Traction Guest automates contactless visitor access, screening

As we grapple with the extraordinary global changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, managing and tracking the movement of human beings has become crucial. Traction Guest, a Burnaby BC- based company is uniquely positioned to respond to the needs of large enterprises to develop custom secure visitor access solutions.

ZeroTouch-Dynamic-Registration-Portal.

West Tech Report recently had the opportunity to speak with Keith Metcalfe, CEO at Traction Guest, about his company’s reaction to the global crisis, the company’s genesis, and what has driven the firm’s recent growth.

“We started the company out of another Burnaby-based entity called Traction on Demand – which is the largest independent Salesforce consulting partner & app development firm,” says Metcalfe. The combined efforts of Greg Maplpass, CEO of Traction on Demand, along with a founder of Traction Guest and Metcalfe saw a need in the market to provide a safe, secure way to manage the entry and egress of employees and visitors at workplaces. Traction Guest now has more than 90 employees working across Seattle, Dublin and Vancouver, and such notable customers as Thermo Fisher Scientific, UPS and Docusign. 

Companies bound by regulations

The pain point that Traction Guest was solving at the beginning were mostly in support of big companies who were bound by regulations, and as requirements grew, a lot of companies were having difficulty keeping up.

“We had people going in and out of [offices], where theoretically they had to be checking them in and checking them out. At the end of the day, they weren’t,” says Metcalfe. This is where Traction Guest would come in.”

As a team, they worked hard to differentiate themselves, clarifying exactly who they wanted to serve. In particular, they targeted large companies that had a lot of websites, and had a reason to care who had been on or off those domains.

“At one site you may have to sign documents or watch videos, answer questions, and at another it might be completely different. But, we roll it all up to one platform where people could actually see the results,” Metcalfe says. Launched at the most opportune time, Traction Guest provides completely touchless sign-in/sign-out capabilities, known as ZeroTouch.

“Contactless visitor management capabilities was a compelling concept before COVID-19, but now it’s becoming a required protocol. This new era of visitor management is not just about visitors, this is also about managing employees in and out of the workplace,” he adds.

Keith Metcalfe, CEO of Traction Guest.

Physical or employee interaction

Once pre-registration is complete using ZeroTouch, guests are provided a secure one-time QR code to complete an automated touchless sign-in and entry process that allows them to register as being on-site – without requiring any physical or employee interaction upon entry. The system provides individuals with a comprehensive sign-in flow at pre-registration, including all required documents, videos and instructions, before entering a facility, which is highly efficient and reduces risk of exposure. Walk-up scenarios are handled efficiently without the installation of an app on a guest’s smartphone.

Traction Guest works with suppliers to provide ID cards and kiosks or stands to set up iPads for on-site check-in. One particular challenge the group faced was selling across multiple geographies.

“If you are going to serve international companies, it’s really important to understand how you are going to handle security requirements around the globe. For startups, it’s critical you get ahead of that,” explains Metcalfe. “Fortunately we worked hard to ensure we followed SOC2 compliance requirements for our platform. We did that because it was the right thing to do to protect our customers’ data. What it’s allowed us to do is to serve really big customers quickly.”

To learn more, go to www.tractionguest.com.