What Would You Do?

[#1]

We have a lot of constructive criticisms and complaints about Upwork; I know I do!

If you were CEO of Upwork for a day and could change any part of Upwork's business (i.e., platform, staff, operations, advertising/marketing, etc.), what would you change? (You have all power for one day, but you can only make one change.)

(Here are a few suggestions, but please feel free to recommend your own.)

1. Do whatever it takes to stop spam, fake/scam jobs, bots, and other fake accounts on the platform.

2. Eliminate the proposal Boosting feature.

3. Spend more money on strategic advertising/marketing to attract more high-quality clients.

4. Roll back the new fee structure or create a new fee structure. (How would a new fee structure look?)

5. Bring back the Upwork Readiness Test and make it even tougher to gain entrance to the platform.

6. Remove underperforming freelancers from the platform. (Based on what criteria?)

7. Add more perks/features for Top-Rated, Top-Rated Plus, and Expert-Vetted freelancers. (What types of perks?)

8. Spend more money on research and development.

9. Reduce bonuses/incentives for Upwork's top executives and hire more Technical and Support staff.

10. Designate myself as the permanent CEO. 😂

[#2]

Yep. Upwork's Readiness test pushed you through a few lessons that covered website usage (i.e., how to make your profile 100%, how to create a saved search, click this button for support, etc.). Basically, it was the earlier versions of the lessons you see now in Academy courses, learning paths, and videos.

[#3]

The Boosting feature is a very close second, but I think #5. Bring back the Upwork Readiness Test and make it even tougher to gain entrance to the platform, or anything to reduce the number of low-skilled, low-quality freelancers is my choice as well.

I would probably call a Monday meeting at 8:00am and give a speech:

Good morning Upwork staff! I am so proud to be at the helm of such an extraordinary organization. I want to thank every Upwork employee for your unwavering dedication and support, and your expertise in helping to build, operate, and manage the world’s largest marketplace for connecting businesses with independent freelancers across the globe. There is no way we can be successful without you. And, I think I speak for the entire Upwork leadership team when I say, “Thank you!”

The first order of business for my only day as CEO, is to reveal the one (1) decision I'm allowed to make today.

I'm not sure which team of genius Upwork Product Developers, General Managers, or Marketing Coordinators decided to allow anybody and everybody to join the platform without limitations, but I swear to you—if you don’t work together to completely dismantle this absurdity and re-introduce the Readiness Test with the strictest requirements by the end of the workday--I will personally see to it that each of your lives is filled with endless telemarketing calls, and a year’s supply of worthless Zoom meetings every Saturday morning!

Let's make it happen, people!!

[#4]

The only problem I see with this?  Do we actually know if UpWork has the expertise to properly vet freelancers?

Seeing how poorly the "expert vetted" programme is with UpWork not having the required skills to do the vetting, how would you trust them with this even if it is simpler?

If you chose this option, you should be putting structures in place to get expert vetted to actually mean something, look at the amazing community of freelancers that is here that have proven their worth in the field, hire them and work with them to set up a vetting process the readiness test for new freelancers and for expert vetted.

Use the power of the community to your advantage and compensate them for making your platform and marketplace better.  UpWork has 4m freelancers and only 850 employees ... it doesn't take a genius to figure out where a ready pool of expertise is available ... or maybe it does.

[#5]

That's the problem with being CEO for a day and having only one decision to make. That single decision will be reckless because it doesn't consider how it will impact a multitude of other business functions (i.e., staff, operations, finance, marketing, research, programs, etc.)

Also, I think we are looking at two different forms of vetting: 1) Initial entry vetting, and 2) Expert vetting.

I think most folks would love to see a basic readiness test -- similar to the old Upwork Readiness Test -- that grants entry after progressing through Upwork's Courses and Learning Paths. There are millions of freelancers on Upwork who fail because they don't know how to use the platform correctly and don't take the time to learn. Upwork could likely rid its platform of 500K+ freelancers who won't or can't move past this test.

Then, as you suggest, Upwork could setup a targeted vetting process for each major skill category to identify experts. And, I agree that the expert readiness test or vetting approach should be a peer-to-peer process, especially if Upwork doesn't have the internal manpower for it. If you are a blockchain expert, guess who designs your readiness test--Upwork's existing freelancers who are blockchain experts.

By the way, Upwork recently announced in its 2023 1st Quarter Shareholder letter that they made moves to streamline operations, which included a workforce reduction. They reduced the employee workforce by 137 jobs (approximately 15% of full-time employees), and reduced their contractor staff as well. This means, they went from 913 full-time employees down to approximately 776 full-time employees. And, the last I remember reading somewhere, they had about 1500+ independent contractors who provide a variety of services, so I'm guessing that number is lower too.

[#6]

I appreciate your willingness to offer constructive criticism and suggestions for Upwork. As a CEO, I would focus on enhancing the platform's user experience by improving the search algorithm to better match freelancers with clients. This would ultimately result in more successful projects and greater satisfaction for both parties.

[#7]

Muhammad,

Yes--search algorithm improvements would be the one decision a lot of people would make!

The biggest problem I see with Upwork's matching algorithm is--like most multi-faceted programs--it is large and complex, and ingests an enormous amount of data. This amount of ingestion often leads to indigestion 🤣,  which is mainly due to volume, and the uncertainties inherent to the process of matching freelancers to client's jobs.

In fact, I think Upwork's best-match algorithms have some similarties to the search giant's search engine algorithms. It's a machine-learning algorithm, so you can tweak, optimize, rewrite, and re-code all you want, but when you're ingesting data on millions of completed projects, and tens of millions job postings and freelancer profiles, the uncertainties can lead to unpredictability. Meaning, even Upwork doesn't always know why its best-match algorithm makes the sorting and placement decisions it makes.

But I'm just speculating based on experience with algorithms; Upwork might be pulling every string and completely manipulating every bit of best-match results. We will never know!

[#8]

I would definitely create a meaningful readiness test, with random questions drawn from an bank, required before profile approval.  That would eliminate so much hassle for the forum and for customer service, cut way down on the number of scam victims and fake profiles, and generally improve Upwork (and, I suspect, its bottom line) immensely.

Get rid of boosting which I find incredibly dumb and borderline offensive.

Better perks TR and TR+.  I don't care about expert vetted because it isn't even available in my field.

And maybe change the Upwork staff make-up to more employees.  It's my belief that many of those in decision-influencing positions are freelancers who really don't have a dog in the hunt.  Employees take ownership.  Freelancers do not.

[#9]

Sounds like another vote for a more stringent readiness test!

[#10]

Thank you, this is a great thread to have! I would need more time to think through some of the solutions, but I agree with the removal of spam and the Boost feature. I was very put off when it was introduced.

[#11]

Removing spam and Boosting are high on many freelancer's wish lists, and some client's lists too! Both are definitely high on my list of things I'd like to see disappear.

Upwork's problem in removing spam/scams/bots might be similar to most online platforms. It takes resources (i.e., tools, people, etc.) to continually fight and reduce the amount of spam/scams/bots. Multi-million dollar corporations will often throw resources at anything they choose to prioritize, but not turning a profit and recent workforce reductions tells me it's not their biggest priority.

The problem with eliminating the Boosting feature is that monies are removed from Upwork's coffers. The question Upwork probably asks itself, is: "Are the revenues being generated from Boosting more important than the negative impact Boosting might have on freelancers, clients, and the overall marketplace?"

Boosting makes money, but at what long-term costs? If Boosting results in a worse marketplace with poorer client experiences, the costs will be high.