Policy writing is rarely a subject that gets people excited and workplace visitor policies are no different. But just because the policy creation isn’t exciting, they are extremely important when it comes to both workplace security, compliance and visitor experience.
In this article we’ll cover why you need a workplace visitor policy, what you need to include when creating your policy, and how to scale your policy to include multiple locations or visitor types.
And if you’re just looking for a quick way to write your workplace visitor policy we’ve included a template you can use at the end of this article.
Why you need a workplace visitor policy
At the highest level a workplace visitor policy is a set of rules that defines who is allowed on your premises, when they’re allowed in and what parts of the facility they can access.
Simpler policies may treat visitors as a single group, where more complex policies will specify separate rules for different visitor types. For example a healthcare facility will probably have a separate set of rules for patients, job candidates and visiting specialists.
You need a workplace policy to help you:
- Ensure the safety of everyone who enters your facility
- To ensure compliance with regulations within your industry
- To create a consistent and enjoyable visitor experience.
Things you need to include in your workplace visitor policy
The specific elements that go into creating your policy will depend on your organization as well as your industry.
For some organizations visitors will include vendors, contractors and employees’ friends and family, where other organizations like healthcare facilities will need to include sections on patients, their families and visiting specialists in their policy as well.
Whether you are building a new visitor policy from the ground up or you’re refreshing an existing policy you would do well to include information on the following:
- Who can invite visitors
- Who is and isn’t allowed in the workplace
- What documents need to be signed when entering the premises
- Rules and procedures for visitors such as check-in, visiting hours, areas of access and WiFi access.
How to scale your workplace visitor policy
The primary challenge related to scaling your workplace visitor policy is to standardize your visitor policies and procedures across multiple locations or multiple visitor types.
And the easiest way to manage this challenge is by using a visitor management system (VMS). Here are some of the ways a visitor management system will help you scale your workplace visitor policy:
- Easy expansion to new locations
- Easy management of visitor experience for different visitor types
- Remain compliance across multiple locations.
Workplace visitor policy template
You can tailor this template to quickly create your own workplace visitor policy.
Visitor Policy
1. Overview
[COMPANY NAME] is committed to ensuring the health and safety of its employees, subcontractors and visitors to its premises, as well as the protection of [COMPANY NAME]’s property and assets.
The company is responsible and liable for all contractors/visitors on the property. [COMPANY NAME] is not responsible for any injury or illness suffered as a result of a violation of this policy.
2. Purpose
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance for any person visiting the premises of [COMPANY NAME].
3. Scope
This policy applies to all employees. In the context of this policy the term “visitor” applies to friends and family (personal visitors), contractors, external vendors, stakeholders, and members of the public.
Rules relating to remote employees, employees from other locations as well as employees currently on leave/sabbatical are covered in section 5d of this document.
4. General Policy
All visitors, no matter the purpose of their stay, must abide by the following rules:
- Specify your registration procedure/requirement
- Specify rules for visitor identification (use of ID badges, lanyards etc.)
- Specify whether visitors must be accompanied by an employee at all times
- Specify whether there are specific rules pertaining to waiting areas
- Specify whether pre-registration is required for all visitors
Rules related to specific visitor types can be found in section 5 of this document.
4a. Inviting visitors
- Specify who is allowed to invite visitors and what needs to be done as part of the invitation process, such as background checks and pre-registrations.
4b. Parking
- Specify whether you validate parking for visitors
- Specify whether parking is available and if so if visitor parking is separate from employee parking, for instance.
5. Policies specific to visitor types
This section covers rules and regulations pertaining to specific visitor types.
5a. Personal visitors
- Specify rules specific to personal visitors.
5b. Vendors and contractors
- Specify rules specific to vendors and contractors.
5c. Vendors and contractors
- Specify rules specific to partners and/or clients.
5d. Employees
- Specify whether employees are allowed access outside of business hours or outside of their work
- Specify procedures/rules for remote employees
- Specify procedures/rules for employees from other locations
- Specify procedures/rules for employees while on leave/sabbatical.
5e. Other visitor types
- Specify rules specific to visitor types not mentioned above.
6. Privacy
If you collect visitor data, use this section to specify data collected, how long it is stored and reference your company’s privacy policy.