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No feedback contracts no longer impact Job Success Score (JSS)

mitchell-jason
Community Member

I am excited to announce a new change to the Job Success Score (JSS). We know that JSS is a hot topic. This post aims to provide transparency into the changes and answer any questions you might have. 

 

On November 8th, 2020, we updated the JSS calculation process to exclude contracts that ended without feedback. Before, if a freelancer or agency had a large number of contracts that ended without feedback, those contracts could have negatively impacted their JSS. 

 

What is JSS?

Your JSS measures and reflects your Upwork clients’ satisfaction with the projects you complete for them. You can view your score on your My Stats page and learn more about JSS here.

 

What does this mean?

We removed projects where clients didn't leave feedback from consideration in the JSS calculation in November. This means that it will no longer negatively impact your JSS if a client does not leave feedback at the end of a project. Note that, as a result of this change, a small set of professionals no longer had enough outcomes with different clients to earn a JSS. To minimize this impact, we reduced the minimum number of distinct clients required to earn a JSS from 3 to 2. 

 

What’s the problem with including contracts that end without feedback in the JSS calculation?

Picture a contract where a professional and a client work together, and at the end of it, the client does not leave feedback. Before the change, if the professional already had a high percentage of completed contracts without feedback, the professional’s JSS could have been negatively affected.

 

The original design was based on a study that found clients who had negative experiences would often avoid filling out the feedback form altogether instead of giving negative reviews. More recent analysis suggests this may no longer be true. As a result, we are changing the calculation to reflect today’s reality. 

 

How does this change affect you?

  • If you had contracts before the change where a client did not leave feedback counting against your JSS, you may notice a boost in your score from this change. 
  • If you do not have sufficient outcomes from at least 2 distinct clients, you may no longer meet the threshold for JSS, and you may see your JSS go away. Getting more jobs can help minimize this impact. 

What’s next?

This is just one of several changes we’re planning to implement in the coming months, so stay tuned!

 

This post itself is in response to your feedback that you want to be informed when changes are made. Thanks to everyone who has offered feedback on JSS communication through our customer surveys and social media, through the Upwork Community, and directly to our team. Be on the lookout for more changes to JSS and other aspects of the Upwork experience in the near future. 

 

We are all looking forward to this next chapter together! 

956 Comments
abinadab-agbo
Community Member

Rules are rules. Everybody will have their own set of compassionate reasons why Upwork should exempt them from one JSS rule or another.

Thankfully, it doesn't work that way.

Now you know there are no exceptions to the rules, choose your contracts like somebody who knows that.

For instance, don't accept a contract until you have enough info/materials from the client to start and do at least a reasonable amount of work.

And don't tell a client to "trust you" - it doesn't work like that anywhere on the internet.

Show them why you're worthy of trust.

Earn it.

And don't discuss race or nationality over chat, especially when it has absolutely nothing to do with the work you're being considered for.

Nor work with clients who try to drag you into such discussions.

Nor with folks who try to drag you into matters not your business (how they hired and fired a dev guy for drinking is not supposed to be your business, is it?)

 

In short, work at doing a better job at screening your clients. This is not a JSS matter.

anwarhussain49
Community Member

Thanks

european74
Community Member

It's ok but there is not any protection against bad, unfair feedbacks. Everybody can give you bad feedback for nothing. I received that feedback a few times . I am freelancer for 10 years. I contacted Upwork. But did not get any help. Sometimes  we have to work for free to avoid bad feedback. Many clients knows about it and they use this.

A few days ago my client hasn't accepted my graphic design work. He wanted to get it for free. But also he asked me to do another graphic design project. And he disputed working hours. It is totally unfair. I suppose he gave me 1star feedback bacause I refused workig for free on his second project. Of cours my JSS will go down. Totally unfair.

e_ovy
Community Member

I started freelancing on Upwork lately, although I created my profile back in 2017 but it was not accepted. Anyways, I have noticed one rule for calculating JSS on Upwork that seems a bit odd to me. I did not know before that if a client and a freelancer mutually agree to cancel a contract without a payment, it affects the JSS. My natural instinct was if both parties would agree mutually to end a contract, it would be fine unless there was no negative private feedback. As a new freelancer with a handful of jobs, it had a severe impact on my JSS. I have a regular client with whom I developed a good relationship. But, there was a contract that was cancelled within an hour as per our mutual decision not to proceed with it. There was no negative private feedback provided by my client, and I am still working with the same client as because of my diligent work. But, a single cancelled contract puts my JSS down from 100% to 79%. The reality is, it was none of us that made a fault; unfortunately, it punishes the freelancer not the client. 

 

I am just sharing here my opinion on an Upwork policy, and it definitely contradicts with other freelancers. As freelancers, you guys may realize that not all contract cancellations without payment necessary means a bad outcome for a freelancer. If the client provides a bad private review of the cancelled contract, then it would definitely mean a negative point. But, if both parties agree not to extend the contract, then I think, Upwork may reconsider their policy for the JSS algorithm in the future. I have already conveyed my feedback to the Upwork administration, and they may discuss the issue in future.

abdulmoizeee
Community Member

Wow, Its Really Great Update from Upwork.
THANK YOU!

faya123
Community Member

Hi Jason M

I am glad to hear this change because I am a new member, active from Sept2020. I recently completed my first job but no review so I was worried about the JSS. I don't want to chase customers for review however I feel some don't have time to do so, and this will be great, no chasing for review but still will ask for a review.

 

Thanks

 

Fay

andersonle
Community Member

Great, when will this take effect? 

g_vasilevski
Retired Team Member

Hi Lauren,


The change will be launched in November. Thank you.

gilbert-phyllis
Community Member

Any contract theoretically consumes UW resources. If there is never any payment, then UW gets nothing and therefore, UW has a vested interest in minimizing the occurrence of contracts that get cancelled without payent. And it's reasonable to assume that *some* such contracts represent unhappy outcomes. Next time, get the client to pay you $1 and that will solve the problem.

 

researchediting
Community Member

Lucio Ricardo M wrote:

What about the contracts that remain by long time open without any active milestone?. Because many clients, I don't know if because lack of knowledge of the Upwork system or because I may hire him back for other task. I don't want to close that contracts myself because I feel that is like saying goodbye to the client, and that the sole act of closing the contract or asking the client to close it can raise a bad feedback, at least a bad private feedback. As I suspect that happened in one of that contracts that one morning I decided to ask the client to close as I thought that having many inactive contracts was affecting my JSS.


We have just been told that there is no basis for your past worries.

 

There is a subset of freelancers who may gain from this change. Insofar as removal of JSS worries in combination with mid-contract feedback makes it more palatable to leave contracts open, their cumulative earnings over a year might qualify for the Top Rated Plus threshold.