During the Covid pandemic in 2020/21 Virtualstock (VS) decided to close their current offices and relocate to more suitable premises.
This was to be done whilst Covid restrictions were still in place. It was important for VS to get someone in who knew the office inside out and could/would work alone.
As a former VS employee, Operations & HR Manager, and now a self-employed Virtual Assistant I fitted that description and Virtualstock asked if I would help them vacate their office space.
Ensure an electronic copy existed of all specified paper records. Identify, classify, and register all assets for further processing and decision making. Ensure the physical space was emptied of all VS assets, items, and documents and ready for handover to the new tenant.
I started by scanning all paper files; customer files, personnel records, supplier files, general company documents etc. and collated them on an external storage device for the CFO to manage afterwards.
The files were organised into relevant categories and with an agreed naming convention for each file category to make it easy to find whatever was required afterwards.
All paper files were subsequently boxed, bar coded and shipped to external storage.
Two VS employees and I tidied the rest of the office and I made a register of all the inventory so it could be agreed with the new tenant what they wanted to take over and what VS had to remove.
To comply with Covid restrictions, we created a schedule with date/time slots for each employee to come in and empty their desks. I had management approval to dispose of anything employees had not removed from their desks and drawers.
I liaised directly with the external storage company about the removal of the files as well as with the company engaged to securely dispose of obsolete computers, company mobile phones and other electronic items.
I created over 5,000 electronic document files. 70+ electronic items were securely disposed of, and we sent 40+ document boxes to external storage.
The physical space for approximately 60 people, i.e. office facilities complete with desks and chairs, a fully functioning kitchen, and a storeroom were clean and ready for the new tenant to move in.
Owing to Covid restrictions the process of making the office ready to vacate took 8 months. Scanning documents alone took 3 months and storage and disposal suppliers also had to adhere to various restrictions limiting their ability to physically come on site.
Having outsourced the project to me, the VS Finance & Admin team could carry on with their day job with minimal interruption.
"Anette's expertise and work ethic made her the perfect fit for our office relocation project. She efficiently scanned and organised thousands of electronic documents, managed asset removal and ensured our office space was ready for the new tenant. Despite Covid restrictions, Anette delivered exceptional results within the agreed timeframe and allowed the company to focus on running the business. I would highly recommend Anette for any business administration project."