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tomzilla1
Community Member

Upwork CEO out

New leadership at Upwork... Crossing my fingers and hoping they would turn things around for freelancers.

37 REPLIES 37
m_terrazas
Community Member

While not worse! Robot Mad

 

sivavranagaro
Community Member

What can they do now? Think, what would you do if you were in their place?

____________
Don't correct my grammar!


Vesna M wrote:

What can they do now? Think, what would you do if you were in their place?


________________________

Sell out and retire to the Caymans ... 

 


Nichola L wrote:

Vesna M wrote:

What can they do now? Think, what would you do if you were in their place?


________________________

Sell out and retire to the Caymans ... 

 


LOL and LOL!

designspot
Community Member

I heard that today and I am soooo glad.

He simply destroyed a good product (eLance), introduced this stupid JSS (which is completely nontransparent) and failed to nurture the freelancers that use this platform by letting anyone to post a job on here without any filtering whatsoever.

 

Good bye and may I never hear from him again!

Same, I feel like Upwork has been downhill in the past 6 months. I really hope the new leadership turns things around. And yes, the "Talent Specialist" invites are truly useless. I've been on here for the past 4 years and probably got I'd say 30 or 40 invites and I have gotten 0 jobs from it. It got worse over the years, now I just decline by default.

resultsassoc
Community Member

The best move for freelancers would be to get out of the weeds. Time tracker is a joke; if you're not smart enough to figure out how to bypass it, you're not smart enough to work for me. Stop obsessing over JSS, badges, rising bread and other bright shiny baubles that are irrelevant. Hire talent specialists who understand the nature of freelancing - commodity services are not the same as non-commodity services. Hire customer service reps to help clients describe their real jobs, and charge for it. Highlight the ones that paid for help.

 

Focus on attracting high value clients seeking high value work. Acknowledge that "freelancers get interesting high-paying jobs" and "hire expert freelancers at deep discounts" indicates cognitive dissonance - or worse.

 

Coders won't like it, but coders aren't bringing business to UW: Split the site up into commodity services and others. One-size-fits-all processes don't work for both.


Bill H wrote:

 Hire customer service reps to help clients describe their real jobs, and charge for it. Highlight the ones that paid for help.

 


This is an excellent point. I've been focusing on writing/editing jobs lately. You would think that it would be common sense to describe what the nature of the thing you need written/edited is. If you need your PhD thesis edited for example, it might be helpful if you said it was in economics, or computer science, or philosophy. Because then you might be able to attract applicants who don't just have the editing skills, but also the subject matter skills. But so many people just skip over these important facts.

 

If you need a project manager or an analyst (another area I am applying in), talk about the industry you need to hire  for. You might just find someone who has the project manager/analyst skills plus industry knowledge. But so many clients just expect to find a needle in a haystack of applications. Personally, I want to know whether I am going to stand out from the other applicants before I apply, so the more details about the subject matter/industry the better. Most of the jobs I get I have some sort of subject matter/industry experience in already, so why should I bother with jobs that don't specify that?

 

As for the talent specialists, I think most of them have figured out how to fool Upwork. I get invited for the most bizarre things that I am simply not qualified for sometimes, and usually they are invites sent by talent specialists. To be honest, most clients would probably be better off doing the inviting themselves judging by the invites I get from talent specialists.

kbadeau
Community Member


As for the talent specialists, I think most of them have figured out how to fool Upwork. I get invited for the most bizarre things that I am simply not qualified for sometimes, and usually they are invites sent by talent specialists. To be honest, most clients would probably be better off doing the inviting themselves judging by the invites I get from talent specialists.


The talent specialist invites are truly bizarre.

 

And if I may vent again, I got an invitation-only job invite again this week, so theoretically it's not visible in the job feed. Yet I have to click OUT of the invitation and ONTO the "JOB POSTING" to see what hourly rate or project fee is being offered. How hard is it to include that INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT info in the invitation itself??

I got an invitation-only job invite again this week, so theoretically it's not visible in the job feed. Yet I have to click OUT of the invitation and ONTO the "JOB POSTING" to see what hourly rate or project fee is being offered. How hard is it to include that INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT info in the invitation itself??


I opened a topic some time ago about system oddities like this one. It seems there was no incentive to fix any of the odd features. 

____________
Don't correct my grammar!

My sense is Talent Specialists are Upwork employees.  However I could be wrong.  If so, they have a front-line job interfacing with both hiring clients and freelancers.   This is highly visible work.  They have a manager and they have job success measurements.  If such is the case, the effort to "fool Upwork" would probably result in a diminished to short career.

Instead, I believe they do the best they can with what they can find (with regard to locating potential freelancers who may be a fit). Their going-in assumptions may be (a) the freelancer has skills not explicitly stated on their profile (b) if it is a stretch-fit, the freelancer may be able to adapt their skill sets to create a useful fit.  It most probably puts a discomfortable feeling in place to be responsible for matching and know after honest and hard effort has been made -- there were not close matches, or to provide a choice-set of freelancers some proverbial 'long shots'  were contacted.

 

I, too, occasionally receive invitations that are wide of the market in work I am qualified or want to engage with.  I envision a person, working hard to do the best they can, with what they have. 

- Then I politely decline the work. 

- In the decline note, I indicate my appreciation the Talent Specialist invited me so as to not embarrass them with a snippy reply. 

 

And experience thankfulness that I was selected and think about younger-in-career Upworkers, or those with issues to create a +90% JSS, or achieve Top Contract -- those struggling to establish themselves - that perhaps are not granted those opportunities for connection.

 

In short, I am grateful for the effort made.

 

- - -
Clients searching instead of client specialists.  Some clients have very busy schedules, are busy making a great deal of money, and simply shunt to this assistance because it is most helpful to them in their circumstances.

 

The hourly time of a person making $200,000 a year is about $100 per hour, given a 2000-work-hour year.


They can afford the help and probably want to save minutes to hours. 

John.

 


John B wrote: That is the equation Mr. Brown was just hired to solve.  

- Perhaps a 25% / 15% contractor fee?  Or more cost for connects?  

- Increase the cost of a subscription to the premium contractor system. 

- Increase the amount paid by clients who want to have their listings highlighted? 

- Charge for a cup of coffee in the break room?  Less staff, lower IT costs?  

 

Shareholders are expecting results, Mr. Brown.  Good luck, sir.

 

______________________________________________

You really should do your homework before posting, but just to bring you up to speed, Hayden Brown is a woman. https://www.linkedin.com/in/haydenlbrown/


Bill H wrote:

Time tracker is a joke; if you're not smart enough to figure out how to bypass it, you're not smart enough to work for me.


What if I don't have any desire to bypass it?

____________
Don't correct my grammar!

Bravo, Bill.  Every point you made would elevate Upwork in the eyes & pocketbooks of buyers. 

 

The only thing I would add to your suggestions would be to permanently remove any FLer who lies / copies / plagiarizes any part of their profile and/or portfolio. If a FLer can't be honest in representing him/herself the odds of them doing a good job for a buyer are nil.

That sounds pretty harsh. Every time I go to the garage, they say the car will be done in an hour and it's done in three -- or in three days. Should those guys be shut down -- no more work forever? In short, your post makes it sound like it's easy to distinguish liars from honest folks and doesn't recognize the gray area that may exist at times. In so many words, the Internet offers something extraordinary: The ability to invite billions of people to participate. On the other hand, policing billions of people can be pretty tricky.

Anthony, if you are referring to my comment on permanently booting any FL who steals, plagiarizes, and/or copies profiles and/or portfolios ... I totally disagree.  Honesty is paramount for a good working relationship.

" Honesty is paramount for a good working relationship."

 

You nailed it. The issue isn't saying it will be done in a week and it taking two months; there are multiple explanations for that. Outright plagiarism is a fireable offense and easy to prove. Lying about qualifications is another. I took a colleague with me on a trip to Europe because she said she spoke fluent French and German. Her French was limited to "Merci beaucoup," and her German wasn't nearly as good.

 

As a provider I refuse to use time tracker; as a client I have never seen a screenshot. I pay whatever a freelancer bills. Where trust exists value is created.

I find time tracker a good thing. I'm a freelancer and a client. Maybe you just did not understand how to use it? 🙂

The Upwork tracker app is awful. The idea is ok.

Aleksander,

 

"I find time tracker a good thing. I'm a freelancer and a client. Maybe you just did not understand how to use it? Smiley Happy

The Upwork tracker app is awful. The idea is ok."

 

You're joking, right? It's a time-clock. Professionals don't punch time-clocks. That's done in an atmosphere of mutual distrust. I don't find mutual distrust to be helpful at all.

No, I'm not

 

I have multiple contracts. Problems I solve are often **bleep** hard. I cannot afford spending my time on calculating how much a client should pay me. I can solve a problem in a couple of hours or in a couple of days or it may take a month. Noone knows: that's the nature of the problems. What alternative can there be, so me and my clients don't bother with how much should be paid for the task?

As a legal professional for 25+ years, I have always had to track my time in order to bill to the client, so I find the UW tracker useful and necessary in my particular field.  Other trackers are not as good, but I do use one for my off-platform clients.  I well understand Bill's comments but they aren't applicable for every field.

I like the Tracker just because of the payment protection. Escrow is such a pain if there is any dispute. I'll still do escrow but it's my least favorite way of working on here. With Tracker, they can b and moan all day but it doesn't matter. Never had someone dispute my hours with tracker (knock on wood!) Escrow seems reasonable if there is a clear scope, but even then you get the screamers who have meltdowns over a couple hundred bucks. 

Getting back on track, a change in CEO doesn’t affect me at all.

 

Upwork will do what is best for Upwork.

 

“The king is dead, long live the king.”

 

"Certa bonum certamen"

How about simply, "The king is dead. Goodbye!" **edited for Community Guidelines** I don't think he made Upwork a better site. If freelancers are your bread and butter, do everything in your power to make them happy. Whenever I contact the help desk, my answers begin with, "Of course, we can't give you that information." Why is that? Because then I might have information?? Bye, Stephane. Don't let the door hit you on your way out.

Stephane will continue on the Board of Directors throughout 2020.  I doubt that much will change. We'll see.

Bill, I agree with you 1000% right there. Honestly in my years here, I've never dealt with any clients asking for it. Those who asked for it I never took on. And yes, I got scammed 2 times by clients but oh well.


Anthony H wrote:

That sounds pretty harsh. Every time I go to the garage, they say the car will be done in an hour and it's done in three -- or in three days. Should those guys be shut down -- no more work forever? In short, your post makes it sound like it's easy to distinguish liars from honest folks and doesn't recognize the gray area that may exist at times. In so many words, the Internet offers something extraordinary: The ability to invite billions of people to participate. On the other hand, policing billions of people can be pretty tricky.


Unless you are getting your tires rotated or your oil changed, I would ask for a realistic estimate up front. The problem is people think it sounds so good to say work will be done quickly, then fail to deliver. It is much better to underpromise and overdeliver.

kbadeau
Community Member

I don't know what the answer is with Upwork, but when we find that relying on each other for info is MUCH more helpful than going to customer service, then something needs to be changed.

 

When I go to chat and the little "agent is typing" blurb pops up, followed by a canned response that does not address my problem, it makes me irate. The agents should have to freelance here before they work here; maybe then they'd understand some of our frustrations.


Wendy C wrote:

Bravo, Bill.  Every point you made would elevate Upwork in the eyes & pocketbooks of buyers. 

 

The only thing I would add to your suggestions would be to permanently remove any FLer who lies / copies / plagiarizes any part of their profile and/or portfolio. If a FLer can't be honest in representing him/herself the odds of them doing a good job for a buyer are nil.


To add to that, take away the ability for suspended profiles to post in the forums. What's the point?


Virginia F wrote:

Wendy C wrote:

Bravo, Bill.  Every point you made would elevate Upwork in the eyes & pocketbooks of buyers. 

 

The only thing I would add to your suggestions would be to permanently remove any FLer who lies / copies / plagiarizes any part of their profile and/or portfolio. If a FLer can't be honest in representing him/herself the odds of them doing a good job for a buyer are nil.


To add to that, take away the ability for suspended profiles to post in the forums. What's the point?


Probably the fact that they still need support, and it seems the vast majority of people looking for support are bounced here now.

vinod111
Community Member

My feelings now

😊 -----happy

🤞🤞 -----finger crossed

😟😟😟--- worried

😨😨😨😨

 

Not expecting to react like this in future

😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

 

bizwriterjohn
Community Member

Leadership at Upwork out...   this is an interesting thread.  A cursory view of the information at hand indicates:

Earnings
The company reaffirmed its fourth quarter and full-year outlook. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect a loss of 2 cents a share on revenue of $79.4 million for the fourth quarter, and a loss of a penny a share on revenue of $301.4 million for the year.

 

Replacement CEO

The Board has appointed Hayden Brown, current Chief Marketing & Product Officer, to succeed Kasriel as President & CEO, effective January 1, 2020.

 

----------

The Board promoted internally -- and from the business units that lead marketing and product offering.  Hence. The Board is happy with how Upwork is being marketed and happy with it as a SaaS services offering.

Here's why the CEO was replaced:  Earnings and share price.  The share price since IPO graph is provided.  CEOs cannot often sustain this trajectory of share price change.  Now, the question for them is: how to increase earnings, hence (most probably) increase share price.

That is the equation Mr. Brown was just hired to solve.  

- Perhaps a 25% / 15% contractor fee?  Or more cost for connects?  

- Increase the cost of a subscription to the premium contractor system. 

- Increase the amount paid by clients who want to have their listings highlighted? 

- Charge for a cup of coffee in the break room?  Less staff, lower IT costs?  

 

Shareholders are expecting results, Mr. Brown.  Good luck, sir.

 

"Shareholders are expecting results, Mr. Brown.  Good luck, sir."

 

Why "Mr" and "sir"? Is that some sort of veiled insult?

petra_r
Community Member


Kim F wrote:

"Shareholders are expecting results, Mr. Brown.  Good luck, sir."

 

Why "Mr" and "sir"? Is that some sort of veiled insult?


No, just good old utter ignorance. 

kfarnell
Community Member

You're very literal lately. 

"Tact: to lie about others as you would have them lie about you." 

petra_r
Community Member


Kim F wrote:

You're very literal lately. 

"Tact: to lie about others as you would have them lie about you." 


More literal: "to tell the truth without beeing edited for community guidelines 😉 "

Kim, I had not been privy to that definition before. I will have to save that for future use.
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