While many companies struggle to find employees, a 70-year-old Quebecois shines with her desire to help her “second family” and doesn’t hesitate to come out of retirement each year to help out during the holidays.
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“She is irreplaceable with her smile, availability and good humor… She knows the company like the back of her hand, she really is a diamond in the rough, a pearl!” says Jinny Sanschargin, Head of Marketing at the Kirouac Group.
Zita Baker – or Mrs. B. for close friends – worked at the Clubtoy store in Quebec City from when it opened in 1992 until about ten years ago when she retired.
But she has not stopped participating in the organization. Every year, the 78-year-old – well under her age – takes all her weekends in November and December off to attend to web orders.
“It makes me feel good and it helps them in this busy time! I’ve never come to work reluctantly,” says Ms Baker, who plans to return every year “as long as health permits.”
A solution to the shortage?
This type of labor is increasingly in demand by merchants who are struggling to recruit and retain their employees. Many companies are courting retirees to fill the roughly 250,000 jobs that were vacant in the province last August.
“We have a couple of seniors who work for us – and have worked. You are very committed. The good thing about Ms. B. is that we don’t have to train her, which saves a lot of time,” says Ms. Sanschagrin.
This return to the labor market can also be attractive for many seniors, as they are entitled to certain tax advantages.
For her part, Ms. Baker finds her account in the rating she receives thanks to this little work, even if water has flowed under the bridges since she joined Club Toy.
head full of memories
From opening the store on a cold October morning in 1992, wrapped in her coat because the doors weren’t installed, to introducing an automated system, the seventy-year-old watched the company evolve over the years.
“I used to have to remember the codes for the 25,000 items we had in stock for the checkout. I had the code book on my nightstand that I read before bed,” she laughs.
Although she admits to having had greater difficulties adapting to the arrival of technology, that didn’t stop her from being involved with the organization for nearly three decades.
“It’s really like a second family to me,” Ms. Baker concludes.
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