How TrueML’s Culture Is Evolving: Collaboration, Ownership and Mission-Driven Momentum

What Makes TrueML’s Culture Unique? A Blend of Startup Energy and Clear Structure

Kelli Veach considers TrueML’s cultural rebrand to be the perfect sweet spot between startup energy and established structure.

“We have enough processes to keep things efficient and seamless, but not so many that they slow us down,” she said. “If you want to make something happen here, you truly can.”

Since joining TrueML nearly two years ago, Veach has played a leading role in shaping the employee experience, beginning her career journey at the company as a people programs specialist before transitioning into her current role as people programs manager. 

How TrueML’s Culture Has Evolved Through Growth and Change

While many aspects of the company’s culture have stayed the same since she arrived — such as team members’ warmth, humanity and mission-driven nature — TrueML has also undergone significant changes. 

Earlier this year, TrueAccord, a subsidiary of TrueML specializing in digital-first debt collection, acquired debt collection agency Sentry. Veach shared that this acquisition, along with other organizational changes, have compelled employees to embrace speed, ownership and innovation as they work together to find the best solutions — and overcome any challenges that come their way. 

To honor TrueML’s evolving team, leadership recently decided to revamp company values while enhancing culture as a whole, ensuring employees’ voices were heard at every step of the process through the use of focus groups, leadership discussions and intentional listening sessions. Veach said that this undertaking has been one of the most collaborative efforts in the company’s history and has shed light on what needs to be cultivated in order for the business to become the best version of itself. 

“This wasn’t a top-down exercise; it was a collective effort to name the behaviors, mindsets and principles that already exist in pockets across TrueAccord, TrueML Products and Shared Services — and to codify them into a framework that will guide our culture, our actions and our future growth,” she said. 

TrueML’s latest transformation reflects the heart of its culture, which focuses on connection, support and excitement for the road ahead. 

Below, Veach shares more about the values that fuel TrueML’s success, including how the company culture plays out on a day-to-day basis, and how the team celebrates wins and overcomes challenges together. 

 

What It’s Like Working at TrueML: Team Dynamics and Collaboration

Describe your role within TrueML. What team do you work within? 

I’m the manager of people programs on the people team. I lead companywide programs that shape the employee experience — everything from onboarding, learning and development, engagement programs, cultural initiatives, and internal events to the systems and processes that help our people team operate smoothly behind the scenes.

My work often lives at the intersection of culture, communication and enablement. A big part of my role is connecting dots across the organization so our programs feel cohesive, intentional and aligned with the direction the company is heading in.

 

If you had to describe TrueML’s culture with an analogy or a single word, what would you choose? 

I’d describe our culture as the perfect sweet spot between startup energy and established structure. We have enough processes to keep things efficient and seamless, but not so many that they slow us down. If you want to make something happen here, you truly can. And because we’re still small enough to see each other’s impact, every contribution matters. It’s a place where ownership is real, initiative is rewarded, and you can see the ripple effects of your work almost immediately.

 

What were your first impressions of TrueML’s culture when you joined? How have those impressions changed over time, and which have remained strong?

My first impression was that TrueML was warm, human and mission-driven. People showed up with empathy, curiosity and a real desire to help others — especially our consumers. That impression has remained consistently true.

What has evolved is our level of clarity and direction as we’ve navigated entity separation, organizational changes and the natural growing pains that come with scaling. The heart of our culture remains intact, but our expectations around speed, ownership and innovation have grown sharper — and our values refresh reflects that.

 

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What are the team dynamics within TrueML? What’s it like working with your fellow team members every day?

Our people team is entrepreneurial, scrappy and deeply collaborative. We’re the kind of team that rolls up our sleeves, experiments boldly and adapts quickly — especially when the unexpected happens, which is often! We operate with an “all hands in, no ego” mindset. If something needs doing, someone jumps in. If someone is overloaded, another person picks up the slack without hesitation. Even on the busiest days, the tone is supportive, curious and solution-oriented.

How TrueML Celebrates Wins and Recognizes Employees

When you and your coworkers celebrate a win, what does that celebration look like?

Our wins are celebrated loudly, proudly and across multiple channels. Companywide Slack channels — including our Sales Win Wires and Legal Win Wires channels — light up with GIFs, emojis and cross-functional shoutouts any time a big achievement is reached. We also use our recognition platform, Nectar, constantly. Teammates shout each other out every day for major achievements, standout support and the small-but-mighty moments that keep the company moving. And once per quarter, our companywide all-hands includes a dedicated time for celebrating the biggest wins and the teams behind them.

A recent example came through our Sales Win Wire Slack channel, recognizing a major, high-impact deal that closed at the very end of the quarter. The win was incredibly complex and required persistence, precision, cross-functional alignment and relentless teamwork. The announcement highlighted the strategic importance of the deal, its significant projected annual value and the way multiple teams rallied together to overcome obstacles and push it across the finish line. It was a perfect example of how we celebrate both the outcome and the collaboration that made it possible — and the Slack channel lit up instantly with excitement, pride and momentum heading into the next quarter.
 

How TrueML Approaches Challenges: Transparency, Speed and Shared Ownership

When you and your coworkers face a challenge, how do you tackle it?

We tend to meet challenges the same way we meet wins: together. Our approach is transparent, fast-moving and collaborative. People pull in the right stakeholders quickly, share context openly, and divide and conquer with urgency and trust.

 

“We tend to meet challenges the same way we meet wins: together.”

 

A recent example is our companywide work on Project Elevate, where we were challenged to rethink how we use AI not just in our products, but in our day-to-day roles. Instead of treating it as a technical initiative, we approached it as a cultural shift. Each department designated a Project Elevate Ambassador who helped their teams rethink workflows, automate the mundane and focus their brainpower on the complex.

The collective goal has been simple but ambitious: Make the easy automated, make the hard easy, and reserve our energy for the truly complicated. Teams across the company have leaned into experimenting, iterating and learning together, sharing wins and findings along the way.

It’s been a challenge but also a powerful demonstration of how we tackle the unfamiliar — by thinking differently, moving faster and leveling up together.

 

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