To Upwork:
I would like to suggest that the qualifying criteria of 10 or more completed contracts to be able to remove job feedback is very strangely and unfairly skewed against freelancers who perform excellent work and consistently keep their (your) clients happy.
i.e., If I have long-term clients – either on an hourly or a fixed-price basis, then I really don't get much opportunity to remove job feedback; I would have start to take on some small jobs in order to get a job score removed (which I could do and then have feedback removed for a very long and high value contract; and that might amount to gaming the system (but these are your existing rules)).
My continued successful delivery against fixed-price milestones counts for nothing in terms of feedback/score removal, and nor does my continued delivery on ongoing hourly contracts. This intuitively does not feel right; it feels that the existing criteria for the removal of job feedback is punitively crude.
Suggestion for a Feedback Removal Score calculation algorithm
Better (and whilst I realise the increased difficulty in communicating a straightforward policy... although you already do this with communicating how JSS & Status Badges themselves work), would be an algorithm which calculates the median contract length (via hours / milestones), and measures open contracts against this average.
Examples (Fixed-Price Contracts)
Let's say my median fixed-price contract length is 3 milestones. Every milestone should count as 1/3 of a completed contract for feedback-removal purposes; thus, a contract which reaches 3 milestones should reward me with a full completed contract for this purpose. A contract which runs to 6 milestones (let's say this particular contract doesn't move the needle on the median contract length), should count as 2 completed contracts for Feedback Removal purposes.
Examples (Hourly Contracts)
Likewise, if my median hourly contract length is 100, then 10 hours should count as 0.1 completed contracts, 100 hours should count as 1 completed contract, and 200 hours should count as 2 completed contracts for Feedback Removal purposes.
Further Suggestions (Category-specific Application)
This simple scoring system could even be applied at the Job Category level; There could be an FRS (Feedback Removal Score) per category which a given freelancer provides services in; the score itself plus the category application would prevent gaming of the Feedback Removal system – there would be no point undertaking contracts in either the same or other categories so as to quickly rack up completed contracts.
Further Suggestions (FRS Stats on Stats Page & Open Contracts)
In addition, in such a system it would be pertinent for the Freelancer to be able to view their FRS basis (Median FP Milestone Count + Median Hourly Contract Length) against existing Contracts and as a whole on their stats page, along with their current FRS score (where 10 is the magic number to gain an additional feedback removal) – as well, to show the FRS points gained per contract / milestone (on the contract view pages themselves).
Further Suggestions (Status Multipliers)
Because this approach to Feedback Removal Qualification is not a specific rule for any category of freelancer, but in fact a mathematical equation / algorithm, the algorithm can be easiily adjusted using a multiplier to additionally / subtractively reward freelancers based upon their Upwork Status.
e.g. Personal FRS Multiplier Bandings
New Freelancer: FRS x .25
Rising Talent: FRS x .5
Top Rated: FRS x 1
Top Rated Plus: FRS x 1.5
In Summary
The current system for feedback removal qualification is crude and punitive to good quality work and relationships.
Such a suggested approach would ensure that every bit of meaningful progress on contracts where freelancers are continually satisfying clients (Good For The Platform™) counts squarely & proportionately towards feedback removal qualification, therefore also preventing any gaming of this aspect of the platform.
I would be pleased if Upwork would consider the implementation of such a suggested system / algorithm for the award of this facility to freelancers.
