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]

---

Heather L wrote:

I completed a project for a client this week. She set up the "Check in on a Project" feature:

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?

She's new to Upwork and mentioned that she didn't intend to do that. Now that the project is completed and I've been paid why is this still showing up? Does she need to remove it or can I do something on my end? There's no reason to answer the questions, yet I don't want my (currently non-existent) score to be impacted because I ignore this message. 

Also I still have no feedback that's appeared for either of my jobs. They both verbally told me I did great work - are they required or encouraged to leave feedback? Or can I leave it for them first and that will prompt them? 

I understand I need at least 6-7 different people to provide feedback before my score will increase, which I need to happen in order to apply for more jobs that fit my skill set. 

---

Why am I not surprised it doesn't stop after no more activity? LOL Can't wait to wake up every friday to spammed messages on 20 different dead contracts.

[#3]

It's too bad Upwork doesn't let us vote on things they test on us. We're essentially lab rats to them.

Also. My question is...what happened that made Upwork want to do this? I guess since they saw a bunch of lab-rats running around, they were like..."hm, what would make us more money? Let's do some testing!"

[#4]

I have some fixed price contracts, with no active milestones, will that contracts raise the Auto-check-ins?

[#5]

Hi Lucio Ricardo,

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. 

[#6]

Will it be automatically turned on, or automatically turned off. What is
the default state if a client does not touch the setting?

[#7]

Wait if this auto cheek-in thing works , then we need a option of auto close contract, if client do not answer question why contract is still open in 7 days , then contract get close by UpWork without negative impact on JSS.

What you think about this?

[#8]

---

Slavko A wrote:

 then contract get close by UpWork without negative impact on JSS.

---

Again... Closing contracts yourself doesn't hurt your JSS.

Kayla B wrote:
Will it be automatically turned on, or automatically turned off. What is
the default state if a client does not touch the setting?

---

It seems to be off by default. Otherwise I'd have had them from long dormant contracts.

[#9]

I'd say it's about 30-40% of contracts that just disappear never to come back. They are happy, the job is done, so they stop coming to the website.  Anytime I close one on the next score date it goes down by 1-2%, so I'm pretty sure it DOES effect it.

As for the auto-turn on, I know from the client side for EXISTING contracts it wasn't automatically turned on (it kept trying to ask me to, the pop-up happened 5 times before it stopped!). But I'm wondering for new contracts if they are going to automatically turn it on. 

I haven't started a new contract as a client or a freelancer since the new "feature"

[#10]

---

Petra R wrote:

---

Slavko A wrote:

 then contract get close by UpWork without negative impact on JSS.

---

Again... Closing contracts yourself doesn't hurt your JSS.

How this can be possible closing contract without feedback , have no impact on JSS?

[#11]

---

Slavko A wrote:

---

Petra R wrote:

---

Slavko A wrote:

 then contract get close by UpWork without negative impact on JSS.

---

Again... Closing contracts yourself doesn't hurt your JSS.

How this can be possible closing contract without feedback , have no impact on JSS?

---

As long as money has been paid it doesn't, provided you don't close loads at once or have an insane percentage of such contracts. There are people with 100% JSS and way over half having no feedback.

I've never had my JSS drop when closing a contract either.

[#12]

Petra, what would be a job that lacked earnings but had a positive outcome? A client no longer needing the work done?

[#13]

---

Sarah B wrote:

Petra, what would be a job that lacked earnings but had a positive outcome?

---

A contract closed by the client with positive private feedback. Changes of contract type, a mistake made while hiring and not caught before accepting etc.

[#14]

Thank you ,I was misinformed about this.

[#15]

Excellent feedback from professional freelancers, too many to quote.

I've observed some other random features and changes. I can see Upwork is making an effort, to "improve" the platform for freelancers and clients, I'm just not sure where the strategy or direction is coming from. Obviously I have no direct access to the data, only my experience and what I read on this forum. It would appear in Upworks' best interest to rid itself of freelancers who perform poorly (and I see they are trying - but as others have said, DO NOT LET THEM ON IN THE FIRST PLACE) and clients seeking very low $$ work. 

The bottom line for me - is Upwork needs to decide what its core function is:

1) Lead generation site for freelancers

2) "Labor" sourcing for clients

3) "Labor" management for clients

4) Escrow payment company for both?

It's quite to easy to see how Upwork is where it is, and I am grateful to have located the site and some amazing clients.  But it's time for Upwork to "pick a lane."  Since Covid, I see remote work becoming more the norm and a real move toward project work (my preception, nothing to back it up). I, for one, would prefer to see Upwork reconfigure toward a high end service for freelancers and clients who DO NOT REQUIRE a "Friday nanny" to check work status. 

[#16]

---

Slavko A wrote:

Wait if this auto cheek-in thing works , then we need a option of auto close contract, if client do not answer question why contract is still open in 7 days , then contract get close by UpWork without negative impact on JSS.

What you think about this?

---

No, bad idea.

[#17]

---

Slavko A wrote:

Wait if this auto cheek-in thing works , then we need a option of auto close contract, if client do not answer question why contract is still open in 7 days , then contract get close by UpWork without negative impact on JSS.

What you think about this?

---

No no no no no. I, and I'm sure many others here, have contracts that are open for a very long time with sporadic work. We don't need weekly prompts asking if it should stay open, just like we don't need weekly prompts asking how it's going. 

[#18]

So far this month, I've been hired for two jobs -- and they've both enabled this asinine auto-check in feature. One is an hourly job, so fine, I'll do it and get paid for the 5 minutes I spend providing information I've already provided in the course of normal professional communication. If that's what the client wants, I'll begrudgingly do it since I'm being compensated.

But the fixed price one? Where I'm not getting paid? No thanks. I will be ignoring those emails since they weren't part of the contract discussion, there's no additional compensation, and my client will already have the information because...you know...I'm a professional who communicates with my clients. My understanding is that there's no penalty for refusing to participate. Someone please let me know if I'm wrong.

On Upwork, the bulk of my jobs consist of writing or updating resumes and LinkedIn profiles. These are small jobs, which means I often have 5 or more active projects at a time, plus a dozen or so inactive contracts for ongoing jobs. (And for clients who, despite multiple promptings, have not closed contracts on their own.) If auto check-in becomes the norm -- and it seems like it will be based on my recent experience -- this means I'll have 17+ pointless, redundant progress reports to write each Friday. At 5 minutes each, that's almost an hour and a half of my time being wasted. About half of these jobs are flat fee, so that's about 45 minutes of wasted time that's also unpaid. On a Friday afternoon. When I just want to finish my work and start my weekend. Hell no.

As usual, Upwork has no idea what kind of burden it's actually placing on freelancers with its supposedly helpful innovations. This helps NO ONE, not even the freelancers who are so unprofessional that they don't know how to communicate. Getting an email isn't going to change their behavior; they're already ignoring emails/messages from clients. Why does Upwork think they'll do anything but ignore these emails as well? Meanwhile, the good freelancers -- the professionals who make the bulk of the money on this site -- are punished. It makes no sense.

[#19]

---

Signe J wrote:

So far this month, I've been hired for two jobs -- and they've both enabled this asinine auto-check in feature. One is an hourly job, so fine, I'll do it and get paid for the 5 minutes I spend providing information I've already provided in the course of normal professional communication. If that's what the client wants, I'll begrudgingly do it since I'm being compensated.

But the fixed price one? Where I'm not getting paid? No thanks. I will be ignoring those emails since they weren't part of the contract discussion, there's no additional compensation, and my client will already have the information because...you know...I'm a professional who communicates with my clients. My understanding is that there's no penalty for refusing to participate. Someone please let me know if I'm wrong.

On Upwork, the bulk of my jobs consist of writing or updating resumes and LinkedIn profiles. These are small jobs, which means I often have 5 or more active projects at a time, plus a dozen or so inactive contracts for ongoing jobs. (And for clients who, despite multiple promptings, have not closed contracts on their own.) If auto check-in becomes the norm -- and it seems like it will be based on my recent experience -- this means I'll have 17+ pointless, redundant progress reports to write each Friday. At 5 minutes each, that's almost an hour and a half of my time being wasted. About half of these jobs are flat fee, so that's about 45 minutes of wasted time that's also unpaid. On a Friday afternoon. When I just want to finish my work and start my weekend. Hell no.

As usual, Upwork has no idea what kind of burden it's actually placing on freelancers with its supposedly helpful innovations. This helps NO ONE, not even the freelancers who are so unprofessional that they don't know how to communicate. Getting an email isn't going to change their behavior; they're already ignoring emails/messages from clients. Why does Upwork think they'll do anything but ignore these emails as well? Meanwhile, the good freelancers -- the professionals who make the bulk of the money on this site -- are punished. It makes no sense.

---

I also understand that there will be no penalty from Upwork if questions are not answered.
But I have the doubt. What about the customer? Client has activated the questions, so I assume that client will want to receive an answer.
If I do not answer, it is possible that the client takes that wrong, and the one who will penalize me may be the client.

[#20]

---

---

I also understand that there will be no penalty from Upwork if questions are not answered.
But I have the doubt. What about the customer? Client has activated the questions, so I assume that client will want to receive an answer.
If I do not answer, it is possible that the client takes that wrong, and the one who will penalize me may be the client.

---

I'm optimistic -- perhaps too optimistic -- that strong communication and building good relationships with my clients will overcome not responding to an auto-message. I guess we'll see. 

[#21]

I have done numerous projects over the years, andI have seen older comments regarding the topic of auto check-ins, but never experienced it; that is until now. My last two projects all of a sudden have stated "auto check-in enabled"...Seriously? I think I am fully capable of communicating with my clients, 

There are many other areas that Upwork could improve; such as the order and time in which proposals are shown to clients, (Hint Hint).

[#22]

Whose great idea was it to initiate this new "feature"?

I have 12 - 14 open projects at any given time. Will an algorithm-driven nanny see that I receive these oh-so-useful questions for every project every Friday?

If you insist on wasting my time on these unhelpful questions every Friday, you are not going to like my answers.

QUOTE
Upwork
3:52 PM EST, 24 Nov 2020
Auto Check-ins help keep everyone on the same page. Every Friday, we’ll ask Will to answer three key questions that help keep the project on track:

>What did you work on this week?
What will you work on next week?
What might delay your planned work?

UNQUOTE

Or maybe I should just tell you my answers now:

1) Improving my golf game

2) Improving my golf game

3) Not improving my golf game as much as I'd like to.

[#23]

Yesterday I accepted a contract from a new client. He then signed us up for the new Auto-Check-Ins “feature.”

This is how our conversation went in regards to that choice:

Me: You're my first client to use the Auto Check-in feature. I've never had a complaint from a client that I don't communicate regularly and well during a project, but I'll be happy to answer these three questions each week. This will probably take me about 15 - 20 minutes each week, which you'll see detailed in my weekly work hours report from Upwork.

Client: Oh, I didn't know if that was something that was common. Can I change it?

Me: I don't know. It's a new "feature" Upwork has recently introduced. Please let me know if you can't find a way to make that change.

Client: I removed it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I suggest freelancers now ask potential clients if they will want weekly Auto-Check-Ins and inform these clients that they’ll be happy to spend the time on answering the three questions each week, which will add $ ____ to the total cost of the project.

It’s only fair that each client should fully understand the total cost of their project.

[#24]

Good call. So far, no clients have asked me for that (thankfully), and I don't want anything to do with it, even if they do pay for my time. If somebody does request it, I plan to say something to the effect that I will give them regular updates and if they feel like there's anything lacking in my communication, they can then go ahead and enable this [stupid and unnecessary] feature. (Which is the message that Upwork ought to be giving clients, but... whatever.)

[#25]

I've only had one turn it on and I just ignored it.

[#26]

This thread began almost three months ago and still has no positive comments. This feature is still active today, annoying clients (like mine) and freelancers (like me).

I didn't even know it existed a week ago and briefly considered dropping the client who activated it. Fortunately, it occurred to me that UW may have nudged her to it. Good thing I know how UW conducts business, because she turned out to be a great client who's just new to the platform.

Like one of the previous commenters, she clicked the "helpful" popup and didn't know how to turn it off. I searched the forum for the answer and - what a surprise - found a 14-page thread of negative feedback.

Why burden the system and its users to continue a test that has already failed? Who benefits from it besides its developers?