What is "Auto Check-ins"?

[#1]

I have seen this for the first time. 

Today I had contracted with a new client and the contract is a fixed price contract. After accepting the offer, I can see this notice in my message. Would be helpful, if an expert could share a little more details about this "Auto Check-ins" in the fixed price contract. Thanks in advance. 

[#2]

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Goran V wrote:

Hi Chris,

Currently, as long as the contract, fixed-price or hourly, is open the client can enable and disable the Auto Check-ins in the Message room or in the Terms & Settings area of the contract page. Thank you.

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Yeah, things aren't confusing enough for clients, let's give them one more thing to wonder about.

[#3]

Hi Valeria,
Thank you for passing comments to the team. First, as most others have posted, us freelancers don't like this added feature. We don't need a babysitter and are perfectly capable of communicating with our clients what our progress is on a project.
Second, a notice to freelancers about the newly added feature would be nice, so we're prepared when we get a message from a client saying they've enabled auto check-in. I got my first two today. One from a fixed price client with a 24- hour turnaround. The other from a client who is new to Upwork and the job was completed. He asked me how he should pay me, I explained the process in detail, and he then sent a message saying he enabled auto check-in. Really?? Clients and freelancers don't need this added confusion.
My biggest frustration with this platform is the lack of communication to freelancers regarding changes.
Thank you,
Krista

[#4]

Today, when I accepted the offer I saw this Auto Check-in feature enabled by my client in the chat. I didn't know what it was until today after reading all other threads regarding Auto check-in. Now I'll have a constant headache on Thursday nights what reply I have to give to my clients.

I find it quite interesting that clients have this feature to themselves but not the other way around. Because as a freelancer I have faced many clients now who are very unresponsive in communicating, some take even several weeks to acknowledge that they have got my submission. One of my clients, who at the initial call discussed with me that she'll be very responsive with her feedbacks but turned to be utterly wrong, now I have to message her constantly to remind her that I need your feedback or give me the requirements for the next milestone. So, I'd like to know from other freelancers, don't you think we should also have a similar feature in which we can have a few questions. If so, what do you guys think should be our questions?

[#5]

I ask my client why he opens this "Auto Check-ins" he said I mistakenly clicked on it so I ask him can you turn it off because we don't need any middle man he said yes we don't need so he turns off and now everything is perfect.

[#6]

I have two questions about this new feature:

On a recent contract, I would get the following questions every two or three days:

Hi Bill, it’s time to check in on this project. Please take a moment to answer these questions:
What did you work on this week?
What will you work on next week?
What might delay your planned work?

My two questions are:
- Is this an "Auto Check-in"?
- If so, can the client turn it off once they have activated it on the contract?

Thanks...Bill!

[#7]

Hi Bill,

Yes, these are Auto Check-ins! Your client can turn it off at any time from the contract room, on the Terms and Settings tab.

Thanks!

[#8]

Andrea,

Thanks.

And just FYI, if I get any of these from a client in the future, I'm going to ask them to turn them off. If they don't, I'm going to cancel my contract with them.

...Bill

[#9]

How can I turn OFF Auto checkins?

I've looked everywhere such as Terms and Conditions.

I think it's an ok feature, but more for lower pay work. Smarter quality staff will be annoyed, but lower grade workers can be ok for this prompt I think.

But I want to turn it off for one contract now. How?!

[#10]

Hi Chris,

One of our team members will reach out to you via ticket as soon as possible and assist you further with your auto check-ins. Thank you.

[#11]

I can't find the option to turn it off either. 

[#12]

Oh, my. This is not an effective way for clients to manage freelancers, and it will annoy those who don't need it. I feel like this is a band-aid for real project management and hiring issues clients need solutions for that bots can't do (and aren't really in Upwork's purview). Clients can ask about the progress of a job any time they want. How many resources is this initiative eating up?

[#13]

*How many resources is this initiative eating up?*

This. Maybe they could fix the message notifications before testing new things to break the system?

[#14]

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Amanda L wrote:
*How many resources is this initiative eating up?*

This. Maybe they could fix the message notifications before testing new things to break the system?

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Adding my angry voice to the chorus here. Upwork, are you crazy??

And glad to know I'm not the only one facing the message notification bug. I didn't even bother to go to customer support this time because last time they flatly denied there was any problem.

Can this company please fix existing problems before introducing new ones??

[#15]

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Sarah B wrote:

Oh, my. This is not an effective way for clients to manage freelancers, and it will annoy those who don't need it. I feel like this is a band-aid for real project management and hiring issues clients need solutions for that bots can't do (and aren't really in Upwork's purview). Clients can ask about the progress of a job any time they want. How many resources is this initiative eating up?

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Maybe the system should send an email reminder to clients to check-up on the status of their projects.

Of course, none of this will matter if the messaging system keeps glitching out.  

[#16]

HOURLY CONTRACT:

Q: What did you work on this week?

A: What you hired me to work on. What else would you expect me to have worked on last week?

Q: What will you work on next week?

A: What you hired me to work on. What else would you expect me to work on next week?

Q: What might delay your planned work?

A: Having to take time out of my schedule to answer nonsensical questions like this, which, by the way, I am charging you for. The tracker is running. Tick Tock, Tick Tock. 

FIXED RATE CONTRACT:

"Thank you for your questions. Please set up a new milestone for anwereing them. Upwork's terms of sevice forbid clients asking freelancers to work for free. Im willing to complete the above weekly at a rate of $ XX per week."

[#17]

Q: What might delay your planned work?

Assuming potential failure from the outset really instills confidence... 

[#18]

The "Auto Check-ins" feature is already available.

It is called an Hourly Contract.

When I hire a freelancer using an hourly contract, then I can see in near-realtime screenshots of the freelancer's work, and I can read memos describing what it is that she is working on.

Also: I (or my project manager) can ask the freelancer questions at any time, and she knows that she is being paid for any time that she spends answering those questions.

I COMPLETELY AGREE that some sort of check-in is necessary for many freelancers.
For those freelancers, it will be appropriate to hire them using an hourly contract, or it will be appropriate to have them work with a project manager. Or both.

[#19]

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Kim F wrote:

Q: What might delay your planned work?

Assuming potential failure from the outset really instills confidence... 

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You have the opportunity to mention if you die things might get delayed. Maybe get hit by a bus. That might affect things.

[#20]

It depends on the size of the bus AND its speed.

[#21]

It's more than a bit difficult to mesh Upwork selling their (our) services as professional while instituting such gimmicks.

What was it Upwork was saying about TRUST and Transparency?

[#22]

As both a freelancer AND a client on the website, I can't at all see who this feature would possibly benefit.

For hourly contracts we already have to state what we worked on in the diary and/or there are literal photos of our screen.

As for what we will work on next week, we literally are only allowed to work on exactly what we are told to work on.

For milestone/fixed price projects, what we will be working on is right there in the milestone, including a due date.

Who is this for? It's just another annoying thing I have to try to explain to clients, who are already miffed at me when I won't give them my phone call for an interview now that Upwork changed THAT policy.

Honestly, these days it seems like I LOSE more clients to Upworks assinine new policies than I actually gain new clients. Because often when *I* refuse to break the rules, the next freelancer is mre than willing.

[#23]

SERIOUSLY??????????

[#24]

Phyliis wins the internet for Upwork is becomming more and more the "Keystone Kops of freelance platforms"

If a client tried this nonsense with me ... fired. 

[#25]

This one...has worn me down. I don't get it Upwork. What on earth are you thinking? Or are you? 

[#26]

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Rafsun S wrote:

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It's obvious that most of us have no need or desire for this kind of thing and for many of us, it's insulting. However, there is a swath of freelancer who really don't understand "business" and how "communication" works. Personally, I drop Upwork like a hot potatoe as soon as I am hired.

Pity the client who has to drop in and deal with financials. Everything we do together is done either in another tool or in meetings. In fact, I have a meeting once a week where we actually go over a small list a bit like this, because it's a great thing to do. But to be "reminded" this should be done? <scoffs>.