How does your building handle visitors in the workplace? Your answer could be the difference between a smooth day-to-day for your tenant or a negative experience that throws a lease renewal in question. Many properties institute a workplace visitor policy to ensure visitors have positive experiences without disrupting other employees.
In this post, we explain what a workplace visitor policy is. We also outline what you should keep in mind when creating one. Then, we provide an example of a workplace guest policy. Finally, we explain how to implement one at your building.
This post covers:
- What is a workplace visitor policy?
- Important elements of a workplace visitor policy
- How to create a workplace visitor policy
- How to implement a workplace visitor policy
What is a workplace visitor policy?
A workplace visitor policy is a set of guidelines you can develop to manage the presence of visitors in an office or other commercial building.
If you’re a commercial property manager, you know that a business welcomes all sorts of visitors. From friends of employees to delivery couriers with boxes full of office supplies, visitors come and go daily. Your job is to manage visitor safety and security — in addition to employee access.
Because workplace visitors range from recurring deliveries to one-time job applicants, you need a robust, comprehensive visitor entry procedure.
You’ll guarantee no visitors or employees are inconvenienced by creating a workplace guest policy. But make sure it’s one that staff and employees can follow to help visitors maintain security on your property.
Watch how ButterflyMX works:
Important elements of a workplace visitor policy
You might know that you should have a workplace guest policy, but you might not know what it should cover.
The most important elements of an effective workplace visitor policy are:
1. Delivery courier protocol
Delivery couriers are one of the most common types of visitors your tenants will deal with. And you’ll have to oversee deliveries on two levels:
First, the business might receive commercial-grade deliveries, like large quantities of office supplies.
And on an individual level, employees might receive packages or get their lunches delivered.
When couriers arrive, it’s your job to decide how far into the building they go and where specifically they should drop their packages off. So, make sure your workplace guest policy addresses how delivery carriers gain access and which areas are off-limits to them.
2. Logging visitors
Many companies find it useful to maintain a visitor log book to keep track of every visitor and how long they were on the property.
In the past, offices had no option but to depend on analog pen-and-paper systems to keep track of visitors. But paper records can be a hassle. Visitors might have illegible handwriting or paper records might degrade or go missing.
3. Tenant restrictions
You might be managing a property for tenants with stringent security standards. For example, hospitals, schools, and offices all handle sensitive information. In that case, you might not want to allow outside visitors onto the property at all.
However, if you do want to let non-tenants into the building, you have a few options that will increase visitor security. For example, an interior security system will allow you to keep an eye on visitors at all times.
Alternatively, you might not allow personal visitors for employees and restrict access to vendors and delivery couriers.
How to create a workplace visitor policy
Workplace visitor policies tend to follow the same general format, which includes a short introduction and different rules for different types of visitors.
To help you get started, below is an office visitor policy template you can edit to fit your business’s unique needs. But depending on your own management style and your security needs, you might relax these policies or add additional restrictions. In addition, if you anticipate another type of visitor, you might add another subsection.
Commercial office visitor policy example
PURPOSE
These guidelines ensure that visitors are safe during their time on our property. Additionally, these guidelines will ensure that visitors won’t negatively affect employees’ ability to work.
When a visitor is on the property, employees must ensure that visitors abide by posted safety rules and regulations. You might also add more categories of visitors if you expect staff to invite both personal and professional guests.
General policy
No matter what kind of visitor is on the premises, every visitor has to follow similar procedures.
- All visitors must sign in at the front desk and sign back out.
- The visitor must be assigned a temporary ID badge.
- An employee must accompany their visitor at all times.
Personal visitors
Personal visitors in the workplace are only allowed during the standard working hours of 9 A.M. to 5 P.M.
Vendors and contractors
Vendors, contracts, and other official visitors must be pre-registered and have their credentials displayed before entering the property.
To download this office visitor policy as a PDF, click here. >>
How to implement a workplace visitor policy
A workplace guest policy is key to keeping your property secure and tenants happy. However, a policy enforced on paper and a policy that visitors actually follow are two very different things.
To help your staff implement your workplace guest policy, you can invest in security and access control technology that simplifies the visitor experience.
For example, the best policies work in tandem with innovations like electronic databases and hardware like visitor badge systems. Access control systems like ButterflyMX create a log of visitors. This makes it easier for visitors to access the parts of the building they need. Additionally, they do this while maintaining high levels of security for the rest of the building.
Takeaways
- A workplace visitor policy is a set of guidelines that ensure visitors are safe and don’t affect business operations.
- When you’re creating a workplace guest policy for your property, consider delivery courier protocol, logging visitors, and tenant restrictions.
- You can use a visitor management system to help staff stay on top of visitors.
