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.

petra_r · ‎08-13-2020

Irfan A wrote:
But the amount of contract is not very significant. It is only around $60. All my other contracts are way more than this on which I got good feedback. That is main point of my question.

Contract size has some bearing, but a $ 1000 contract doesn't "weigh" 100 times as much as a $ 10 contract.

katiecan1 · ‎08-16-2020

This is interesting, but not in a good way...

My jobs are generally quite large and my JSS is historically above 99%. I recently took a $300 job and the client gave me 4.3 star rating. I know the client may have left negative feedback, despite my attempts to make everything right. Today, that project has caused my JSS to drop from 99 percent to 95. What gives?

noraperezchavez · ‎08-16-2020

Hi,
My JSS dropped from 100% to 84% in just 3 months. I got my Top rated badge during the Covid-19 pandemic so, for a while, it was really difficult to get new jobs, even when I was constantly applying for jobs. Anyway, I kept working as much as possible and I recently got two long term jobs. All I have got are 5 stars reviews. The only thing I have is a few inactive open contracts, which I've been closing now that I know that could affect my JSS. please help me bring my JSS up!!

filip_knezevic · ‎08-17-2020

Well, I think that's kind of normal.

I had 100 for a long time, then after one bad review it fell to 96.

I can't move from 97 upward for months for example. Effect of JSS changes are more noticable on newer accounts. It's very hard to imporve it now, when you have many jobs...

katiecan1 · ‎08-17-2020

So far in 2020 I've had 14 jobs of which 7 (representing nearly 60% of my earnings) were rated 5 stars; 6 didn't leave feedback.

Until a couple of days ago my JSS was 99% - until a client for a small job representing less than 1% of my total earnings gave me a 4.3 and likely a bad review (it happens). How did that cause my JSS to fall 4 percentage points?

There must be an error in the formula that weights too heavily the negative private feedback from a single client against the JSS score.

farahzaki_k · ‎08-17-2020

6 didn't leave feedback. This could be why your JSS went down. 🙂
It isn't just because of one job is what I'm trying to tell you.

filip_knezevic · ‎08-17-2020

If six out of 13 people didn't leave a feedback, that can be the issue.

That's almost 50% no feedback contracts and that is huge.

petra_r · ‎08-17-2020

Kathryn M wrote:
So far in 2020 I've had 14 jobs of which 7 (representing nearly 60% of my earnings) were rated 5 stars; 6 didn't leave feedback.

Until a couple of days ago my JSS was 99% - until a client for a small job representing less than 1% of my total earnings gave me a 4.3 and likely a bad review (it happens). How did that cause my JSS to fall 4 percentage points?

"So far in 2020" doesn't really mean much.

Your JSS is the best out of your 6 month, 12 month and 24 month calculation window. Nothing beyond 2 years counts at all.

Most people with a high JSS are on their 6 month window (as this doesn't include anything that went wrong over 6 months ago or over 12 months ago. So when something does go wrong, it hits the 6 months window hard (as it's the one with the fewest contracts in it, so every outcome has a really significant impact) and the next best window is then likely the 12 months or 24 months window. Remember that before the "something went wrong" contract happened, both the 12 and 24 month windows were already lower than the 6 month window, so the extra "something went wrong" contract lowers the (new) calculation further.

One relatively small contract having a big effect is not uncommon, because it can mean a change in your calculation window

You also want to take a look at your "My Stats" page. What does it say about "Clients who would recommend you?" (basically your private feedback over the lifetime of your profile.

nikazurashvili · ‎08-19-2020

Hey Nora,

To the extent of my knowledge, your JSS could be also affected by your clients' private feedbacks, so perhaps they left some poor ones?

If not, then it's probably your closing of the inactive contracts. Were the milestone funds released before you closed them or not?

Edit*** If you want to quickly bring your JSS back up, take on small jobs you know you can handle extremely well. When your clients leave 5-star feedbacks, your JSS will go back to 100% in no time!

~ Nika Z.

katiecan1 · ‎08-20-2020

Thanks, Petra. Prior to the recent small job where the client likely did not recommend me my stats indicated only one previous client did not recommend me.

It makes no sense that one client not recommending me and still giving me 4.3 stars could cause my JSS score to fall 4 percentage points.

Also, how does the new scoring which factors in job size impact the JSS? This was a very small job especially compared to my other jobs.