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

mitchell-jason · ‎10-21-2020

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!

mbulut1 · ‎11-17-2020

How can I now what did affcet my JSS? Could you explain it for us please ?

Best

Mustafa

aafiyat-nazar · ‎11-17-2020

Thanks for letting us about a great move. This policy will indeed help many upworkers to focus on the quality services. It also means extraordinary service delivery. As a result, it will attrack customers whose prime concern is quality.

azhariqbal73 · ‎11-18-2020

Hello Marco,

Thank you very much for your effort for having a look upon my profile and feedback.

I have 35 No 5 star, 11 No 4+ star and 3 No less than 4 star feedback that equals 95% in total
I have 15+ years of experience and need no extra effort to complete the jobs (I apply for) with perfection without any supervision
I have wasted thousands of connects to apply for jobs yet I did not get any response from customers

All that is because of only these 3 feedbacks.

It will be a great favor if you can please suggest me what should I do?

christine20 · ‎11-18-2020

Hi Jody,
My personal understanding is that the no feedback contracts have a zero effect on your JSS. That is why where previously no feedback contract reduced your JSS, with the revised policy, that contract does not affect your available JSS.

calado-marco · ‎11-18-2020

Hi Azhar.

Just to enhance what i said and keep it in mind; the JSS is calculated by the last six months reviews and the overall 12 months.

That means that regardless of the great reviews that you had before that (and you have been idle in upwork about a year and a half prior to the 2020 works - the last one was from nov 2018) don't count much for your present JSS.

We can debate why Upwork does that, personally i think it's to oblige the freelancers to keep up the good work they do. If for instance the JSS was calculated from all the reviews of the freelancer, you'll have to agree that for instance a freelancer with lots of great reviews would just sit on the shadow of his great reviews, still gaining jobs without providing quality work...

But that's just my opinion and it's irrelevant for your present situation.

So:

Your last bad review was from a job in April 2020.

That means that coming May, seven months from now, does two review won't weigh in your JSS and only the new ones will count.

But, until then and in order to get a great JSS after next May you need to make sure all the jobs you get, you'll put all your best work to get a great review.

But your problem is: How can i get jobs at all with this JSS score?!!

This is my suggestion:

Every time you apply to a job, start by explaining why your JSS is just 62%, and do that in a way that the client is curious enought to check out your profile, see the previous reviews and understand that your JSS present score is a "mismatch" from your real abilities, and that you can present far more better work. In other words; Pull the client to your profile.

Take your time applying to the job, don't write just pre-made sentences; try to make a connection with him and show that you are knowledgeable of what he is asking.

And Hey: have a bit of patience, remenber that you're not the only one here !

Best regards and keep safe.

abinadab-agbo · ‎11-21-2020

Sohail K wrote:
While you at it - what about PRIVATE FEEDBACK. The JSS is seriously confusing with that one.

My JSS went from 99 to 81%, and I cannot make any sense of it. It happened after my latest (small job.)

For that job, I got 5* - great feedback and repeated order from the same client.
For the second job, I got 5*, and the client explicitly told me he was happy with the work.

But my JSS dropped, and someone told me the client might be leaving you poor "private" feedback. So what gives? I mean, how would I know if a client is LYING TO MY FACE and telling me my work is great and leaving me 5 stars only to bring down my rating with private feedback. Why are private clients being offered a platform to foster this dishonesty, to begin with?

Whether a client likes your work or hates it - he should say so publically and in a way that is open to both writers and other recruiters. This "hidden" feedback is a system that clients could exploit.

Clients have faced backlash and threats of, and actual compromise of their systems from freelancers who were angry at some "honest" public feedback they received.

It is therefore, understandable why some choose to keep things private a bit.

And not to mention the usual badgering clients receive when they give a freelancer anything less than 5 stars...

abinadab-agbo · ‎11-21-2020

Mahak J wrote:
Me too. I am so annoyed by this private feedback. If Upwork clients are not happy with the work, then they should let us know. I am more than happy even to return their money. But getting replies like the work is great and everything and still getting bad "private feedback" and 5* rating is not fair for the freelancer.

What am I supposed to do if the client is saying on my face that your work is great? Even when I ask them that if you want, I am more than happy to edit it for you, but still, they say no, the work is flawless and give 5* rating publically but privately, just ruining the freelancer's profile.

The unfair treatment should stop, and I agree with this. There should not be private feedback. Feedback is for the public to view. The whole point of reviewing or leaving feedback is for other clients to know how the freelancer is performing, not how the freelancer is being betrayed and manipulated by the clients. If I don't like a client, I have the guts to tell them in their public feedback, and I will not leave private feedback to pretend.

Gosh, do you know that Freelancer and Fiverr and now doing private feedback as well.

As an FYI, they learned that from Upwork.

awaiskhan92497 · ‎11-22-2020

Hello,

You said, On November 8th, 2020, JSS calculation process to exclude contracts that ended without feedback. I have worked totally 8 projects. seven projects have done completely but one project I could not complete because client hire me for a different project and he said to me you can another project. For this reason, I could not work with this client and finally, I have to close the project. And client did not give me feedback means no feedback. But I hear this news then I am very happy that JSS exclude contracts that ended without feedback. One of my Project ended without feedback But I don't see a change in my JSS.

Thank you.

Awais

NikolaS · ‎11-22-2020

Hi Awais,

Before this change, if too many clients did not leave feedback for you, it could negatively impact your JSS. However, after this change contracts with no feedback will no longer impact JSS. I'd like to note, however, that there are other factors that are and will continue to be included in the calculation such as long-term relationships for example. If you didn't see any changes to your score, it's possible that the number of no feedback contracts you have wasn't significant enough to affect your score before.

Additionally, the score will continue to be calculated for 6-, 12- and 24-month windows and the best score out of these moving time windows will be displayed on your profile and updated about every two weeks. You can learn more about this here.

32890f0e · ‎11-22-2020

Absolutely useless, sounds deceptive. I had just one client who didn't leave a comment but gave a 5 start feedback in November and my jss went from 91% to 76%. Seems like upwork doesn't wants the freelancers to enjoy a moment of peace despite taking 20% of the total earning. Upwork seems more money blinded and siding with the spenders and creating difficult environment for the freelancers. Going to create next **Edited for Community Guidelines**