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.

feed_my_eyes · ‎03-15-2020

Sumit S wrote:
I did give out 2-3 refunds - one because I wasn’t happy with the way the
client spoke to me, another because the client claimed he fell ill and
didn’t need the project done for now

However, my score on March 1 was 76% and so I was hoping that the 94%
should be my new score considering I got stellar feedback from all clients
I worked with, in the last 10 days or so.

Any chance this could be some glitch in the system that can get rectified
soon? Because frankly with 76%, I don’t stand a chance towards many
projects.

It's not a glitch in the system - 100% refunded contracts have a negative impact, and you possibly received bad private feedback from one of your clients as well. We don't really know how Upwork calculates the JSS, so it's not possible to say that you should have 94% based on your star ratings (they don't count for very much, apparently).

Other freelancers do manage to bring their JSS back up again, so it'll be difficult, but not impossible.

hasib_dev · ‎03-15-2020

Hello, Thanks for responding. I hade an old contract that I have finished the work and client approved the milestones but didn't end the contract. After your response I have reached out to client asked him to end the contract, So he did and even left me a 5 star feedback and as he told me he's very pleased with the work so I'm pretty confident he gave me a good private feedback as well. So, will this increase my JSS?

AveryO · ‎03-15-2020

Hi Hasibullah,

Any feedback left by the client for the freelancer will be counted towards the Job Success Score. Your Job Success Score calculation includes multiple factors such as public and private feedback, long-term relationships, contracts without feedback if they represent a significant portion of your overall contracts, etc. You may read more about it here.

hassan-jahanzaib · ‎03-16-2020

Hi Petra, Thanks for your reply.
I know that the client gave me good private feedback because the client mistakenly ended the contract earlier and he compensated it by sending a tip.
Also, in the last two weeks, I only had one ended contract and I was earning from the other two contracts as they were hourly.
So, I don't really understand how my JSS could drop. If anything, it should have been improved with stellar feedback from my last client.

lucioric · ‎03-16-2020

I have also such kind of "gem" clients. $50 milestones, you complete it then they disappear. He promised to catch up in Saturday. Today is monday and he has not reported. if before COVID-19 exceptional state he missed catch up dates, i don't know what to expect these times... and surely the day when he is able to come back online he will want more work for this milestone. Some clients think that we don't have bills and earning expectancies. But be for more money, harder to get and to retain clients. May upwork bias jobs into more-paying ones, instead of doing it only by the JSS scoring. Or, ¿¿isn't that feasible that higheer earnings jobs gets to us??

lucioric · ‎03-16-2020

apart from dying or not, they are happy with you, keep adding milestones but no feedback in large amount of time. But, in fact, long -term relationships helps, although there is no feedback. Which counts is that it has been earnings in this job (meaning that the client was happy enough to release a payment).

lucioric · ‎03-16-2020

About JSS drop, it has happened me once. first, i didn't get any notification of my top-rated losing, i noticed this drpp when i checked up my score because I was concerned of not getting more invites. that time my score was 89%, and with the weeks dropped to 69%. what I did to improve my score was to deliver work in some contracts that had been started but had no earnings. Also i contacted a client that I have interviewed time and started a contract with him. he requested me a job to start a project for him, he was happy with me and ended the contract with good feedback, and them my JSS started to raise. There are also entry-level, low.earnings jobs that you can apply to to re-boost your score.

pelinomedia · ‎03-17-2020

hello thanks for your answer. Yes, you are right. There are a few jobs in my profile that I finished related milestones very well but contract was not ended. Before that I didn't know that closing contract is important . I thought maybe we could continue to work on together so I didn't remind them. In the last days I tried to contact to the clients that didn't close the job but they didn't answer. However I finished these projects with very good performance. What should I do now to increase my score again? It can affect clients negative when I apply for new projects. Right?

petra_r · ‎03-17-2020

Pelin E wrote:
hello thanks for your answer. Yes, you are right. There are a few jobs in my profile that I finished related milestones very well but contract was not ended.

That does not negatively affect your JSS provided money was at some point paid. As long as money was paid, it doesn't matter.

You had not so great public feedback on two contracts, and it's likely that the private feedback on them was not so great either, and that's why your JSS is what it is.

Pelin E wrote:
What should I do now to increase my score again? I

Complete all future contracts with a great outcome for the client.

svspit · ‎03-17-2020

"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."

unbelievable, what's happened and made upwork came to this idea after so many months of JSS applied to the platform?