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Job size will now be factored into your JSS

lenaellis
Community Member

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 workWe 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.

925 Comments
malvalyn
Community Member

I went from Top-Rated to 81% JSS  today  just because of this new change .....  its a sad day to be a upwork freelancer

AveryO
Community Manager

Hi Malvalyn, 

 

Because we are now weighing jobs with higher earnings more if you received less than stellar feedback on one of those jobs it may have impacted your Job Success Score more. 

 

This change to the Job Success Score may have decreased your score but you can absolutely get your Top Rated badge back. As long as you do great work for your clients and receive great feedback -- regardless of whether it’s a low- or high-budget job -- your score will climb. 

AveryO
Community Manager

Hi Andrew, and Christian, 

 

We changed the way your Job Success Score (JSS) is calculated to give more weight to jobs with higher earnings. Previously, a $20 job typically carried the same weight as a $1,000 job. Now, a $1,000 job will be weighted more than a $20 job.

You can check your previous contracts to understand which may have affected your score. You may also read Lena's announcement post for more information. 

bussw83
Community Member

This lowered my JSS 20%. Terrible iniciative

AveryO
Community Manager

Hi James, 

This change doesn't affect how Job Success Scores are affected by idle contracts. You may read more about how idle contracts affect your score in this help article's FAQ - Will closing idle or inactive contracts hurt my score?

 


James W wrote:

Does this mean jobs that have past earnings, but are still open, will affect my JSS negatively? What is the time frame criteria where it starts to affect my JSS and I should push the client to close the contract? This seems very counter-intuitive for me to want to push a client to close a contract if they may need future work.


 

eric5037
Community Member

Valeria K wrote:

Eric B wrote:

is that logical to say: that guy is a 5 stars freelancers but only does little jobs, therefore his JSS will be 82% for example.

 


Hi Eric,

 

This change doesn't mean that it's impossible to get 100% JSS and a Top Rated status completing only smaller jobs. You can still get to 100% JSS by delivering great results on smaller budget jobs; we are just giving more weight to jobs with higher earnings.


Then I fear nothing but I don't really understand why I received that email that means I could likely lose my top rated status that I have kept constant for an entire year.

 

If It's just abiout giving more weight to jobs with higher earnings then it can be a good move from upwork and a lot of noise from freelancers like me is just a big misunderstanding.

 

Thank you, Valeria.

kavitagabani
Community Member

Hi,

 

You won't lose your connects anymore as upwork is about to introduce a new feature where if the client doesn't hire any freelancer within a certain amount of timeframe then the connects will be refunded. Currently, This feature is under BETA VERSION and will be released globally soon.

 

Regards.

rcegono11
Community Member
Hello i just would like to know why would i have a sudden drop of jss score?.

Thanks.
AveryO
Community Manager

Hi Kavita, 


It sounds like you are referring to this new test to refund Connects. I would like to confirm that we are currently testing this feature, and we do not have any confirmation if this will be rolled out. We are always looking for ways to improve Upwork’s platform and this is just one of many tests we conduct each year.

 

In order to not impact or skew test results, we typically try not to share too many details about tests while they are ongoing. While we can’t address your questions about this test, we do want and appreciate your feedback. We will be glad to pass your comments on as we work to determine which potential features our customers like and don’t like. 

I would request other users to refer and respond on the thread I have linked above if you have comments/feedback regarding this test so that we can keep topics in one place as this thread is about the new change in the Job Success Score calculation. Thank you!

joy-maganga
Community Member

Query:  What exactly does 'giving higher-paying jobs more weight than lesser-paying ones' mean?

 

I feel this is subjective, considering the differences in hourly rates across the board for different frellancers.

 

A 'higher paying job' for a $3/hr freelancer might be the 'lowest paying job' for a $60/hr freelancer.

 

Question then, is the comparision made between higher and lower paying jobs done by the same freelancer or jobs done by all freelancers?