A policy on visitors in the workplace: it may sound simple, but it’s something that’s often overlooked in many companies. Restricting unauthorized visitors and providing for some general guidelines when visitors are present helps to ensure security, decrease insurance liability, protect confidential information, safeguard employee welfare, and avoid potential distractions and disturbances.

Your policy on visitors should address when visitors can stop-by, who must be notified that a visitor is on company premises, what part(s) of the facility the visitor can access, if the visitor is required to be accompanied, and how long visitors can stay. These are important considerations when providing for the safety and security of employees as well as for ensuring efficiency when employees are on the job. Specific points to include within your visitors policy are outlined below:

1. Visitor entrances. Consider whether visitors can only enter through your facility’s main entrance or if they are permitted to use employee entrances. Think about the safety and security of a visitor who may be entering through employee areas; is there heavy machinery or any other potential hazards around? It may be wise to only permit visitors to access your facility through the main entrance, this way you are able to monitor who is entering the building and when.
2. Checking in. Require visitors check-in upon entering your facility. The check-in process should obtain the visitor’s name, with whom they are planning to visit, and the purpose of their visit. This step eliminates the uncertainty about who is entering the building and also provides a means for determining the employee responsible for the visitor. You may even want to require a nametag so co-workers are aware that the individual is a visitor.
3. Reserve the right to deny access. Allowing visitors access to your facility is not a right; employers are permitted to restrict anyone entrance into the building. When it comes to the safety and efficiency of your company, a visitor may not always be conducive to company operations.
4. Designate visitor areas. Determine if any areas of your facility will be off limits to visitors, such as utility rooms, record and archival storages, and areas with heavy equipment or other hazards. Areas that may be confidential or those that may jeopardize the visitors’ safety should be considered restricted.
5. Establish time limits for visitor stays. By allotting a time frame for visitor stays you can ensure that employees are not taking too much time out of the workday to socialize. This helps to maintain employee productivity and ensure that visitors are accounted for during their visit.
6. Require accompaniment. Supervision is a small precautionary measure that can go a long way in protecting the company. Visitors should be required to be accompanied by a company representative at all times. This could prevent a visitor from entering into unsafe areas of the facility and may also help to prevent access to confidential and proprietary information.
7. Hold employees accountable. Include a provision that employees are responsible for their visitors. Should visitors wander into unauthorized areas or otherwise be unaccompanied, the employee responsible for the visitor should be subject to disciplinary action.

Drafting formal visitor guidelines are too often overlooked; to many they may seem to be common-sense, to others they may seem unimportant. But the fact of the matter is visitors can pose a threat to company safety and employee productivity. As simple as it may be, creating a policy on visitors in the workplace can protect against liability and help to maintain worker efficiency.