Why Testlio’s Purpose Means So Much To Me

, CEO, Testlio

It’s pretty impossible to be a modern company and not have a purpose statement. While purpose is ubiquitous, I’ve found that a compelling purpose can be illusive. It’s rare that companies have a clear sense of meaning that aligns and sustains their team. I gently offer that Testlio’s purpose is meaningful—and effective. 

In another life, I worked with SYPartners. There, we partnered with corporations and social impact enterprises to articulate and activate cultures of purpose. At SYP, I saw how a compelling purpose could help firms energize global employees. From Starbucks to Hyatt to OnBeing, I witnessed the strategy, poetry, nuance, and beauty of powerful purpose. 

What I took with me—most importantly—is that purpose must be both grounded and lofty. Tangible and inspirational. Clear and effusive. Great purpose holds multiple truths simultaneously. It presents something that feels both at home and fresh.

At Testlio, we updated our purpose this year. Like many companies, we created a working group. We recruited employees at various levels across the organization. We went through multiple exercises. We sweated and debated and wordsmithed. We got stuck. We broke through. 

What drove us to explore a new purpose statement? For us, it was simple: we had outgrown our previous purpose. Our sense of Testlio’s place in the world had shifted. And with that, we were ready to create a new way of looking at ourselves. A new way of thinking. A new way of communicating who we are to one another—and the world at large.

Our purpose now reads: 

We power networked testing to enable human possibilities.

Our new purpose reflects why we exist. It drives our energy, our focus, and our identity. It is the essence of who we are.

Our new purpose begins with power. Through our Platform, our Services, and our Network, we equip, enable, and empower people. We are a company of action, a set of energized humans, a collection of proprietary technologies. 

Our purpose emphasizes networked testing. We are the originators of this unique set of practices. Networked testing is a mindset, a philosophy, and an approach. It covers distribution, burstability, compensation, integration, collaboration, speed, coverage, economics, and more. To learn about networked testing, please see our website. 

Finally, everything we do is meant to enable human possibilities. What do we mean? 

First, we create possibilities for users of our customers’ products. Over 1 billion collective users rely upon our customers’ digital products to communicate, to work, to connect, to watch. To laugh, listen, express, and create. From amazing companies like CBS, Netflix, Microsoft, the NBA, and SAP, these products fuel the moments of life that matter.  

Second, our customers’ engineering teams experience new possibilities with Testlio. When we are doing our job, engineering teams move fast, release with confidence, and deliver high-quality products. When we achieve the potential of our client partnerships, engineering and product teams sleep well knowing that Testlio has covered the QA and testing demands that their products deserve. To learn more, please see what our customers are saying on G2.com.

Third, we strive to create new possibilities for our employees. Our 120+ people work, earn, learn, connect, and grow with Testlio. They live around the world, in a (mostly) work-from-home, distributed-by-design structure. They pursue careers with meaning. They develop new skills. They make new friends. They support their families. To learn more about what our employees think, please see Glassdoor.com.

Fourth, freelancers are core to everything we do. Without freelancers, our business does not exist. We are incredibly appreciative of freelance testers who work for us in more than 150 countries worldwide. From the moment that our founders Kristel and Marko launched Testlio, honoring, respecting, befriending, and fairly compensating freelancers has been fundamental to our business. With Testlio, freelancers can live where they want. Work when they want. Expand their testing acumen. Meet others. Participate in a globally shared experience. To learn more, please visit our pledge to our freelance network.

Finally, human possibilities drive our social impact work for broader communities. Our employees are active in many causes. Environmentalism. Education. Human rights. Equality in technology. LGBTQ initiatives. Incarceration reform. We also have created our own social impact program: Testlio Ignite. In 2020, our first class completed the program. As a result, eight people began new careers in software testing. We are forming our second class now. Please visit our Ignite overview to learn more.

These five groups—users, customers, employees, freelancers, and communities—are the people who give Testlio’s work deep meaning. Everything Testlio does is in the spirit of serving people, allowing each human touched in some small or profound way to realize new possibilities.

Human possibilities energize me, and the Testlio team, to tackle each day with fresh hope, gratitude, and wonder. Our purpose pulls me forward. It helps me find hope when needed. It rekindles my fire if it lowers. It gives me clarity on days that seem murky. 

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We also work hard to keep our purpose front and center at the company. How do we do that? I’ll share some thoughts next time on techniques that work for us.