organization. Let’s explore how a visitor management system enhances your workplace security.

1. Minimizes Security Breach

Your office lobby is your front row of defense. The reception is the area where you can control access to your company and keep a check on unwanted visitors entering the premises. Because your visitor sign-in process is automated, your workplace security is enhanced.

If you don’t have an efficient visitor management system in your office, there are high chances of a security breach which can put you in a vulnerable spot. Paper-based systems are easily accessible whereas digital systems are password protected. Thus, your logbooks and reusable visitor badges are not as safe as you think.

Why choose Visitly: Your guests, visitors, employees, and contractors can easily sign in and sign out using the high-tech iPad application. Usually, the sign-in process can be finished within a minute. In addition, Visitly will auto sign out users at midnight and keep your visitor log up-to-date.

2. Easier to differentiate between employees and visitors

Your reception staff is usually swamped with a lot of work, so there might be a chance that they miss some visitors coming in and going out.

Without a visitor management system, it is a guessing game. At most workplaces, employees will recognize their colleagues and will be able to identify someone new. But how can they be sure whether the stranger is a visitor or an intruder?

A visitor management system simplifies the menial task of tracking every visitor. It helps the receptionists by quickly registering the visitor information and notifies the employees about the arrival of expected visitors.

Why choose Visitly:  With Visitly, you can print instant photo badges for visitors with all their information. The facial recognition feature enables you to pre-fill information about frequent visitors and saves time. It also sends real-time notifications to employees or custom recipients about the sign in and sign- out of expected guests.

3. Assist in Emergencies

Imagine the following scenario. A fire has broken out in your workplace and everyone is supposed to evacuate the building. Almost every one of your employees has gathered outside but you have no clue about the cleaning staff working in the building.

Maybe the staff has left for lunch or maybe they are still stuck inside the facility. There are a lot of loopholes in the evacuation plan if you don’t have an error-free sign in and out system.

Without a sign in and out system, there’d be no way to officially verify the details about the cleaning staff.

Why choose Visitly: Luckily, Visitly comes with a web-based visitor log with live search, thus keeping you updated with all the visitor data, documents and much more. You can also use the searchable directory to find important information such as email, phone number, etc. about your employees and visitors.

 Conclusion

Creating a safe and secure work environment starts with knowing your potential security threats and the best way to mitigate them. A sense of security is directly proportional to employee happiness. This leads to a greater sense of trust and loyalty between your employees and the organization. Higher productivity and employee engagement are the added benefits that come along with a strong sense of security.

So, if you are ready to make your workplace safe and secure for your employees, why not take the first step with Visitly?