Organizations Need to Step-up Preparations for the Return to the Office

Companies across the UK are being urged to step-up their preparations in order to ensure staff can return safely to their offices, a recent news report has been able to suggest.

As offices begin to welcome workers back, and as those workers increasingly connect both in and out of the workplace, outbreaks of the Covid-19 virus may still emerge in clusters. Employers should plan to limit the impact of these outbreaks by operating a responsible testing procedure.

Health and safety experts believe that implementing a responsible testing procedure within organisations will ensure that managers are in control of any spread and give them the confidence and data to operate a Covid 19-free workplace. It also shows a responsible attitude to employees and communicates that management cares for their health.

Another very important area of concern are visitors to the workplace. If this is something that happens in your company, then you should ensure that following strict government guidance on mask wearing and social distancing is adhered to. This is both for the visitor and your employee. You may use questionnaires asking visitors to state any contact or symptoms that they have had.

How can Time and Attendance UK help?

Let’s start at the beginning. Our Management of Contractors and Visitors Software (MCVS) app allows visitors to book their appointments in advance in their browser. A confirmation email is sent to the visitor and to the person they are visiting (the host).

Once the visit is set up, it can be entered onto the host’s diary or visitor list, or wherever would be clearest. This eliminates the possibility of a clueless receptionist turning someone away, or panicking unprofessionally as they try to ring the host to confirm.

A streamlined integrated visitor management system begins with the inclusion of Tensor’s access control system. The visitor’s submitted photograph and vehicle registration can be entered into the company’s facial recognition and Automatic Number Plate Recognition modules, and their information can be linked to an access profile which pre-sets their door permissions.

This means that when the visitor turns up they don’t have to go through security at the gate, they don’t have to write their number plate down in a sign-in book, and they don’t even need to wear an annoying visitor pass.

Reassuringly for managers and security staff, there is also no way for the visitors to get through doors that they do not have access permissions for, thanks to Tensor’s high quality door controllers and powerful locks.

Upon arrival, their host would receive an email alerting them. (If your staff are a little slow at checking their inboxes, you could still ask the receptionist to ring!)

If you’re thinking that this sounds like the receptionist would be a little redundant … well, you’re not wrong. For companies who don’t need a receptionist (or, to go back to the beginning, small companies who can’t afford one), we can offer an Unmanned Reception App, otherwise known as the Self-Service Visitor Management App (SSVM). This app runs on any Android or iOs tablet and allows visitors to check themselves into their appointment without a receptionist needing to be present.

Whether checked-in by a receptionist or by themselves, once a visitor is registered as in the building Tensor’s access control system will add them to the real-time list. This is ideal for security, as they can see all entrance and exit times to all doors for this visitor.

A less expected benefit is to health-and-safety. If a fire alarm sounds, the central system will print an up-to-date, real-time list of everyone who is in that building or zone. So even if the visitor has nipped to the loo on the way out of their meeting, they will not be overlooked or forgotten about when it comes to the emergency roll call.