Top 5 Industries That Can Benefit From Visitor Management System Kiosks

You’ve heard about how automated kiosks are a potential option to operate your front desk. Another benefit of kiosks is that they can integrate with your visitor management system. This allows kiosks to automate visitor data entry seamlessly. Thus, visitor management system kiosks can benefit your business in various ways.

However, they also benefit certain industries more than others. These industries usually manage high volumes of visitors regularly and face challenges such as receptionist underutilization. If you fall under any of these top 5 industries, visitor management system kiosks may be a viable front desk solution for you.

What are visitor management system kiosks?

A visitor management system (VMS) is a tool that helps businesses get notifications and keep track of visitors entering and leaving their location. Usually, front desk employees like receptionists utilize the VMS to manage the flow of visitors in the business.

Visitor management system kiosks are interactive equipment directly connected to the business’ VMS. Automated kiosks have been a potential option for operating the front desk without human receptionists. By being connected to the VMS, kiosks can also automate visitor data entry for visitor management purposes.

Top industries using visitor management kiosk systems

1. Healthcare

Inconsistent front desk operations can turn away patients from returning to the practice for future appointments. Since the success of a healthcare clinic lies solely on patient retention, this can be potentially crippling.

Thus, visitor management kiosk systems can be a viable front desk solution for healthcare practices. Kiosks:

• Require little programming to fit the needs of the practice
• Integrate seamlessly with any system the clinic may be using
• Easily comply with HIPAA regulations

Kiosks also usually have fewer utilization problems than receptionists and can be more cost-efficient for the practice.

However, using healthcare kiosks may lead to a learning curve for your patients and has limitations that can reduce the value you can extract from your front desk operations. Keep this in mind before switching to kiosks for your front desk.

2. Corporate

If you manage a business with multiple locations, using visitor management system kiosks may be an efficient front desk option for you. Receptionists may take time to adjust to the company’s policies and learn about its services and culture. This adjustment period can cause downtime and impair productivity, especially for businesses that regularly deal with fast-paced transactions.

You can easily get your front desk operations up and running with a visitor management system and kiosks across your locations. This is a viable option because, unlike receptionists, it eliminates the need for talent scouting and training. Thus, a visitor management kiosk system can save time and money and allow your business to receive visitors efficiently.

The downside is that kiosks are unable to answer complex queries that visitors may ask about your business. If your company receives such visitors regularly, you may have to stick with receptionists, who can answer in-depth questions about your company’s services.

3. Hospitality

Hotels benefit significantly from visitor management system kiosks. They require a front desk that can always check in and check out guests and can answer basic inquiries. Automated kiosks tick all these boxes and can be an efficient front desk solution when combined with a competent kiosk management system.

Plus, kiosks rarely experience downtime during operations, unlike receptionists who may take breaks or leaves, which can be likely due to the tiring nature of front desk work in hotels. However, power outages, maintenance issues, and updates can sometimes disable your kiosks. If you rely on kiosks to run your front desk, this can significantly impair your hotel’s guest experience.

There are two possible solutions:

1. Have backup protocols in case your kiosks malfunction.
2. Develop a more efficient system where your receptionists can be more energetic and perform at their best.

Another limitation of kiosks is that they’re unable to handle difficult guests or answer complex questions. These issues can often occur in hotels. Keep this in mind when considering adopting kiosks for your hotels.

4. Fitness

One of the most significant advantages of using kiosks for your gym is enabling 24/7 access for your customers. Instead of going through the hassle of looking for receptionists on shifting schedules, you can simply install automated kiosks to handle the check-in and check-out of your gym tenants.

However, compared to using receptionists, utilizing automated kiosks comes at the cost of losing the following benefits:

• Maintaining the security of personal belongings stored by gym tenants
• Upselling membership packages and other promotions to customers for increased profitability
• Selling sports drinks, supplements, and other items sold by the gym to the customer over the counter

Malfunctioning kiosks can also hinder your gym tenants’ check-in and check-out process. If you can manage these compromises, visitor management system kiosks may be a viable front desk option for you.

5. Public space

Public spaces like airports and train stations regularly face high volumes of visitors. Trained front desk employees are usually capable of handling high traffic. However, besides the check-in and check-out process, visitors generally consult the front desk to ask basic questions like:

• The next steps in a process
• The location of specific areas
• For airports, the time of arrival or departure of flights

In other words, the front desk in a public space usually serves non-complex functions, which can lead to the underutilization of front desk employees.

Visitor management system kiosks can easily solve the underutilization issue by taking over these basic functions. Unlike in other industries, kiosks can sufficiently cover all customer service bases in public spaces. Complex inquiries are few and far between, as visitors will most likely ask basic questions and continue moving immediately after.

Take note that, just like in hotels, kiosks in public spaces may face the risk of malfunctions that can impair the customer service experience. Also, in the event that visitors do ask complex inquiries, be prepared to designate employees nearby to answer them.

Should you use visitor management system kiosks?

Visitor management system kiosks generally make it more convenient and efficient to operate your front desk while managing your VMS. However, they do come with compromises that range from mildly inconvenient to fatal to the customer experience.

Whether or not you should use visitor management system kiosks depends on your situation. To help you decide, here are a few guide questions to ask yourself:

• How will kiosks affect the customer experience of my business (versus receptionists)?
• Do your current receptionists have a very low ROI that kiosks are the more cost-efficient solution?
• Will kiosks be more effective than a human-operated front desk? Or can I improve my current front desk?

The last question is important. Chances are, you’re considering visitor management system kiosks because you find your current front desk either ineffective or inefficient.

In the long run, receptionists are more flexible, versatile, and welcoming – traits that are essential to a pleasant customer experience. Instead of replacing your current receptionists, consider maximizing their potential with a virtual receptionist platform like WelcomeWare that enables your front desk team to operate the front desk remotely through a live-streaming platform. Besides solving issues like underutilization and HR hassles, letting your receptionists work remotely provides many benefits that can bring more value to your business.