You’ve secured the doors, installed the cameras, and set up keycard and mobile access. But there’s one checkpoint every single person passes through: the front desk. It’s where hospitality meets security, and even the smallest lapse can cause big problems.
With office entries climbing—rising by as much as 35% in the past year—more people to screen means more chances for slip-ups. In a workplace full of employees, contractors, and visitors, the front desk isn’t just a welcome. It’s security in action.
Manual sign-ins leave your company exposed
Handwritten sign-ins can’t keep up with today’s pace. They’re slow, easy to bypass, and give you no real-time view of who’s on site. During emergencies, audits, or just a busy check-in period, paper logs leave you blind to risks and gaps in security.
Relying on pen and paper turns your front desk into the weakest link rather than a first line of defense. Here’s how it holds your team back:
- Doesn’t deter unauthorized visitors
- Gives you zero real-time visibility
- Slows down emergency response
- Complicates audits and compliance checks
It’s no surprise that 53% of workplace leaders want to update their devices and protocols—moving away from outdated manual processes—to improve onsite security.
During a fire alarm, safety incident, or unexpected visitor, manual tracking slows responses, increasing risk to people, property, and compliance. Even a single suspicious visitor can create a problem. With only a paper log, your team can’t quickly alert security or verify permissions.
Digital visitor management protects your people—and your operations
Modern visitor management systems combine security and efficiency in one platform—a win for both your security team and anyone walking through your doors. According to a Brivo Security Trends report, 84% of access control users say experience is a top priority—making a smooth, fast check-in essential.
By moving away from paper sign-ins and manual processes, you can:
When paired with your building’s access control, visitor management goes from reactive check-ins to proactive security, keeping track of who enters, when, and where. The result? Stronger protection and a better visitor experience—without front desk bottlenecks.
From check-ins to compliance: one system, total visibility
As your business grows and more people pass through its doors, keeping security consistent gets more complex. A unified security strategy links your people, property, and data, helping you spot risks, enforce policies, and respond quickly to incidents. To make that strategy work in practice, your team needs solutions that give them clear oversight and control.
Enter Brivo Visitor Management powered by Envoy, designed to turn check-ins into proactive security, full visibility, and smooth operations across your workplace.
Centralized control for all visitor activity
Screen visitors in advance
Flag anyone on watchlists to prevent unwanted entry
Manage access instantly
Automatically print badges and alert hosts for a smoother check-in
Keep detailed records
Quickly generate reports on visitor activity and access
Managing visitor logs, access permissions, and alerts from a single platform gives your team a true source of truth for workplace security. No more silos or unwieldy tech stacks—just one solution that scales across multiple sites, providing clear oversight and making it easier to maintain consistent, proactive security everywhere.
Security starts with a hello
Every check-in is a chance to keep your workplace and the people in it safe. Switching from manual logs to a digital system makes those moments really count, turning your front desk into a true first line of defense.
Take a moment to evaluate your current process. Are your logs real-time? Can you verify visitors before they walk in? Are your audit trails reliable? If not, a unified platform like Brivo Visitor Management powered by Envoy can help turn your front desk into a proactive line of defense.
Ready to turn every check-in into a security advantage?
Rene Matawaran is Senior Product Marketing Manager at Envoy, a platform trusted by over 16,000 workplaces worldwide to keep people safe, operations running smoothly, and workplaces connected and compliant. To learn more, visit Envoy’s website.