Ultimately, it will be safety that determines exactly what visitor policy you set. In some industries, it is wiser to restrict all unnecessary visitors access because you just can’t assume that they know how to behave appropriately for their safety. But there are other factors that you can consider when determining whether or not your employees should be allowed to have non-business related visitations.
- Will they be a distraction? – if you are approving an office visitation for an employee, keep in mind the time of day that the requested visit would take place. If they are visiting during the employee’s lunch break, then a visit may be appropriate. This is a guideline that can be outlined in a visitor’s policy.
- Is there a safe area for visits? – many companies will limit staff to having visitors in more public places of a building, like a cafeteria. This keeps visitors away from classified information, or unsafe areas. If you do not have a safe, public space for visitors, then you may want to avoid granting them access.
- Are there days of the week that aren’t as busy? – you don’t want a building for of unnecessary visitors on days that are busy for client visits, meetings, and other important tasks. Visitors can be limited to quieter days of the week.
- Are you willing to limit quantity of employee visits? – employees can be limited to having a set number of visits per year. This reduces the overall number of visitors that come through the workplace overall.
Whatever your policy, make sure that all visitors are identified by a visitor’s pass and recorded in your system.