Your reception area plays an important role in winning and retaining clients as it is the first place they see when visiting your office.
Today, we’ll be giving you 8 office etiquette tips that you can utilize in your reception area to best represent your business and generate happy, returning customers.
Keep the reception area clean and organized
Your reception area, like it or not, is your business in the minds of potential clients. No matter what type of business you own, it’s important to be productive and efficient at what you do. One of the best ways to prove this of your business is to maintain a clean and organized reception area.
Make sure that your office is kept clean and free of trash at all times. If your reception area offers customers reading materials such as magazines while they wait, make an effort to keep these stacked in an orderly fashion. Encourage your receptionists to dedicate even just a few minutes a day to organizing the front desk and waiting room.
Create a pleasant, relaxing environment
During the daily hustle and bustle of our professional lives, it’s easy to get stressed. Keep this in mind of your potential clients as well! Any bit of relief you can offer them will certainly be appreciated.
You can use office plants to generate a natural sense of calm as your customers wait to be seen. Be sure to provide comfortable seating throughout the reception area as well. Finally, make sure to be thoughtful of the volume and genre of any music played. Choose music that offers a fairly broad appeal to all audiences and isn’t so loud that visitors are raising their voices in order to be heard.
Offer complimentary refreshments
This is one of the most obvious and easily achievable office etiquette tips, but for some reason, it tends to go overlooked by some workplaces. Have you ever been to an office that offered refreshments in the waiting room? If so, it is likely that you know the power that free coffee and snacks can have in creating a good first impression. Just as you were likely pleased and impressed, your potential customers will be happy to be offered refreshments while they wait.
Offer a selection of cold and warm beverages such as coffee and water. You can also provide a variety of healthy snacks such as fresh fruit, individually wrapped candies, or bags of chips or pretzels. While keeping these items stocked means some additional costs, it is an investment you will be happy that you made in the long run.
Provide a clear traffic flow
It can be pretty uncomfortable to enter an office with no clear idea of where to go. Minimize the confusion and make your customers feel immediately at ease by providing signage and other visual cues to direct them. A clear traffic flow will boost office productivity and keep things moving in an efficient way. Make where your client is supposed to go immediately clear from the moment they enter the office.
Avoid overly strong odors or artificial scents
Earlier we mentioned that you should make an effort to put your clients at ease every moment they’re in your reception area. While it may seem like a good idea to promote a relaxing atmosphere by using aromatherapy or essential oils, this isn’t something we recommend.
It is possible that your visitors may be sensitive to certain smells, maybe even allergic! There are plenty of other ways that you can promote a relaxing atmosphere in your reception area. While aromatherapy is loved by many, it isn’t loved by all.
Educate your customer
Your customer’s time in the reception area should be kept at a minimum but sometimes a wait can’t be avoided. Use this opportunity to educate your potential customers about your business. Supply informational and promotional pamphlets that answer any possible questions your client may have. Every moment your client spends in your office is vital to winning them over and making them a lasting customer. Make sure your reception area is focused on the same goal!
Choose the right staff
Choosing the right staff to man your reception area is one of the most important office etiquette tips we could give. Your receptionists will be the first face-to-face interaction that potential clients have with your company. This means that they need to be warm, inviting, professional, and polite. Go the extra mile to extensively interview and evaluate the skills and strengths of any prospective employee. Upon hiring, make sure that you are clear in communicating your expectations to your receptionists.
Utilize a visitor management system
Gone are the days of the paper visitor book where customer experience and security measurement standards were of lesser concern. You can seriously boost your reception area’s productivity and visitor appeal by utilizing a visitor management system. This streamlines the check-in process substantially and reduce waiting times.
This system drastically improves the security measures of any office by offering live reports of all staff and visitors currently on-site. This gives you the means of ensuring the safety of your staff and your clients in the case of a need for evacuation- something your clients will surely appreciate.
Make sure your reception area checks all the boxes!
Now that you have 8 office etiquette tips that you can use to make your reception area the best it can be, you have all the tools necessary to ensure a great first impression. For more information about how you can create an optimized visitor experience for every potential client that walks through the door,
Contact us
We ensure reception areas and lobbies greet your visitors with warmth, sparkle and shine. No details like window ledges and corners are overlooked in facilities and surround area cleaning services.
From shining marble floors and spotless carpets to the polished surfaces of receptions filled with warm wood, glass or chrome, we clean everything with the same pride that you greet your visitors with.
Call us on 0721867339 or email sales@firstclasscleaning.co.ke
