Chart Your Path Forward Starting This Weekend

Just like singer and songwriter, John Denver, once crooned “All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go,” I’m Austin, Texas bound for the annual AMMI Conference this weekend. 

Coming off of celebrating Healthcare Technology Management Week at Sodexo, I’m thrilled to be in the company of these professional s who support the healthcare community in the development, management and use of safe and effective medical equipment.  

Before I rallied my recruitment team for these four days of networking opportunities, I sat down with Dexter Turner, Sodexo’s CTM Director of Imaging, to talk about his perspective on working at Sodexo.  Dexter came to Sodexo this past January with an immense amount of knowledge and passion, making him great to work with!

Dexter has been a key partner within Sodexo CTM as we hire Field Service Imaging Engineers for our new partnership with Alliance HealthCare Radiology.  He is conducting technical interviews for our team and assisting us on finding the right talent to make our business successful. 

Here’s a look into our conversation around career progression with Sodexo.

Dexter Turner

Why did you come to work for Sodexo?

DT: Sodexo has a lot of career growth opportunities across functions inside and outside the Sodexo CTM organization.  This means that if I ever wanted to move into a management role in a different segment, I would have that opportunity without changing companies.  Sodexo also has individual career path options and training to prepare you for that next move.  In one of my former companies, they eliminated the individual development programs except for Six Sigma training.  I was nominated three times to go to Europe to attend Executive Leadership training, and only the top 1% were invited. However due to budget cuts, I never had the opportunity to attend.

What is it like to work at Sodexo as a Healthcare Technology Management professional?

DT: It’s invigorating to have the responsibilities as a Director of Imaging.  I have the autonomy to make executive decisions that are best for the customer, not just the bottom line.  When working on the CAMS side of the business (in unit at our hospitals’ accounts), it’s all about the patient. We talk about the impact we can have on patient care, making it a meaningful position.  When working for an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), it’s all transactional and focused on the equipment.

What type of OEM training does Sodexo CTM provide?

DT:  First, we partner with our clients to leverage their contract with the OEM’s to obtain specific training. We also hire many of our Imaging professionals that already have the OEM factory training, who in turn train others and answer questions from the field on a daily basis.  Lastly, we work with 3rd party vendors for another layer of OEM training.

How can I advance my career with Sodexo CTM? 

DT: If there’s a problem, come up with a plan and solution and work with your team to implement it.  Sometimes we might fail, but that is how we learn.  We have all the tools within Sodexo internally to grow our careers as well as tuition reimbursement should you need to look outside.  I’m a big proponent of stretch assignments since on-the-job training provides the best scenario for us to stretch and learn at the same time.   

If you are headed to AAMI as well, check out these opportunities to chart your path forward.  Meet our team, learn trends in diagnostic imaging and the education, skills and traits that we look for when hiring great talent like Dexter!  

Post by Suzanne Harvey, Recruitment Manager - Healthcare FM, Senior Living FM & Clinical Technology Management as part of our Recruiter Series.

This article was originally published on Sodexo.