Meeting requests at the front desk
Someone at the desk asks to meet a staff member without an appointment. The staff member meets them now, asks them to wait, or gives a later time with a gate pass. They can also decline with a reason or hand over to a colleague. Every answer reaches the visitor.
PLANSFrom Growth
Why it matters
At a school office, a hospital or a company reception, many visitors do not have an appointment. They want to see the principal, the accounts head or the person who handles their file. A yes or no at the gate does not fit them. Reception ends up keeping a register of who asked for whom, and the visitor waits without knowing whether anyone will come. In SmartMy VMS the person asked can meet now or ask the visitor to wait a set number of minutes. They can give a time on another day with a gate pass. They can decline with a reason or pass the visitor to the right colleague. The visitor is told each time.
The problem it solves
- Reception writes walk-in meeting requests in a register, and the staff member never sees the page.
- A visitor without an appointment waits for an hour because nobody told them the person is busy until three.
- The visitor came for the wrong person, and the guard has to start again with someone else.
- A meeting fixed on the phone is not known at the gate when the visitor returns.
How it works
- Reception opens Visitors > My Visitors > Meeting Requests and clicks New. They choose To Meet, type the Subject and the Preferred Time, and add the visitor's name and mobile.
- The person asked gets a to-do and a notification. They open the request and click Answer.
- Schedule a time puts the meeting in their calendar and sends the visitor a gate pass for that time. Decline needs a reason. Hand over to someone else passes the request to a colleague, who is asked in turn.
- For a visitor already waiting at the gate, the host has more answers than yes or no. Meet in a few minutes (the visitor is told how long to wait), schedule a time instead, or hand over to a colleague.
- When the visitor comes back for a scheduled meeting, the gate expects them and lets them in on the pass. After the meeting, Mark done closes it.
Everything it does
A meeting request
- To Meet (a staff member), Subject, Details, Preferred Time
- Requested By (a contact), or a name and mobile
- Source: Help Desk, Walk-in at the Gate or App
- Numbered MR/year/0001
- Statuses: Requested, Scheduled, Done, Declined, Cancelled
- List, calendar (by week, coloured by the person to meet) and filters To me, Open, Awaiting answer, Scheduled; group by person, status, source or day
The answers
- Schedule a time: When, the length and Where; the length is 30 minutes when nobody says
- Scheduling makes a calendar event for the staff member and a visitor pass for the visitor. The pass is for one entry, from 30 minutes before the start to one hour after the end
- A pass is made only when the visitor's mobile is known; otherwise the request notes that no pass was issued
- Decline: a reason is required; the calendar event and an unused pass are withdrawn
- Hand over to someone else: a staff member with a back-office login; the request goes back to Requested for them
- Cancel stops a request that is still open; the person asked, reception or the requester can cancel
A visitor already at the gate
- Meet in a few minutes: the visit is approved with the minutes to wait; the visitor is told how long
- Schedule a time: the visit is closed and becomes a meeting request with its time and pass
- Hand over to a colleague: the colleague becomes the host and is asked to approve; the timeout starts again
- In the back office: Wait / later / hand over on the visit; in the Host app: More on a waiting visitor
Who may answer
- The person asked, or reception (VMS managers) for them
- The request goes through the approval chain Meeting request: scheduling is the approval, declining the refusal
- With more levels on the chain, the time chosen is kept and the meeting is scheduled after the last level
Who uses it
ReceptionLogs requests from people at the desk and answers for a staff member when needed.
Staff member askedSchedules, declines or hands over the request, or tells a waiting visitor to wait.
VisitorIs told the answer and comes in on the pass at the time given.
GuardSees the scheduled visitor as expected and lets them in on the pass.
Where you use it
- Web: Visitors > My Visitors > Meeting Requests (list, calendar, Answer, Mark done, Cancel)
- Web: a waiting visit, Wait / later / hand over
- The SmartMy VMS Host app: Visitors > Meetings, and More on a visitor at the gate. Built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- With SmartMy Campus: parents ask from the Campus app or the parent portal
- Not on the host portal in the browser: it has no Meetings page; hosts there approve or reject
What you control
Settings
- Visitor Type for Meetings: Guest to start with; the type of the pass made for a scheduled meeting
- Default Meeting Length (minutes): 30
Approvals
- Meeting request: one chain per Entity; the person asked by default, reception can answer for them; scheduling approves, declining refuses
Notifications
- Meeting Requested: to the person asked (or the approvers of the chain's level), by push, email and in-app
- Meeting Scheduled, Meeting Declined and Meeting Request Handed Over: to the visitor, by push, WhatsApp, SMS, email and in-app
- Visitor Asked to Wait: to the visitor at the gate, by WhatsApp, SMS and push
- The pass for a scheduled meeting goes to the visitor by email, and by WhatsApp and SMS where your account has them set up
- Each person can switch off a channel, such as email, for themselves; in-app notices always arrive
Works with
SmartMy CampusParents ask to meet the principal, vice principal, class teacher or head of department about their child; the request carries the student (Growth).
Questions
Does the visitor get anything when a time is given?
Yes. They are told the time by push, WhatsApp, SMS or email. Their gate pass is valid from 30 minutes before the meeting to one hour after it. The pass needs their mobile number.Does the meeting go into the staff member's calendar?
Yes. Scheduling makes a calendar event with the time, the length and the place. Declining or handing over removes it.Can a visitor be passed to a tenant's staff member?
No. A request or a waiting visitor can be handed over to staff with a back-office login only.Can the staff member answer from the browser host portal?
Not yet. Meetings are answered in the back office or in the Host app. The host portal in the browser approves or rejects visitors only.Which plan has meeting requests?
Growth and above.Related features
HOST APPROVALHost approval from the phoneA visitor without a pass waits at the gate while the host is asked on the phone. The host approves or rejects from the link, the app or the back office. If nobody answers in time, reception or the guard decides, and an alternate host covers for anyone away.HOST APPROVALHost app and host web pageEveryone who receives visitors gets a page in the browser and the SmartMy VMS Host app. They approve visitors, invite guests, pre-approve cabs and deliveries, and collect parcels with a pickup code. They also name an alternate while away and raise complaints to the building office. Office staff also chat with each other inside SmartMy.SEVERAL SITES AND SCHOOLSVisitor management for schoolsWith SmartMy Campus, the school gate knows its parents. A parent is recognised by their mobile number, and the class teacher approves the visit. Admission visitors are linked to their enquiry. Parent-teacher meetings and pre-registered visits issue their own gate passes.VISITORS AND CHECK-INWalk-in registration with check-in and check-outThe guard or reception registers a visitor without a pass on one form. It has mobile, name, photo, whom they see, the kind of visit and what they brought. Every visit keeps its gate, its arrival, check-in and check-out times, and a four-digit gate pass number the visitor uses to leave.ACROSS SMARTMY VMSApproval chainsVisitors at the gate, visit requests, exit passes, meeting requests, gate passes and work permits each go to the right people. You set the order, without code. Every decision is kept with who made it, when and why.ACROSS SMARTMY VMSNotificationsSmartMy VMS tells the right person the moment something happens: a visitor waiting, a guest arrived, a gate pass approved, a round missed, an emergency. Each event has its own recipients and channels: app notification, in-app, email, SMS and WhatsApp.
See it on your own gate.
Tell us how many gates you have, who comes through them and how visitors are approved today. We will show you SmartMy VMS set up that way.