Greetings to the employee The golden assistant who knows nothing about finances

In 2006, when Jacqueline Ojeda was offered an administrative assistant position by financial planner Pierre Lafond at Repentigny, she hesitated.

Having only recently arrived from Mexico, where she had taught English, this literary woman influenced by Gabriel García Márquez and Taylor Caldwell did not speak French well and, above all, was not interested in the murky—barren—world, as she thought. investment funds.

“Honestly, I thought I wouldn’t like it,” she said. What interested me was teaching second languages, and I wanted to go to university. I said yes, telling myself it was while I waited and paid for my studies. »

Seventeen years later, M^I Ojeda is the frame of Mr. Lafond's office to which he wrote Journalism To say it was the best hiring decision of his life.

“This employee is gold in a bar,” said Mr. Lafond, who is retiring soon, in an interview, and who still congratulates himself on his confidence in his judgment of a candidate’s character, not just her resume.

“When she arrived in Quebec, at the age of 40, she was a pure immigrant who sold everything in Mexico to come and settle here with her daughter.”

However, the immigrant who spoke little French and knew nothing about mutual funds did not take half measures, says her boss: “To improve her French, she signed up for the UQAM intensive French programme. You've got it all figured out! She writes French almost without mistakes and checks when she's not sure. She has an eagle eye and even proofreads my reports. » As a result, she manages customer service by phone and writing with mostly French-speaking clients, says Mr. Lafond.

“I like it so much!” “M said^I Ojeda about his French lessons. “I've been analyzing the language and the differences with Spanish, and it's been fascinating.” She points out that French, with its many exceptions, is more complex than Spanish, with its spelling almost entirely phonetic. “Just take the last names: Arcambault, Thibault, Benault. I'll put an o at the end and it will end there! ” she said, laughing.

Mr. Lafond brings the same enthusiasm to the technical side of the business: The “hard-working” has invested in learning group savings and earned his certification from the Investment Fund Institute of Canada.

Mr. Lafond says his assistant has the knowledge to be a group savings representative, and he, at one point, offered her to take on clients.

M says^I Ojeda. I don't have that. Same thing for advising money. If I try to sell you anything, I will end up buying something from you! »

On the other hand, Mr. Lafond says his employee has good business judgment, which she demonstrated when her company chose another company for a merger, which is in the works, with the goal of her gradual withdrawal from the business: “She had her say. »

Recently, Mr. Lafond was able to take a few months' leave with his partner: “I was in touch with the office, but I had complete peace of mind knowing that with Jacqueline at the centre, the castle was well guarded.”

“In Mexico, I earned a baccalaureate in communications,” says M.^I Ojeda. But I chose to be an English teacher because my schedule accommodated daycare for my 3-year-old daughter. It has served me well in group saving. Most of the mutual fund companies are in Toronto, and I was learning a lot there too. »

“But what I love most is communicating with clients. “These are my favorite moments of the day,” she says, which her boss also confirms: “My clients love it so much that some of them don’t want to talk to me anymore!” »

“In a world where good customer service comes from another era, I feel honored to have such an ally,” says Mr. Lafond.