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.

w62n · ‎03-09-2020

**Edited for Community Guidelines** as the existing JSS methodolgy is a complete pile of nonsense in the first place. But this makes no sense whatsover. It's about time that Upwork hired some people in decision making roles who've actually been freelancers at some point in their career.

andrew_croft · ‎03-09-2020

Careful Wayne... I think Upwork is doing more than damaging our JSS scores.

Have noticed - not a single new project awarded to me since I started posting in this thread.

Yeah, I'm paranoid, but I'm also very tired of freelance platforms pretending they know what's best for freelancers.

marafx · ‎03-09-2020

I am 100% and yet got no new offer lately... not that I am a lot after new ones, I'm almost full slots but... just to make it clear that your board texting has nothing to do with employers being pushed towards you or not.

kochubei_valeria · ‎03-09-2020

Wayne and Andrew,

Your activity in the Community has no effect on your Upwork account metrics, JSS or how your profile and proposals are displayed to clients in search on in proposal list.

That said, I'd like to remind you of the Community Guidelines. We appreciate feedback shared on these boards but we expect members of the Community to remain professional and adhere to the Guidelines that we have in place.

Thank you.

jaybopp82 · ‎03-10-2020

We all need to take a deep breath and realize JSS is not everything on this platform! Yes, clients use it as a tool, but it is one of many tools they have to determine if someone is hired. A few months ago I took a hit from 100% to 92% thanks to a stealthy client leaving bad private feedback. After that, the next week I applied to 5 jobs in one day. I was hired on 2 of them. Three days later I heard back from 2 more and was hired on one of them. And yes, a week and a half later I was hired on the 5th. So for me, it seems like a less than perfect JSS helped me tremendously! With 100% JSS, I was having troubles getting a job out of 10 proposals.

Perhaps clients think of 100%'ers as "nah, that cant be real"? I dont know. Just sharig my experience. While at first I was not happy with the 8% drop for a reason I'll never know of, today I am very happy it dropped.

With this new job size change, it went up to 95%. Job acceptance rate is still very high, even on 50+ proposals. I think I'm just getting good at applying to those jobs only which I know my profile and past experience is perfect for.

Just my 2 cents. I know my profile and other aspects needs work, but it seems to be working for now. Remember, breathe. This score is not everything!

swellbrain · ‎03-10-2020

The JSS change makes about as much sense as the "mystic" way you assign how many connects a job is. You guys are making a killing on us having to purchase these now, and there is no rhyme or reason as to how many connects freelancers have to use to bid on a job. I hope Upwork doesnt implode soon due to greed. Remember we make you guys money, and that take take mentality is a negative thing as we all see it.

andrew_croft · ‎03-10-2020

Actually, David, I asked Upwork about this very fact...

The person on the chat stated that the bid credits are assigned based on the popularity of the project - i.e. the more bids, the more this goes up. Yeah, that's right. That's how it's done. Kinda like Ebay, the other scourge of sanity on the Internet.

So, some people in third world countries are paying 6 credits to do "full branding" for $25.

I'd add more comments - but seeing as I haven't had a single new project since posting on this thread... I really don't think this is a fair or reasonable place to spend my money.

varpness · ‎03-13-2020

I went back and begged a couple of recent clients to leave feedback. They did: 5-star. Another job closed today: 5-star. All of my feedback is comprised of 5-stars. Guess how much my 88% rating has changed as a result of my begging? Funny how they put me JUST UNDER that 90% mark for Top Rated (after having removed me from it), and yet getting three new 5-star rating didn't even increase me by 1%. It's easier to keep people at that sweet 88%, isn't it? Not so bad as to scare away clients, but not enough to give me my Top Rated perks back despite having never received less than exemplary 5-star marks.

marafx · ‎03-13-2020

Hi Mat
First thing, your profile is not public so I wonder how can an employer find you?
Second: every 5 stars or good review you get gets calculated by the algo but updates are not real time. They are every xx days- I don't remember well the time lapse be it 2 weeks or monthly.

piuspaul · ‎03-15-2020

According to Upwork "In an effort to better ensure your JSS reflects your Upwork job history, as of March 1 we are giving higher-paying jobs more weight than lesser-paying ones." I believe my JSS should have been 90%+.

Within the last 12 months I have 3 huge task that pays more than $1,000 each with very good reviews and just about 2-4 client gave bad review (2-3 stars) including bad hidden feedback too with less than $50 paid by each client. Whereas more than 20+ client gave me good reviews. Though this are my findings and I believe base on these, my JSS should be 90%+ by now