New Feature Mid-Job Feedback

lenaellis · ‎08-13-2020

We are releasing a new feature that introduces mid-job feedback into contracts. Clients will soon be able to leave public feedback for freelancers while a contract is ongoing. This feedback helps freelancers share the progress of a job and have it reflected in their work history before a contract has ended.

Why we made this change:

Gathering feedback on a contract only when the contract ends leads to a delay in gathering feedback on longer-term contracts. We hear from our customers that contracts are being closed for the sole purpose of providing feedback. Freelancers want feedback reflected in their work history and request clients to end contracts to provide feedback. This desire for feedback has led to unnecessary closure of contracts, and we would like to address the issue by facilitating optional public feedback throughout the contract (rather than only at the end of the contract). We also believe that multiple public feedback touchpoints will better communicate the progress of long-term ongoing contracts and reduce the number of contracts that close with no public feedback. We're also considering how we can incorporate mid-contract feedback into Job Success Scores (JSS), but for now, this feedback will not factor into your JSS.

How it works:

Public feedback (not private feedback) will be able to be provided from the client to the freelancer without ending a contract. Assuming the eligibility criteria noted below are met, a client will proactively be able to provide this feedback, OR a freelancer will be able to request feedback from the client. When a freelancer requests feedback, clients will have 14 days to provide the feedback.

If feedback is not provided within this timeframe, the request expires, and a freelancer can submit another request assuming the eligibility criteria continue to be met. (We’re gradually rolling feedback requests out to freelancers. All clients will have the option to leave mid-job feedback, but only select freelancers will see the request feedback button at this time.)

Eligibility Criteria: Feedback can be requested by the freelancer or provided by the client if the following criteria are met:

30 days have passed since the start of the contract

There was a payment on the contract in the previous 30 days

Feedback has not been provided in the past 30 days (using the date that the feedback was last provided, not the date that the feedback was requested)

Here are details about the new experience from both freelancer and client views. Only public feedback is gathered from the client as part of this mid-contract feedback flow. When feedback is provided, it will be shown in a freelancer’s work history. There are no impacts to JSS since mid-job feedback does not impact JSS.

NEW FEEDBACK TAB:

All feedback provided on a given contract (mid-contract and end-of-contract feedback) will be shown in a new Feedback tab of the Contract Room for both clients and freelancers.

Mid Job 1.png

Feedback will also be displayed in freelancers’ work history under the active contract.

Mid Job 3.png

The new flow is detailed below

Freelancer View (currently only select freelancers): If eligibility criteria are met, freelancers have a “Request Feedback” option in the new Feedback tab of the Contract Room.

Mid Job 5.png

Client View: Clicking “Request Feedback” triggers an email and Dash message to the client with a request for feedback.

Mid Job 4.png

Client View: Clients fill out this form to provide mid-contract feedback. The form includes only public feedback and not private feedback.

Mid Job 6.png

Client View: Alternatively, when eligibility criteria is met, clients can choose to proactively provide feedback by clicking the “Give Feedback” button in the Feedback tab or in the overflow menu of the Contract Room. Clicking this

Mid Job 7.png

davidcmarcus · ‎08-13-2020

Thank you for listening Upwork - this is a brilliant idea.

Please communicate it properly to the clients though.

Could you include in your messaging a reminder about the concept of milestones?

There are many clients who frequently post new jobs but hire the same freelancer repeatedly.

This results in wasted time (and connects) in unsuccessful job applications.

If that same client simply created a new milestone each time they had another job for their current preferred freelancer, it would benefit everyone concerned (except Upwork due to loss of connect income). With this new solution allowing for jobs to stay open longer, this could work, however there needs to be some impact into the JSS.

One question: You stated this: We hear from our customers that contracts are being closed for the sole purpose of providing feedback The reason freelancers wanted the feedback so desperately was because of the messy and secretive JSS calculations. I'm sure if you did a poll amongst freelancers asking them how feedback or JSS works the results would be all over the place. Failure to implement this change without it actually affecting the JSS is not only a waste of time but an irritation to clients. Are the rules for this mid-job feedback going to be the same as the post-job feedback - i.e. will freelancers and clients still have the ability (based on their earnings/status/tier badge they've earned) to delete the public feedback which everyone needs to see to make an informed decision?

I find it bizarre that the ability to hide public feedback even exists - what is the actual point of the system especially with so many clients offering guaranteed 5 star feedback for low paying jobs?

Another issue which desperately needs fixing, is being able to see feedback sorted by rating (not simply highest or lowest). The reason I say this is for any profile (client or freelancer) with many jobs, to find the last job they were badly rated on is extremely tedious - sometimes 40 pages of feedback need to be scrolled through, clicking next, next, next ad-nauseum, only to find something poorly rated (less than 5 stars) but then the actual PUBLIC feedback has been hidden! How is this user friendly? Please fix it! Look at Amazon for an example - you can easily choose to see the 1 star or the 2 star or the 5 star with a single click. Surely it can't be that hard to implement? Employ someone on the platform and get it done at a 20% discount.

I realize you're simply the messenger, so before too many more questions get posted which you don't have the answers to, could the brains behind this new feature please introduce themselves and get some public feedback from both clients and freelancers to assist with yet another weird "beta" testing live-software-release-without-telling-anyone-until-it's-too-late which it seems Upwork is growing rather accustomed to of late.

Maybe you could come up with surveys which could be sent to those freelancers with the new uber badge and actually pay them for their advice (in real money, connects, kudos, a coffee mug, or even just a thank you) to take part in the continuous changes you're so intent on implementing.

Why we made this change:

Gathering feedback on a contract only when the contract ends leads to a delay in gathering feedback on longer-term contracts. We hear from our customers that contracts are being closed for the sole purpose of providing feedback. Freelancers want feedback reflected in their work history and request clients to end contracts to provide feedback. This desire for feedback has led to unnecessary closure of contracts, and we would like to address the issue by facilitating optional public feedback throughout the contract (rather than only at the end of the contract). We also believe that multiple public feedback touchpoints will better communicate the progress of long-term ongoing contracts and reduce the number of contracts that close with no public feedback. We're also considering how we can incorporate mid-contract feedback into Job Success Scores (JSS), but for now, this feedback will not factor into your JSS.

e_luneborg · ‎08-13-2020

Will this kind of feedback count towards the requirement to have at least one positive feedback on a large contract within the last 12 months to maintain or get the TR+ badge?

smartglobe · ‎08-13-2020

@lenaellis wrote:
We hear from our customers that contracts are being closed for the sole purpose of providing feedback. Freelancers want feedback reflected in their work history and request clients to end contracts to provide feedback.

This change doesn't really make any difference for the freelancer if the feedback doesn't count towards the JSS.

If a potential client sees an ongoing job, there is a sense in which they believe that the contract is going on well at the moment. So, what's the essence of getting feedback for an ongoing contract if the feedback will have no effect on JSS?

I think you should conduct another research to know the real reasons why freelancers will want to have a mid-contract feedback. Compare reasons like: (1) to have it count towards JSS (2) to have it listed in Work history etc. That should help in knowing the most important reason which this new change should seek to address.

mwiggenhorn · ‎08-13-2020

I can see this going very wrong. Contracts can get screwed up = bad mid term feedback. Client and freelancer get on same page = great final feedback. I can also see the blackmail clients drooling over this option. Bless their hearts.

VladimirG · ‎08-13-2020

Hi Eve,

Thanks for the question. In short, no. With mid-contract feedback, we want to provide the opportunity to share feedback without having to end a contract.

To clarify the Top Rated Plus requirement you mentioned, it's actually at least one large project in the last 12 months without negative feedback.

slavkoa · ‎08-14-2020

So the finall score will be :
Mid-Job Feedback score 5.0
Mid-Job Feedback score 4.8
Mid-Job Feedback score 3.0
Mid-Job Feedback score 4.2
End contract Feedback score 5.0

And job score wich will be JSS counted will be average value of all score : 4.4
Or will be overstrength buy End contract Feedback score : 5.0

???

lenaellis · ‎08-14-2020

Hi Skavko,

JSS calculates from the end of contract feedback left. Mid-job feedback is not averaged into JSS scores.

lenaellis · ‎08-14-2020

Hi, Mary. Final contract feedback is only what's counted in the JSS score. If a client abuses mid-feedback by blackmailing of any sort this is prohibited just as it is prohibited now with the end of contract feedback. This would be reported to us and we would take necessary action.

colettelewis · ‎08-14-2020

Lena E wrote:
Hi, Mary. Final contract feedback is only what's counted in the JSS score. If a client abuses mid-feedback by blackmailing of any sort this is prohibited just as it is prohibited now with the end of contract feedback. This would be reported to us and we would take necessary action.

___________________

Hmmm. Client prohibitions are becoming fewer and fewer. I see that it is no longer "prohibited" to ask for a free test. Or at least - it is no longer in the list of options when flagging an inappropriate job.

I would love to know how many clients have actually been suspended for blackmailing a freelancer. (Obviously, I do not expect an answer to the last sentence).

researchediting · ‎08-14-2020

Lena E wrote:

We also believe that multiple public feedback touchpoints will better communicate the progress of long-term ongoing contracts and reduce the number of contracts that close with no public feedback.

I appreciate that this feature is optional. I think it is prudent of Upwork to have established a limit on the frequency of requests for mid-job feedback. But a month? Really? I find it hard to imagine any scenario in which monthly feedback requests of clients will not predictably become montly nagging by some subset of the freelancers who make up your stock in trade and are the face of your brand. I also find it hard to imagine circumstances under which monthly ratings, even if not resented, even if cheerfully granted, would be of any use to anyone. Oh, wait, I can: "jobs" with the brother/friend/cousin who just happens to be favorably disposed toward the freelancer, and is maybe looking for a little feedback love themselves.

Those kinds of hypotheticals aside, what about Upwork, which never tires of promoting its latest shiny stuff? Will Upwork be "helpfully" nudging longterm clients—you know, the kind of clients whose contracts are already, demonstrably, being successfully managed by freelancers—to leave feedback? If so, how often?