How a visitor watchlist helps keep your workplace safe

Keeping your workplace safe means more than just locking the doors.

Whether it’s a former employee with unresolved issues, a visitor who harassed staff, or someone with a restraining order, organizations need a reliable way to prevent unwanted guests from entering.

That’s where a visitor management system with an integrated watchlist comes in. Instead of relying on staff to spot a potential threat, every visitor can be automatically checked against a digital blocklist in real time—helping you protect both your people and your workplace.

What is a visitor watchlist?

A visitor watchlist is a security tool to block or flag specific individuals from entering your workplace. It acts like a digital “do not admit” list, automatically screening every visitor against a predefined set of names, contact details, or other identifiers.

Whether you need to keep out former employees, individuals with restraining orders, or known security threats, a visitor watchlist gives you a reliable, automated layer of protection at your front desk. When combined with a visitor management system like Greetly, this list becomes actionable—screening guests in real time and alerting your team if a match is found.

Why workplaces need a visitor watchlist

Most organizations keep some form of a “be on the lookout” (BOLO) list. The challenge is enforcing it across multiple teams and locations. For example, your New York office might know about a potential risk, while your Chicago branch remains unaware. Without a system in place, there’s no guarantee that the right people will recognise an unwanted visitor at the right time.

Just like our emergency evacuation feature, we hope you never use our realtime visitor watchlist. The best way to stop workplace violence or threatening behavior is to keep potential perpetrators out. Not sometimes. Not if you get lucky and the right employee notices an unwanted guest trying to enter. Automate the process and run every visitor through your watchlist to ensure no one slips through the cracks.

The watchlist feature keeps your most important asset, your people, safe and comfortable, allowing them to focus on your organization’s mission.

How a visitor watchlist works

A modern visitor management system can automatically cross-check every visitor against your watchlist the moment they check in. Here’s what that process looks like:

1. Visitor check-in

Guests preregister or check in onsite using a touchless kiosk or tablet. Their details are immediately compared against your organisation’s watchlist.

This entire feature is useless if it requires bureaucracy to add someone to the watchlist. This can easily be done through Greetly’s admin.

2. Real-time screening

The system quickly screens every visitor—without noticeable delays. Whether you have one office or multiple sites across the globe, the watchlist helps ensure no unwanted visitor gets through.

You can choose whether the watchlist covers known people from your office or offices across your organization.

3. Security notifications

If there’s a match, designated security personnel receive an instant alert. Hosts can also be notified, ensuring everyone is prepared to handle the situation appropriately.

A notification alert will be sent to one or more team members you have designated. Your team can collaborate on how to deal with the potential risk.

4. ID authentication (optional)

Organizations can integrate ID scanning for added security. This verifies that visitors are who they claim to be, making it harder for someone to provide false information to bypass the blocklist.

Benefits of using a visitor watchlist

Here are some of the reasons you want to have a visitor watchlist:

• Protect your employees by reducing the risk of violence or harassment.
• Increases awareness across all locations by sharing blocklist information organization-wide.
• Boosts employee confidence knowing potential threats are being screened automatically.
• Streamlines processes by making it easy for admins to add individuals to the watchlist when necessary.

A visitor watchlist is one of the simplest, most effective tools for keeping workplaces safe. By automatically screening every guest in real time, organisations can reduce risks, improve employee peace of mind, and ensure potential threats are stopped before they enter.

Frequently asked questions