Workers are taking charge now. Molding your career is no longer the same as it was just five years ago. For consumers, it is becoming more convenient than ever to outsource daily chores. I live in San Francisco, and two days ago I had Amazon deliver groceries to my house, then a stranger picked up my clothes to wash and fold them for me (Washio). Two hours later, another person whom I had never met before picked me up off the side of the street and dropped me off at my front door (Uber) where I later had a meal delivered to me within four minutes (SpoonRocket). In a growing world of on-demand services, there is a plethora of companies which offer you every convenience you could think of. From staying in a stranger’s house (Airbnb) to having freshly baked cookies delivered to your door (Doughbies). People are no longer limited to working on other company’s schedules. Testlio is a big supporter of this movement. We are a testing platform where customers submit their applications and requirements then we have a community of professional testers who we assign to the application. Twice a week I host a webinar where I chat with any of the testers who have signed up to work with us. It’s astounding to see people excited because it allows them to work on their own schedule. Having a good job no longer means dedicating your career to another company’s schedule. Service Transformation There’s a good reason the on-demand services are growing. It’s because it’s truly a win/win/win situation. The benefitting customers are able to optimize their dollar for value, workers who deliver on the services are only required to deliver if they choose to work at that time, and the hosting company takes percentage of the charge. People use services like Airbnb and Uber because they offer a unique value. While the prices of an Airbnb are nearing the same price of a hotel, people still choose Airbnb because they’re not just getting a room just like the hundreds of other ones, they’re getting the unique experience of a person’s house and their friendship. Caviar is a service that delivers food to you from restaurants which normally don’t deliver. There’s a general stigma if you order delivery you’re going to experience a lower quality meal. Caviar destroyed this thought for me. In an hour I can get a meal delivered to me from my favorite sit down restaurant on the other side of the city. For an additional five dollars, I save the time and cost of transportation. You can’t beat that. Companies who use Testlio optimize the value of their dollar by only using as many testing hours as required. Other companies who seek to have their own internal QA team are forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on hours their QA team may not have been needed. A job when you want it Less than ten years ago if you we’re not a contract or remote worker, you would be finding yourself working under a roof with other employees for your assigned time before going home. Now anyone with a car or a spare bedroom can make a healthy living from delivering food, goods, or people to their destinations. Best of all, on their own schedule. There are posts from Uber drivers stating they make $30/hour and some even go as high as $60/hour. At Testlio, our testers start off at $10-$15/hour, and I’ve seen it go all the way up to $50/hour. Paid testers who work on Testlio’s platform are free to work the number of hours they’re assigned in the time period that the customer sets out. Testers and other on-demand workers are able to plan their work around their life. There are testers who use Testlio as a source of secondary income. They have their full time jobs working as a professional tester for a large corporation during the day, and then they will commit a few hours a week to Testlio to make a little bit of extra spending money. On-demand workers work when they want to. If they find themselves needing more money, they’ll work more hours. If they feel like taking a week off, they don’t have to seek permission. They just do it. No management. No politics. Everyone has heard or have had their own stories of a tyrannical boss who didn’t know what they were doing. A big appeal of being an on-demand employee is you no longer have someone watching over you. It’s just you in the environment you feel comfortable in. You are completely accountable for yourself. By being an on-demand employee, you are not reliant on someone else and no one else can make you look bad. If you look bad, there’s a good chance it’s because you are bad. Employing the best. Workforce quality is an important factor for any on-demand service company. While it may be easy to get into the doors of any of these places, if you’re a poor performer, you’ll be kicked out very quickly. Uber’s rating system goes up to 5. If a driver is less than 4.5 they are a poor driver and will be kicked out of the program. If they’re a 4.5 – 4.7 it means they need improvement. Anyone can sign up to be a tester at Testlio, however that doesn’t mean everyone will be assigned to a paid project. We actively seek out testers who have previous testing experience and have been the most active. Our customers choose us because we only use the world’s best testers, we need to make sure we deliver on that promise. Conclusion There’s an increasing number of companies popping into the on-demand business model. These companies are employing workers who have control of their lives, thus creating a happy workforce. You no longer have to work under someone else’s schedule to make a decent and happy living. Workers are taking employment into their own hands. We’re at the beginning of a transformation where our lives are no longer defined by our careers.