Employing visitor labels is a sensible practice that allows employees to identify any strangers that they might pass in the hallway quickly and easily. Even the most basic adhesive label that clearly states "Visitor" can put employees at ease when they encounter someone unfamiliar passing near their office. The shortcoming of these simple labels is that they are easily duplicated and can be reused after they have been issued.

Effective Visitor Labels

While that might make it easier from an administrative point of view since they can be easily generated, it does make the labels nearly ineffectual for security purposes. If the purpose is to ensure that unauthorized people do not have access to your building, the labels should be slightly more elaborate to prevent imitation. Customized labels make it more difficult for someone to reproduce guest passes on their own, and also give the labels a more legitimate and professional appearance.

Even customized labels, however, do not reduce the chances that the labels will be reused after being issued. To minimize concerns about labels being reused, you might want to consider purchasing labels that change in appearance when they expire. These labels may cost slightly more than plain sheets of labels, but they are undeniably more effective, and ultimately worth the cost.

If the same visitors will be returning to your building often or for a prolonged period of time, you might want to use plastic visitor badges. This will cut down on your costs as visitors can use the same badge each time they come. For added security, though, you should consider adding a self-expiring label to the badge so that it will display when the visitor's privileges have expired.