The three Jean Coutu pharmacies located in Jonquière in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean have decided to pay part of their employees’ school supplies a few weeks before the start of the school year.
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In recent years, healthcare facilities have been helping families in need as the school year approaches, until managers realized the staff themselves needed support.
“There were two ideas behind it. First, employee retention. We try to be innovative in our methods to reward our employees as much as possible. Second, we try to be there for the periods that can be more damaging to our employees’ budgets, such as the start of the school year, the holiday season,” said manager Dominick Béland.
At a time when the labor shortage is increasing sharply, the pharmacy dares to invest in its employees.
Any student worker or anyone with children can receive a $75 voucher. To date, 105 of these vouchers have been distributed to more than 70 employees.
Those affected welcome this initiative. Many of them are students. The budgetary aspect is often far from obvious.
“It will really help us. For example, I have to pay for the uniforms and all my books, which really helps,” confirmed case officer Naomi Girard.
In view of the success with the employees, the initiative could well be repeated next year.