Visitor Badge Problems and Solutions: How to Decide What Information and Badge Format Is Best

Because visitor badges are the most visible aspect of a visitor system, customers often ask us a lot of questions about formatting badges and the information they should include on them.

We'll deal with that issue in today's problems and solutions article.

Problem: Is there a recommended style and information to include on visitor passes?

Solution: Just as each organization is different with its own unique situation and requirements, so are our recommendations for different types of visitor ID badges.

Because we recognize the varied interests of different organizations, EasyLobby includes in its badge maker software a number of badge templates that you can choose from based on your individual interests in highlighting different visitor information on the badge.

We also include a custom design tool that allows you to layout and place whatever information you choose. Basically any data that you gather during visitor check in can be included on a badge.

Here are a number of primary visitor badge formatting options for you to consider.

Create different badge designs for different categories of visitors. The badges for contractors, for example, can be different from those of a day visitor, or volunteer, or parent - whatever categories of visitors that reflect your situation.

Color code your badges for different days of the week. This allows you to easily identify if a visitor pass has been issued that day.

Include a barcode on badges. Read our recent blog about using barcodes.

Include a picture of the visitor on the badge, scanned from their license during guest sign in or taken with a web camera.

Here are some common data fields that are often included in badge formats:

check in time and date
expiration time of the badge
restrictions - such as 'employee escort required'
area of the facility the guest is expected to visit, such as second floor conference room
category of visitor
visitor name, title and company affiliation
the name and photo of the employee they are visiting
your company's name and logo - for branding purposes

It all comes down to what is most important to you in identifying visitors and being able to determine from their visitor ID badge if they are at a place in your facility that they should be.

Visitor registration helps you manage visitors more professionally and improves security by identifying who is in your buildings and the reasons why. There are a number of other features to help with this process, but knowing what information to include on a visitor badge is an important step.

For more information about using security visitor badges in your environment, register for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the features of our system that are most appropriate for your particular environment and show you how to format an ID badge template.