Obviously, bringing a gravestone to a conference, was provocative. It stirred up conversations around the event about the “Halloween” stand and it attracted a lot of visitors to us, as people were curious to find out what it was all about.
However, the attention-seeking marketing effect was only a by-product.
What we really wanted to get across is that killing the signing in book and replacing it with a cloud-based visitor management system at your front desk is the necessary evil you need to commit to bring your corporate hospitality to the next level.
Why? Read on, as I bring the signing in book to trial and lay out the reasons why your company should put the logbook on death row today rather than tomorrow.
#1: The signing in book violates your visitors’ privacy
By asking visitors to sign in using the traditional logbook they are providing confidential and sometimes detailed information about themselves. This information is accessible to read for any visitor who signs in after them.
This privacy violation is problematic for two reasons:
- You cannot control if somebody takes advantage of having easy access to other people’s personal data
- If visitors can see other people’s details you leave them with the impression that their data is not secure
Paper logbook is guilty.
#2: The signing in book puts your building’s security at risk
The visibility of visitors’ data in the signing in book makes many guests hesitant to fill out all the fields properly. Fake names or other incorrect details, empty fields or bad handwriting are often the result.
Having a clear and updated overview of all external visitors at any given time is crucial during emergencies.
In short, the signing in book puts your building’s security at risk due to trivialities such as badly filled-out forms.
Paper logbook is guilty.
#3: The signing in book irritates your visitors
Filling out the fields in a signing in book is time-consuming and can easily irritate your visitors who might be late or don’t have their details to hand.
Even worse, if your receptionist is not around and visitors arrive at an empty front desk, visitors are forced to wait or wander into your offices as they don’t know what else to do. Using an electronic check-in via an iPad invites your visitors to sign themselves in and notifies the host at the same time, whereas a signing in book left somewhere on or behind the counter doesn’t give the same warm welcome.
The logbook gives your visitors a cold, impersonal welcome which leave your visitors annoyed.
Paper logbook is guilty.
#4: The signing in book misrepresents your company
We believe that the first impression your company gives should be better than an open logbook with bad handwriting.
Your visitors are in many cases also your potential clients or brand ambassadors. As a hospitality company at heart, we won’t accept anything less than wowing your visitors right at the entrance, and so should you.
The signing in book is guilty of misrepresenting your company with its old-fashioned design, privacy and security concerns as well as other annoyances.
Paper logbook is guilty.
#5: The signing in book prevents receptionists to excel in their job
Last but not least, the hassle of signing your visitor in using a traditional logbook takes time away from your receptionist to truly make your visitor feel welcome.
Receptionists, or Front Desk Heroes, as we prefer to call them at Proxyclick, are the figure heads of your company (Note: If you are one of them we invite you to join this Facebook group). They are usually the first employees that your visitors meet and define therefore the first impression of any important clients or members of the public that come for a visit. This responsibility makes the role of the receptionist so important.
Using a paper logbook means a receptionist’s first conversation with a visitor revolves around helping them fill in the book such as “What to do if a box is not big enough” and similar, rather than allowing your front desk heroes to deliver a memorable visitor experience.
Paper logbook is guilty.
By Jonathan Davis
Jonathan writes about asset management, maintenance software, and SaaS solutions in his role as a digital content creator at Eptura. He covers trends across industries, including fleet, manufacturing, healthcare, and hospitality, with a focus on delivering thought leadership with actionable insights. Earlier in his career, he wrote textbooks, edited NPC dialogue for video games, and taught English as a foreign language. He holds a master's degree in journalism.
