Why should your business use staff ID badges?

ID badges are one of the oldest tools in business. They are still as relevant and useful as they ever were. Here, We Print Lanyards provides a quick guide to just five of the main reasons why your staff should wear ID badges.

Security

Out of all the reasons for giving your staff ID badges, security is usually the most compelling. Effective security fundamentally boils down to effective access control. That starts at your perimeter. These days, it often continues internally. For example, few if any businesses give employees unrestricted access to sensitive areas such as HR offices.

ID badges can also be used to monitor access to and use of company facilities. This can mean anything from stationery to employee perks. They can hence provide data that can help to inform purchasing decisions (and internal-billing decisions).

Health and safety

A staff ID card can also function as a quick and easy way to access information that may be important in an emergency. For example, a first aider can use the details on it to check if there is any medical information they need to know (or pass on to paramedics). It will also let them know who the employee’s line manager is so they can be informed.

It can even help to protect staff when they are offsite. Many employees will keep their name badges on them if they pop out of the workplace (e.g., to get lunch). If anything happens to them there, a first aider can contact their place of work. At the very least, this means that their employer will know what’s going on. They may be able to help.

Multifunction access cards can enhance health and safety even further. For example, if ID badges are combined with access cards, they give a clear record of who is where in the workplace. This can literally be lifesaving if the workplace has to be evacuated (e.g., due to fire).

Customer reassurance

This probably has the most relevance to businesses that send employees out to staff sites. These days, there is a very strong chance that customers will only give your staff access to their premises after they’ve verified their identity. This means that you either give your staff ID badges or hope that your customer calls to verify them on the phone with you.

Even if you only have customers visit you at your premises, it can still be reassuring for them to see name badges. Not all staff wear uniforms. What’s more, some uniforms look very similar to regular clothes. Staff wearing ID badges are immediately recognisable as staff. This means that customers can feel confident about approaching them.

It encourages professional behaviour

It’s great to be able to trust your staff. In the real world, however, generally, the correct approach is “trust but verify”. ID badges help to provide that verification. Anyone who interacts with that staff member can put their face to their name. This can help to discourage staff from taking shortcuts with their work in the expectation that nobody will know it was them.

On a more positive note, it also means that staff who do perform well can get the recognition they deserve. This can do a lot to motivate them, particularly if it is appropriately coupled with rewards such as progression.

It’s a way to expand branding

A lot of brand recognition depends on repetition. This applies to internal staff as well as external customers (and suppliers). As a rule of thumb, therefore, you should take any opportunity you can to mark items with your brand.

In some companies, staff ID badges may be used instead of uniforms. This is partly because they tend to be easier and more economical to organise. It’s also partly because there are many roles where it is not standard practice for employees to wear uniforms.