We have all penned down our details on the in-and-out maintenance register before entering or leaving any premises. Many of them also boast of a security camera that records the entries and exits.
But how efficient and secure is this approach? The manual intervention in this method is too much for 2024. Technological advancements have rapidly reduced human effort, and one such bliss is the visitor management system for school.
What is Visitor Management System?
To keep track of all the entries and exits, corresponding times, personal information like name, address, mobile number, etc., one puts a visitor management system to use. If we talk about schools, the action of entry-exit is on an infinite loop. It starts early in the morning with the labor staff getting in. Then there is the swarm of students who arrive by their school buses, with their parents or via their own vehicles.
Then there are parents who come with their ward for admission inquiries, and guests invited by the school authorities and a dozen more. How can so many transactions be manually managed with pin-point accuracy?
An efficient visitor management system (VMS) comes to the aid of schools here and provides a one-stop solution to the hassle of monitoring the daily visitors.
Open Source Visitor Gate Pass System for school monitors all the people who “come-in” or “go out” of the premises. In addition, it also captures the students and faculties in the corridors, hallways, etc., thereby increasing the security of the students. The system is, therefore, a relief-provider for the parents who are constantly worried about their ward.
If any student is found misbehaving or bunking classes, they can be punished, and the proof can be sent to the parents. If teachers, staff members, and other employees are not reporting on time or doing their work with dedication, they can be questioned about their actions too. Overall, it creates an always-improving work environment where everyone involved has a sense of urgency to do their bit on time and with productivity.
Key Features to Look in a Visitor Management System for Schools
1. User-Friendly Interface
The visitor management system for schools should provide a user-friendly interface for registering and storing information about guests. The people who visit school must be asked to submit their name, contact details, photo, and the person with whom they want to meet. Repeating visitors should be allowed to access the school using a credential or verification code rapidly.
2. Visitor ID Badge
Community leaders, guests, workshop teachers, vendors, and other such members visit schools regularly. A visitor management program should also provide the functionality to create visitor identification badges with restricted accessibility and expiration date. Once they visit, you can print the badge as the guest signs or send them before they arrive. Furthermore, an admin must be allowed to remove access to the badge manually. That will avoid badge misuse.
3. Offender Checks and Emergency Alerts
Visitor monitoring is the most critical safety function required for schools. With a visitor management program, the school admin should be allowed to create and manage a list of registered perpetrators. Visitor management systems can warn the school’s administrator when an intruder attempts to enter the school to be prepared to prevent access to the individual.
In emergency cases, school administrators should be allowed to issue collective alerts. It may be a natural disaster (earthquake) or some other kind of incident like fire outbreaks. The power to send instant notifications to in-school individuals will avoid accidents and direct children to protection.
Looking for Visitor Management Software? Check out SoftwareSuggest’s list of the best Visitor Management Software solutions.
4. Student Tracking and Network-Based Reporting
It is essential to monitor the check-in and check-out times for the students. It can allow schools to assess the timeliness and students’ attendance.
The web-based real-time monitor allows management to keep an eye on visitors. A network-based report should be expected to offer details like: a database of active check-ins in a school, visitor access data, trend analysis of several individuals entering a school, access to real-time monitoring of visitors throughout various school buildings.
5. Data Security
Nowadays, data protection has become a mandatory priority. Schools should use a metal-solid system that safeguards the student records, financial details, and the meeting history. Schools are also legally obligated to make sure that their visitor management program is consistent with data protection regulations. You can blindly skip any VMS that compromises data security.
6. Price
Before buying a visitor management system, you must answer a few questions,
- How much is your current system costing?
- How much are you willing to pay for your new system?
After answering these questions, you need to find the best fit for your needs. There are different packages available in the market, all depending upon the scale and needs of your profession. Compare the features offered by them and pick the one that best matches your expectations and budget.
Visitor Management System for School – Why Should You Consider Having One?
A purpose propels a purchase. The purpose is basically a solution to the challenges one encounters in the existing system. A school, therefore, needs a VMS to cover safety, privacy, accuracy, and other similar aspects. To find the best match, figure out the challenges posed by the current system. This keeps you away from overspending, and you get a VMS with features that overlap with your operational requirements.
With the addition of VMS, a school gets the following benefits and should, therefore, consider having one.
Streamline All The Processes From The Very Beginning
Meetings with school personnel, Principals, etc., can be efficiently managed with a VMS. It keeps a record of all the visits scheduled for the associated authorities, and one can check the system to know the vacant slot for holding their meeting – no more hassle to voice your opinions and no more long wait times as well.
Students can also benefit at the same time. With an increased structure in process-scheduling, more extra classes and doubt sessions can be arranged. The students can also get a one-to-one conversation with the teachers to gain crisp knowledge of the concerned subject.
Safeguard The Premises and Increase Protection
Doesn’t it become way easy when a system monitors and manages the data of the students, teachers, staff members, visitors, etc.?
Visitor Management System for school precisely does that while also making sure that there’s no data duplication and the system follows strict laws of data privacy and integrity.
When all the students and staff members are under security surveillance, the overall protection automatically peaks. A visitor management system is vigilant, accurate, and prioritizes security protocols to promote a shielded working ecosystem.
Keep Up With The Technological Elevations
For how long can manual pen-paperwork stay relevant in domains where technology has way more systematic solutions? In the domain of visitor management, the answer is not for long. VMS has capabilities way beyond manual management, and people have already made swift transitions from “manual-to-automation.”
It’s critical to run alongside the IT innovations because if you don’t, you lose out on the enhanced ROI that waits on the other side. Inculcate VMS to your school operations and impose a lasting impression on the guests and parents that visit the temple of learning.
Emergency Response Capabilities
A visitor management system in schools, with features like background checks, ensures safety. An important benefit is its role in emergencies. If there’s a fire or other urgent situation, the system helps identify and locate people in the school quickly. Emergency responders can use it to account for everyone and provide guidance. This feature enhances overall safety and security in schools, making it easier to respond effectively during critical situations.
Wrapping it Up
Ease to set up. Efficient in usage. Productive for the students as well as the staff members. The visitor management system offers an all-in-one package for schools that allow the authorities to focus on subjects that actually require their attention.
When you figure out the requisites of the system you need before making a purchase, you save money and also get the best visitor management system for the school. Want to make school functioning convenient and systematic? Trust visitor management to do the same and a lot more at prices that make it a “steal of a deal.”
Chirantan Patel is the Product Manager at Softwaresuggest & Callhippo, an Inc. 275 company that researches and analyzes software to educate, advise, and connect buyers and sellers of business technology.
