Create Hosts
A host is somebody a visitor comes to see. The receptionist cannot type a name freely on a visit, she picks a host from this list, so the list has to hold everybody who receives visitors.
What it is for
A visitor arrives and says he has come to see the purchase manager. The receptionist needs to know who that is, how to reach him, and whether he is even in today. This screen holds that short directory: the name, the email, the phone extension, the department, and a tick that says whether the person is still receiving visitors.
Two things are worth telling the client at implementation.
First, the host list is not the employee list. You put on it only the people who actually receive visitors: the managers, the purchase and accounts people who see suppliers, the engineers who see contractors. At a 500 person manufacturer that is usually twenty or thirty names, not five hundred.
Second, naming a host on a visit records who the visitor came to see and nothing else. No message is sent, nothing lands in the host's inbox, and no approval is raised. The value of the host is at the desk and afterwards: the receptionist knows who to telephone, and the visit record says who the man was let in to see. Promise the client that and no more.
Every field, in plain words
Header
| Field | What it means | What to put in it | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Host | The short code for the host. | HST-014 | Must be unique. |
| Host name | The person's name as the receptionist should read it. | Faisal Mehmood, Purchase Manager | Put the job title in with the name. A receptionist who has not met him needs it. |
| Email Address | Where to write to him. | faisal.mehmood@company.com.pk | Recorded for the receptionist's use. Nothing is emailed from this module. |
| Phone Number | The extension or mobile to call when his visitor arrives. | Extension 214 | This is the field the receptionist actually uses. Keep it right. |
| Department | Which department he belongs to. | Purchase | Helps the receptionist find the right man when the visitor only knows the department. |
| Notes | Anything the desk should know. | Prefers visitors sent to the first floor meeting room. | |
| Active | Whether he is still receiving visitors. | Tick it | Untick it when somebody leaves or changes role, rather than deleting the host, so old visit records still make sense. |
Assigned Reception Desks
One line per desk this host can be asked for at.
| Field | What it means | What to put in it | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Line | The line number. | Fills itself. Leave it. | |
| Reception Desks | A desk where visitors for this host are received. | RECEP Office Reception | Pick it from the list of desks. Add a second line if his visitors also arrive at the gate. |
How to configure it
- Create the desks first on Reception Desks.
- Agree with the client which people receive visitors. Ask for a list by department rather than trying to work it out yourself.
- Open Create Hosts. Code HST-014, Host name Faisal Mehmood, Purchase Manager. Email and extension 214. Department Purchase. Active ticked.
- On Assigned Reception Desks add the desks his visitors come through. The purchase manager sees suppliers at the gate and customers at reception, so add both.
- Save, and repeat for the rest of the list.
- Review it with the client every few months. A host list with people who left on it is the usual reason a receptionist stops trusting the screen.
Scenarios
Somebody has left the company
Untick Active. Do not delete the host, because visits recorded against him should still read correctly. If his visitors are now received by somebody else, create or update that host and assign the same desks.
A supplier always asks for the stores in charge by department, not by name
Keep Department filled in on every host. The receptionist can then find the right man from "Stores" without having to know his name, which is what actually happens at a gate.
The managing director does not want his extension on the desk list
Put the secretary in as the host instead, with her extension, and the name as the role the visitor will ask for. The host is whoever the receptionist should ring, which is not always the person being visited.
What it is connected to
- Reception Desks must exist first, because a host is assigned to desks.
- Visitor Registration picks the host, or several hosts, from this list.
If something looks wrong
- "The host I want is not in the list on the registration screen" - he was never created, or he is not Active.
- "The host list is enormous and the receptionist cannot find anybody" - the client has loaded every employee. Untick the ones who do not receive visitors.
- "The host did not know his visitor had arrived" - nothing tells him. The receptionist has to ring the number in Phone Number.