As 2022 comes to an end, join us as we look back on a busy year of new projects, new colleagues and new equipment.
January: Scanning gets bigger and better
Scanning documents and keeping them safe in a secure online system, where they can be accessed by authorised personnel at any time or place, is becoming a key part of many businesses’ document retention policies. With increasing demand for the scanning of large documents, we decided to invest in a large format scanner. This allows us to scan items up to A0 size, which is perfect for Ordnance Surveys, architectural drawings and medical scans.
February: The team grows!
We had a great start to the year, so we hired an administrator to support the team. In February, Yasmine joined our ranks and she’s made a huge difference to our business by becoming responsible for managing day-to-day client requests and queries.
Yasmine settled in quickly and has sharpened her skills over the months: “On my first day, the team made me feel welcome. I have developed my communication and organisation skills while working here and I have also gained greater confidence along the way.”
March: Going green
We already had solar panels on the roof, motion-sensor LED lighting and an air source heat pump, but we wanted to up our sustainability game a little more. We therefore purchased a new electric van and had a charger installed in our warehouse, which is powered by our own solar energy. To help the van blend in with the rest of our fleet, we asked CIM Signs & Graphics to wrap it in Archive-Vault branding. The result is fantastic, and it was great to support another local business in the process.
April: Springing into storage
April saw us taking on a new storage project for an Oxfordshire solicitor.
We boxed up more than 10,000 wills and deeds before transporting them back to our fireproof storage facilities in Norfolk. Each document was carefully indexed on our system and a regular schedule of file deliveries set up. We also gave our new clients all the training they needed on our online client portal, which enables them to view and manage their inventory online.
“It was great to complete this project for our new client,” said our Operations Director, Emily. “It’s always rewarding when you leave a client with some new-found space to use! They have each document indexed on our system so they can see exactly what’s in storage. The delivery schedule has also been working really well, and we have ensured that the client has what they need, when they need it, whether it’s the physical copy or a digital one.”
May: All mapped out
Our investment in the new large format scanner certainly helped when a new client needed their A2-A0 survey maps digitised. We carried out the scanning in scheduled stages as it was a large project. Each map was carefully prepped before being scanned and quality checked. They’re now stored on an encrypted hard drive, ready for the client to continue with a wider digitisation project.
June: Levi joins the team
As soon as we met Levi Dowding, we knew he was the perfect fit for our Operations Operative role. Levi proved us right and it feels like he’s been working with us for years: “I’ve found working at Archive-Vault very rewarding! It’s a very friendly place to work and well-organised. I’m looking forward to expanding my own skills and knowledge.”
July: Lunchtime!
Lunch On The Green is one of our annual highlights at Archive-Vault! We love exhibiting at this event and it was particularly nice to return to face-to-face networking. We had a great time catching up with other Norfolk businesses and meeting new people. The event also raised some much-needed funds for the fantastic charity Break. We’re looking forward to next year’s event already!
August: Need a hand?
Summer is a busy season for us, so we need all the help we can get! It was therefore great to have Warehouse Manager Brad and Director Zoe’s son Arthur to assist us over the school holidays. He certainly had boundless energy for the task – so much so, that there was sometimes only one way to keep him in the same place! (Don’t worry, we didn’t keep him there!)
September: Switching to Archive-Vault
We received some great news in September; a client who got in touch with us in 2021 confirmed that they were able to leave their old storage provider and switch over to our services.
Once we got hold of their boxes, the client was able to come in and review them, removing anything that could be securely destroyed. Everything was then reorganised and scanned, giving our client an up-to-date archive with a brand new document retention plan.
The client was delighted with our service. The Practice Manager for Wealth Management told us: “It was so nice to speak to someone in person to organise moving our boxes. Our previous supplier took weeks to respond and didn’t provide us with the service we needed. Visiting Archive-Vault gave us the assurance that our boxes were safe and secure.”
October: The big one
October saw us heading off to the biggest networking event in Norfolk: The Norfolk Chamber of Commerce’s B2B Exhibition. Director Zoe and Operations Manager Emily attended this year and had an amazing time catching up with current customers and suppliers, as well as meeting new people.
November: Another new scanner joins our toolkit
The demand for document scanning continued to grow during 2022, so we upgraded our scanner. We had fun shopping around to find the one that best suits our customers’ needs. The perfect choice has now been delivered and full training given to our team, so we’re ready for many more scanning projects in 2023 and beyond!
December: A walk in the park…
In December, Brad, Jake and Emily braved the cold to take on a challenge to each walk 1,000 miles. That’s equivalent to walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats if you want to know!
They all successfully achieved the challenge and raised plenty of money for the charity Break in the process – well done everyone!
Need help with your records management in 2023?
If you want to talk to us about your own Records Management needs, please get in touch! You can contact us on 01603 720722 or by emailing info@archive-vault.co.uk.
