Job size will now be factored into your JSS

lenaellis · ‎02-03-2020

UPDATE: The JSS Metric has been updated to reflect the changes that were announced below. As of today, March 1st, all Job Success Scores are now displaying the updated value.

We will soon update JSS metrics to reflect job value in the calculation. Today, a one-week $20 job typically carries the same weight as a one-week $1,000 job in JSS. Soon, JSS will be weighted by job earnings. For example, a one-week $1,000 job will be weighted more than a one-week $20 job. JSS will also exclude contracts with $0 earned and positive feedback. All other JSS policies will remain unchanged.

What does this mean?

We are making this change so a freelancer’s Job Success Score will display a more comprehensive representation of their freelancer work. We understand not all jobs are equal. We know higher budget contracts require more work and freelancers who complete these more complex contracts successfully should get credit for them. Just as longer-term contracts hold more weight in JSS calculations than shorter ones, we believe contract value should also hold significance in the calculation. By giving these jobs more weight, these jobs will have a greater influence on a JSS.

Many freelancers will see an increase in their scores if they’ve successfully completed higher budget contracts in the past. At the same time, a small percentage of freelancers may lose their JSS, see a drop in their scores, or lose their Top Rated badge. Today, we are emailing freelancers whose JSS will see a decline of 5% or more, to let them know they will be affected. Freelancers that see a drop in their score can improve their JSS by completing more jobs with positive feedback, as it works today. Larger budget contracts with positive feedback will result in a higher increase in JSS, however, all great feedback contributes to JSS and whether you work on large or small contracts you can still reach 100% JSS.

This change will take effect in March, at which time all Job Success Scores will be updated retroactively. We know many of you will have questions about this update. We won’t be able to discuss your individual score or outcomes of specific contracts. We have listed some anticipated questions below, let us know if you have any additional questions.

FAQS:

Can I know what my new JSS is now before this launches?

We will not be able to provide you with your updated score until the JSS calculation refreshes at launch, in March.

Does this mean if I don’t get big contracts I’ll never be able to get a JSS of 100%?

Receiving stellar feedback on smaller budget jobs can still get you to a JSS of 100%. We are only changing the impact of jobs based on earnings. This means that strong client feedback on a higher-budget job could boost your score more than a lower-budget job. All other aspects of JSS will remain the same.

How will I know if it affects me?

The majority of freelancers will be affected positively by this change and will see an increase in their scores. We are sending out emails to those who will likely see a drop in their score once the new JSS calculation goes into effect in March.

Can this affect me positively, will my JSS go up?

Yes! The vast majority of freelancers on the platform will see an increase or very little change in their scores. This is because you may have worked on one or more higher paying contracts in the past, and because you received great feedback that great feedback is being weighted more.

Can I lose my JSS?

A small percentage of freelancers may lose their JSS. This is because they had one or more jobs with no earnings. Positive feedback on contracts with no earnings will not be factored into JSS once we move to the new calculation. As a result, some freelancers won’t have enough outcomes to be eligible for a JSS until they successfully complete more jobs. Nearly all freelancers have scores after completing eight projects.

How does weighting work specifically?

To ensure fairness and avoid manipulation, we don’t share the specifics about how we calculate the Job Success Score. Thanks for your understanding.

So if I take a bigger job and get negative feedback that counts more than positive feedback on smaller jobs?
Yes. A job with higher earnings will always impact your Job Success Score (JSS) more than a smaller job. For example, feedback on a $1,000 job carries more weight on your JSS compared to a $20 job. However, receiving poor feedback on a job with more earnings can be balanced out by doing well on a job of the same size in the future or on a number of smaller jobs.

Can I lose my Top Rated badge?

Yes, a small percentage of freelancers who see a decline in their JSS may drop below 90% and lose their Top Rated badge. This is because they received less-than-positive public or private feedback on one or more of their higher-paying contracts. Feedback on contracts with higher earnings will affect JSS more after this new change.

bigtomjp · ‎03-02-2020

Antonia, I went to My Profile and My Settings. I do not see Visibility.

yasirkhattak177 · ‎03-02-2020

WEll, do Agree with you. There should be some mechanisms that can help freelancers in a better way.

yasirkhattak177 · ‎03-02-2020

It does happen to me as well. I can't see anything on Upwork which helps freelancers. Upwork give all power to the clients only.

yasirkhattak177 · ‎03-02-2020

True!

marafx · ‎03-02-2020

Hi Joseph. Allow me a logical discussion.
Presuming you are a doig data entry or such. And you are just first time on Upwork.
Now follow me.
Are your services lower in quality than the services provided by someone that is here for 1 year doing the same thing?
i dearly hope not!
Then why for the love of logic would your services cost 2 dollars against 20 dollars the rate of someone that is here for 1 year?

This is absolutely a wrong mentality, that kind of mentality that justifies and encourage frode clients to ask for cheap, nearly free, slavery work, pretending and bulling turning Upwork in a muddy unpleasant environment.

Your work as well as the elder upworker work both have the same value!
The task is the same.
You can't be 10 times cheaper unless you play the dirty dumping game that will run against you sooner than later.

Sorry to say it mate but this is the pure truth. Accepting rates that are lower than the ones paid to the McDonalds waitress... lower than the janitor clenaing stairs in a building, lower than the lowest of any decent ecenomy... no this won't play at your favor. You refuse yourself a better pay.
You won't grow or get real tasks if you play the dumping game.

best
Antonia

bigtomjp · ‎03-02-2020

Valeria, We all realize it is your job to do your best to make this sound like a good thing. It is what it is and the way it is structured is not good. The only upside is that every freelancer has to deal with the same thing and every client will come to understand the JSS has less value when calculated this way. We pay so that you can add value to the platform, not take it away.

kochubei_valeria · ‎03-02-2020

Joseph G wrote:

So what will happen to a new freelancer who is earning $5 every two weeks? Still, do they have a chance to reach 100% JSS?

They certainly do, Joseph, if they are delivering great results on those jobs. The great feedback freelancers receive on small jobs will still positively count in their JSS.

kochubei_valeria · ‎03-02-2020

Tom O wrote:

Antonia, I went to My Profile and My Settings. I do not see Visibility.

Tom, could you please try this link to access your profile visibility settings. You may need to enter your password/security answer to access the Settings, but you should then see a drop down like this.

liveforcode · ‎03-02-2020

My JSS went from 97% to 88% because of this update. I don't have any bad reviews. Why is upwork becoming worse and worse?

lnghng · ‎03-02-2020

The biggest issue of Upwork rating system is that it solely depends on the client's emotion on the contract closing day not on the real performance during the whole contract period. No matter how well the freelancer's performance was, and how long the client has been keeping on the freelancer for the work which obviously indicates that the client was happy with the performance. If the client is not happy on the last day, he will give a poor rating to significantly damage the freelancer's JSS score. The larger the project is, the worse the effect will be!

This kind of ridiculous rating system made me having trouble leaving long-term clients. They can keep me forever if they are happy about my work. if I have a better chance elsewhere despite I have worked for many months for the client and my hourly rate becomes significantly lower than it is supposed to be, or I have a personal issue and have to leave, I'll likely get punished by poor JSS score. I had two times my 100% JSS with Top-Rated status dropped to below 90%, and I have to reaccumulate 13 weeks of 90% JSS to back to Top-Rated. All these contracts extended after the initial hiring period, all these two drops were caused by the fact I wanted to end the contract!

The only thing can make Upwork's JSS score fair is to require the clients rate the freelancers during every pay approving time and also make the rating publically. If the freelancer is not happy about the rating, the freelancer can end the contract right away; if he/she decides to continue on working for their client despite the not-good rating, that means he/she thinks the rating score is fair. Only after Upwork makes the client's rating open and fair, Upwork's money-waited JSS calculation method will become useful, otherwise, this change would do more harm than good to the already flawed JSS score system.