Outliers Toastmasters Local Chapter Open to New Members Fulfilling Your Employer’s Business Communication Needs

It was the final year of a 5-year contract for my employer to provide staff and Information Technology processes to a major children’s hospital in Southern California as part of an Outsourcing contract. I managed the various technicians, engineers and vendors who maintained the Voice (aka telephone) Systems and Network platform for the campus. At the start of the Outsourcing contract, I had led the negotiation and implementation to completely replace and upgrade the Voice systems, so I was deep in the Hospital’s communications.
It is a unique experience to simultaneously fulfill the needs of two sets of managers – those of the Outsourcing company who pays the staff’s salary to satisfy the Client and provide I.T. management, and of the Hospital itself. Over the five years, I was successful in partnering with the Hospital’s Vice President Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and he called on me directly to plan their Voice system and Network budget, strategize purchases from the Hospital’s vendors, and oversee daily services to all Departments.
As the end of the contract period drew near, my direct employer began to reassign staff to other Client accounts. Unbeknownst to me, they notified the Hospital’s CTO that I was soon to be reassigned. He called me to his office, advising he wanted to speak with me in confidence. He explained that he hoped he had not compromised my position with my employer because on receiving the news of my reassignment, he told them he would not accept me being pulled from the staff.
The VP’s explanation to my manager was that “Mern does business the way we want it done, both technically and, especially, in the way she communicates, negotiates, and manages overall on our behalf.” Of course, my ego soared. The CTO’s feedback confirmed to me how my communication skill level had surged since participating in Toastmasters. The CTO negotiated that if the outsourcing company would keep me until the end of the contract, he would then hire me directly, and, luckily for me, he did.
I encourage you to consider building your skills through Toastmasters training. Our Outliers Toastmasters Chapter here in the SCV invites you to attend an Outliers meeting as our guest. Witness the diversity, camaraderie, and support of our members and the training offered by the Toastmasters organization in speaking, evaluating, and meeting management. Your Contact is our VP of Education Tom Iland: 661-313-3323 or tom@thomasiland.com.