President & CEO Caitlin McKenzie Focusing On Staff, Leadership At Third Generation Family Firm
Monk Office President and CEO Caitlin McKenzie has owned and operated the company since 2018
VICTORIA – Having great products and services is a key to any successful business. Having excellent staff is perhaps even more important.
Monk Office President and CEO Caitlin McKenzie has been focusing on building that high level team since taking over the third generation family business, and the last three years – including through the pandemic – has confirmed her focus on strengthening from within.
“I’ve really honed in on creating the strongest leadership team I could,” she says. “We’ve been focusing intensely on how the business operates. With the impact that businesses have experienced over the last three years, it seems there have been some negative impacts that have been difficult to navigate for everyone.
“It’s been essential to get back to the basics of ensuring we’re operating properly, and every division is working together.”
Other positive adjustments include the early 2022 purchase of Island Blue Art & Framing stores in Victoria and Sidney. Also a family-owned company, Island Blue was founded in 1912 by the Shemilts. Monk only purchased the Art & Framing side of the business, with the Print side being bought by new owners.
Caitlin purchased Monk from her father, James McKenzie, in 2018. Charlie Monk opened the first Monk store in 1951, and the business was later sold to Caitlin’s grandfather, Ron McKenzie. James grew up in the business and took over from his father, Ron, in 1990.
Today, Monk offers copy centre services, business machines, office furniture and supplies at eight retail locations across Vancouver Island: three in Greater Victoria, and outlets in Sidney, Duncan, Courtenay and Port Hardy. Head office and the distribution centre is at 800 Viewfield Road in Esquimalt.
Since the pandemic has passed, Monk Office has seen a shift back towards businesses having staff back working in the office, as opposed to at home.
“Now that people are getting back to work in the office, we’re seeing an uptick again in our office supply sales and our commercial accounts,” she says, adding Monk also offers managed IT ser-vices. “The largest area of growth is our technology division with our copiers and printers and the service packages that come with them. Very close behind that is our furniture division, as we’re seeing larger projects again, with people outfitting new buildings or re-fitting their existing space.”
And as always, Monk’s reputation for tenacity and grit has served the company well.
“It really is about putting one foot in front of the other and believing in what you’re doing,” she states. “We are in a place where we are setting ourselves up so that when we have an opportunity for new growth, we’re able to act on it much quicker.
“That was something I’ve learned through my Dad,” she adds. “There are some things you need to take your time deciding about, and with others, you don’t have the luxury of time. Then you just need to follow your gut, and if you’re not prepared, you can really miss out. As we continue to get the business operating really strong, it allows us to be open to even more growth.”
By Mark MacDonald
