Calculation of JSS

[mehranv]

Do all contracts affect the JSS the same way or is the effect proportionate to the value of the project?

For example, does a 5 star performance rating that I get on a project that paid me $20 have the same overall effect on my JSS as a 5 star performance rating on a project that paid me $1000?

[mehranv]

Hello, 

My JSS dropped by a whopping  8% yesterday and went from 100% from from the last update (i.e. on August 18) to 92% on the September 1st JSS update. This has to be a mistake seeing that I successfully completed 2 projects since August 18 and I received a 5 star performance rating (on all categories) for those two projects.

I understand that JSS is calculated using private feedback as well as Public feedback, however; it is very bizzare and extremely unlikely that my JSS could have gone down by a whopping 8% just because of private feedback on those two projects and it is also extremely unlikely that the same two satisfied clients who had left me 5 star public reviews would leave me such low private reviews that would trigger my overall JSS to decease by 8%!!! This would mean that their private review must have been the exact opposite of their public review which is extremely unlikely and rediculous. that said, this must be a mistake of some sort.

Would someone form the support team please look into this and explain the reason for this unusual occurence.

Thanks

[oscaralende]

Same, mine dropped 5% for no reason.

I recently got my JSS for the first time and it began with 83% having most jobs with highest ratings, weird method.

[padhiyarraj]

Also, mine dropped 2% for no reason.

[ahmedelshenawy]

As me also 14% drop

[cyberexplorer]

My JSS too dropped by 8% but after i recieved 5star feedback it eventually back to 100%.

[mehranv]

Thanks for sharing. I have received 5 star reviews from all of my contracts so far. According to the Admin team the stars are "mostly irrelevant" and JSS is calculated primarily based on Private Feedback !

I like to know what the exact weighting or algorithym is for caluclating JSS but they never share that info.

[tlbp]

The JSS does not mirror your star-rating. If star ratings were the only influencer of JSS there would be no need for JSS. (See this link for further explanation.)

Private feedback is not intended to be used as a tool for freelancer self-improvement. Private feedback is not mysterious or nefarious. It is a simple set of questions designed to arrive at a specific metric similar to a Net Promoter Score. It is called private because the results are not visible to the other party in the transaction. Both freelancers and clients are asked to leave private feedback.

The contracts included in your JSS calculation may change with the passage of time. There are three time-based calculation windows for determining your JSS. If you have a sufficient number of closed contracts within the calculation window that reflects your best score, this JSS will be displayed. 

If you do not have enough completed contracts within a particular window to calculate a JSS, your window will be expanded. This longer calculation period may include negative outcomes that were not represented in the shorter window. The result is that your JSS may drop even when you have closed no contracts or had only positive outcomes in the most recent 2-week period. If you have bad contract outcomes in your 12- or 24-month history, make sure you are landing new gigs and performing them well to keep the 6-month window as your JSS calculation period.

Correlation does not equal causation. Because you cannot understand the way in which your JSS was calculated or believe that your JSS should be a number different than what is displayed does not mean that the calculation is flawed. It very likely means that your reasoning is flawed. Demanding a personalized answer regarding your JSS serves no purpose other than to give Upwork a reason to carefully review your profile. 

[mehranv]

Hi Tonya, Thanks for the elaborate explanation. I appreciate it.

I checked your first link there is no mention of Private vs Public feedback there and only the formula below is noted, so this could be open to all kinds of interpretation but I will accept your statement.

(successful contract outcomes - negative contract outcomes) / total outcomes

I am aware of the 3 time windows for calculating JSS and I don’t have a problem with Private feedback not being visible to the other party.

My question now is why does Upwork place more emphasis on “likelihood of client recommending freelancer to a friend/colleague” than the public feedback which includes ratings on much more objective, quantifiable and project-based categories: “Skills, Availability, Commination, Quality, Deadlines, and Cooperation” are the six rating items that represent the public rating of a freelancer. It is very clear that these six items are much more objective and provide a much better representation of a freelancers actual "Job Success" than the “likelihood of the client recommending the freelancer to friends/colleagues”. After all, JSS does stand for “Job Success Score” and not for “Recommendation Success Score”!

Would you (or anyone else reading this) care sharing your thoughts on the foregoing?

Thanks in advance 🙂

[petra_r]

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Mehran V wrote:

Do all contracts affect the JSS the same way or is the effect proportionate to the value of the project?

For example, does a 5 star performance rating that I get on a project that paid me $20 have the same overall effect on my JSS as a 5 star performance rating on a project that paid me $1000?

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The stars are largely irrelevant. What counts is private feedback.

Longer term contracts weigh more heavily.

[mehranv]

That's new to me. So the public review has little or no effect at all ?!? That sounds rather silly. what is the public review for then ? Just for cosmetic purposes? Moreover, I reviewed the Upwork site on how JSS gets calculated. There is no mention of "Public" vs "private" feedback and how each one effects the JSS:

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211068358-Job-Success-Score

Someone reading this would get the impression that feedback means the rating and review that is visible to everyone on a freelancers profile (that's just common sense). Could you provide some official materials that speak specifically about private feedback and their importance to the calculation of JSS. I couldn't happen to find any.

[yitwail]

Mehran, the article you cited is very sketchy and omits a lot of details. But here’s another that does mention private feedback and if you google job success I’m sure you will find more.
https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/115006097327

[mehranv]

Hi John, 

Thanks for sharing. Now that webpage does indeed have a a single reference to "Private" feedback but it still does't state that JSS is calculated primarily based on Provate feedback,sSomething that Petra eluded to.

I have searched the web but can find sources to back this up. and if it is true then what is the exact algorithym that calculates JSS. e.g. does private feedback have a weighing of 80% and public a weighing of 20%  in the calculation of JSS or something like that?

It is important that freelancers know how their performance is being measured otherwise things will be up to speculations and impossible to measure and understand.

[AveryO]

Hi Mehran, 

We are unable to reveal the exact calculation of the Job Success Score to maintain some privacy to ensure, fairness, and accuracy while also avoiding any artificial boosts to your Job Success Score. We hope you understand. 

Kindly refer to the article that John shared for more information on why your Job Success Score may have changed.

[tlbp]

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Mehran V wrote:

Hi John, 

Thanks for sharing. Now that webpage does indeed have a a single reference to "Private" feedback but it still does't state that JSS is calculated primarily based on Provate feedback,sSomething that Petra eluded to.

I have searched the web but can find sources to back this up. and if it is true then what is the exact algorithym that calculates JSS. e.g. does private feedback have a weighing of 80% and public a weighing of 20%  in the calculation of JSS or something like that?

It is important that freelancers know how their performance is being measured otherwise things will be up to speculations and impossible to measure and understand.

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I think that information is stored right next to the instructions for how Google calculates site rankings.