“I always tried, like many Mexicans, to have my projects, I did translations in English, but the reality is that my husband supported me. Then there was a lot of pressure, the children grow up, expenses go up and in my case that meant reducing my lifestyle. It was a matter of prioritizing ”, he says.
When she started looking for a job it took an extra year and a half to find an opportunity, so her sabbatical lasted for seven years. “It was a blow to my ego,” she says. She is bilingual, with an MBA and a 12-year career as Finance Director. “I thought it would not be so difficult to return. I made a mistake”.
His return to the world of work was due to the relationships he had made translating materials. She was invited to be the financial director in a family automotive group called ABG, in Guadalajara.
That gave her the foundation she needed to later position herself as Finance Director for the Americas at the transnational Brown-Forman, owner of the Casa Herradura and Jack Daniel’s brands.
Initially, Kroger saw it as an interesting challenge, mastered the functions of his position, and felt comfortable in the company. However, that was where he experienced burnout. “They were years of crisis,” he recalls.
Over time, the director was not only tired, but also felt out of place. She was frustrated having to ask permission for everything and being subject to global processes. She was looking for more autonomy and new challenges. “I’m not someone who can be comfortable if she’s frustrated. If I get to this point there are only two options: another position in the company or resignation”.
Arrival at C&A
Thinking about what to do with her professional life, she was sought out by C&A to take over as Finance Director. “We don’t want a computer with legs,” they told him. “Well, I’m not a computer with legs, I’m financial, and I add value because I understand the business and my ability is to make it more profitable, more efficient,” she replied.
Kroger kept the position and after nine months they offered him to assume the general management, in 2020. Today, he defines it as one of the biggest challenges in his career, since he had to learn about retailto make decisions and work hand in hand with an already consolidated work team.
“I came to the conclusion that the owners knew what they were doing because we increased the company’s profitability by 40%. When you put a financier as CEO you are going to see that the utility grows faster”, he points out.
The work environment also rose 40 points. Kroger defines herself as a humanitarian leader, whose role is to serve her team and not the other way around. As CEO she has worked to build a diverse and inclusive culture.
Today, in the three levels of leadership there are 44% women and in the entire company they are 49%. “I’m not going to tell you that it was my number one priority, but when we talk about diversity and selling consumer products, more than 60% of the customers are women, we are the ones who do the shopping,” she emphasizes.
“You need to have the voice of women in the room because they are the ones making most of the purchasing decisions in stores.”
She worked on the new concept of the brand, after Grupo AXO gave up acquiring the clothing store chain, and continued with the opening plan that was halted by the pandemic. Today they have 78 stores and the expansion plan includes another seven.
“Right now I am working a lot on the creation of culture. I am impressed by the talent of women who decide to leave work and then do not want to receive them back. It’s what happened to me. One of my ideas from this position is to change that. There are many stay-at-home moms who are very capable and want to work, but require flexibility. This is where, for the first time, I can combine my personal passions with my professional voice; put into practice the things that I looked for as an employee in other places ”she expresses.
Preparing for a sabbatical
For Kroger, it is important maintain and grow contacts even while on sabbatical. That was what finally opened the door for him to return to the world of work. Another important point is, before resigning, ask the company a possible comeback.
The person can also perform some voluntary workThis allows you to be active and learn other experiences that can strengthen your profile. Job boards often publish sabbatical jobswhich are positions to cover for a determined time.
No less important is save. Unless you own the company, you will not be earning an income. Arleth Leal, associate director of the recruiting firm Red Ring, comments that this experience is lived very differently by someone who owns a company and an executive who works in a company. In the first case, fear is the main obstacle to wanting to take a break.
“The main fear is not knowing what will happen to the company and not knowing how to delegate. And the main mistake is leaving without leaving. That is, to continue participating in conferences, publishing content and keeping an eye on what is happening in the organization”, he explains.
For employees, he adds, the most common mistake is not planning prior to the sabbatical and the biggest fear is leaving, knowing that they won’t hire you so easily afterwards. Unfortunately, this situation affects women more, since like Kroger, it seems that they have to give up their career to play other roles in their lives, such as being a mother.
A parallel scenario is that it has been so difficult for women to reach management positions that they end up with burnout, there are those who even reconsider if that was the path they wanted and if it has been worth it. Despite this, few take a break.
A sabbatical year is a time dedicated to self-knowledge and the satisfaction of personal interests, after a period of effort. It serves to recharge energy, travel, live new experiences, expand knowledge or reflect on the professional career.
In the academic world they are more common, there are even teachers who can take a sabbatical with pay. But in the business sphere, the practice is little used as a retention tool, it does not even appear in the range of benefits for collaborators.
“There is a lack of culture about sabbaticals. It is not a common practice, it is an act of courage, and although the companies say they support mental health, the reality is that it is not done because it is still seen as bad for a person to rest for more than a year. After the sabbatical, one of the interview questions is what they did during that time. And it generates a ‘high’ in some companies to rehire due to the lack of updating”, Leal deepens.
In this context, Kroger refers to an alternate way to go is negotiate part time or more flexibility. “It is better than going out and thinking about a couple of years to return. I’m really excited about it boom of hybrid formats, because that way the new generation of women, I hope, will not have to battle with the paradigms that their predecessors dealt with”, she concludes.