Visitor management on the budget: how to make the business case to management
When making the case for an investment, a long list of features rarely makes the difference. What matters more is showing what your current way of working costs and what could change with a new solution. That is why visitor management should be looked at from a business perspective, not simply as another system purchase. Alongside the price tag, you need to make the costs, risks, and areas for improvement in your current process visible.
Your current way of working has a cost, too
The time spent managing visits does not always show up as one clear cost. Instead, it is easily spread across different parts of the organisation. Reception welcomes the visitor, an employee leaves their work to meet them, and information is entered of checked manually. A single task may take only a few minutes, but repeated often enough, those minutes turn into hours.
You can start estimating the cost of your current process by looking at visitor volumes, the time spent managing each visit and the routine tasks that could be automated. Even a rough calculation can change the conversation: instead of comparing the price of a new solution with zero, you are comparing it with what your current way of working already costs.
Enkku:
Not every benefit can be measured in euros
The case of visitor management should not be based on time savings alone. Not every benefit has a direct monetary value.
A smooth visit also shapes the visitor experience and the impression your company makes. When invitations, instructions, safety inductions, arrival and notifications work as they should, visitors do not have to figute out what happens next. At the same time, repetitive tasks can be automated, freeing up employees’ time for other work.
A well-managed visitor process also brings peace of mind. When practices are clearly defined and recurring steps are handled consistently, there is less to remember, check and solve separately for every visit.
Visitor management comes with responsibilities
The visitor process involves personal data and information about who is moving around your premises. Some visitor-related practices are therefore not simply a matter of choice. There are also requirements that organisations need to meet.
The GDPR requires personal data to be appropriately protected. When it comes to visitor data, organisations need to ensure that personal data is handled and protected with the appropriate level of care.
NIS2, in turn, requires organisations within its scope to manage cybersecurity risks. Its requirements include access control and also take into account the protection of the physical environment of network and information systems.
Digital visitor management can help put these requirements into practice. Instead of storing data on paper or across scattered locations, organisations can establish consistent practices of handling it.
Up-to-date information becomes even more important in an emergency. Organisations need to be able to determine who is on their premises and follow agreed procedures even when business as usual is disrupted.
Visitor data supports better decisions
Visits affect more than just reception. Visitor volumes can also be reflected in the use of meeting rooms, parking and other shared spaces.
Visitor data shows when visitors arrive, how volumes vary, and when resources are needed. This information can support decisions about reception staffing and workplace development, for example. Instead of relying on assumptions about how spaces and services are used, decisions can be based on actual usage.
What happens when visitor volumes grow?
As visitor volumes increase or new locations open, the work involved in managing visits should not grow at the same rate. Consistent practices and automated workflows make it easier to use the operating model as the organisation grows.
Bring the problem and the solution, not a feature list
When discussing the budget, do not start by explaining everything a new system can do. Make the current situation and the change you want to achieve visible instead. Start here:
Calculate how much time you currently spend managing visits and manual tasks, and what that costs. Compare the price of a new solution with that cost, not with zero.
Identify repetitive tasks where manual work could be reduced, such as sending invitations, inductions, arrival-related steps and notifications.
Consider the risks and requirements as well: data security and protection, security, requirements that apply to your organisation and preparedness for emergencys.
Assess where better visitor data could help, for example when planning reception services, spaces or other resources.
Ask whether your current way of working can scale. How would growing visitor volumes or new locations affect the workload?
In larger organisations, management may not have a clear view of how the visitor process works in practice, as visits are often handled through assistants. That is why it is important to make the current costs visible to decision-makers, along with the risks of leaving the process as it is.
Anssi Tamminen
CEO
At Systam, we start by looking at how visits are managed in your organisation today and what you want to do better. The solution should address a real need, not simply tick boxes on a long list of requirements and features.
We are happy to help you assess what kind of solution fits your needs and how to make the benefits of the investment clear to decision-makers.
