This topic is meant to discuss both past and current Upwork product developments. Our aim is to understand whether Upwork products translate to a higher quality platform for both clients and freelancers.
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SI=0%, I=5
- Upwork has partnered with OpenAI to provide businesses with expert-vetted talent who are versed with OpenAI technologies.
I agree with your assessment of importance.
Unfortunately, OpenAI did not announce the partnership (neither on their Website nor on Twitter) and does not seem to have integrated a link to Upwork in any other place.
Additionally, the talent pool of pre-vetted talent is incredibly small. As of now, there are only 24 talents on Upwork’s dedicated OpenAi website.
I am a bit unsure if we should treat the fact that they have a full press announcement about a product that is in such an early stage as a small negative indicator. (We need at least to be wary about other press announcements and have a close look how advanced those products are)
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Looking at the product developments and updates that occured since 2018, I think it’s safe to say that Upwork’s innovative culture is solid. Some of the products that are of great interest to me are:
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Project Catalog; launched October 2020 in beta version but introduced globally in January 2021.
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Boosted proposals; started test phase in August 2021 and launched in March, 2022.
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Direct contracts; launched in April 2020.
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Availability badges; began testing phase in July 2021 and was launched in February 2022.
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Paid consultations; launched in April 2022 but began testing phase in December 2021.
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Contract to hire roles feature; launched October 2022.
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Bring Your Own Talent(BYOT); launched before 2019.
Available data indicates that these products have created a positive impact on the company in one way or the other. For instance,
- 30-day spend by clients who used consultations was nearly three times spend by customers who only purchase through Project Catalog(Q3,2022).
- According to Upwork, talent who turn on this availability badge feature are 76.3% more likely to take the work offer; hence saving client’s time.
- Project Catalog is driving engagement in Talent Marketplace. “47% of clients who bought a Project Catalog project in 2021 made a repeat purchase later in the year. Of those repeat purchases, 72% were made on the Talent Marketplace.”
- BYOT was effective in Covid period. "We landed a global tech firm that onboarded over a thousand freelancers, running over $1 million through this BYOT product all within Q4, " Upwork said.
- Our data points to positive uptake of contract-to-hire roles
However, I think the product developments touching on AI were influenced by the hype on AI and not necessarily by AI opportunity. This is because since the launch of generative AI category in July, we haven’t seen any positive impact on the number of jobs.
I=5
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Starting August 16, the number of connects needed to bid for a job will range from 4 to 16.
“This change will help us facilitate better matches, increase flexibility to price projects accurately, and attract more top tier clients to the platform,” Upwork said in a community notice.
- Initially, the number of connects could range from 2 to 6, but Upwork raised the range to 2 to 8 in March 2023.
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I=5
- Upwork introduces scheduled rate increase in hourly contracts.
- Scheduled rate increase feature enables clients and freelancers to adjust rates automatically.
- The feature include the percent increase as well as the duration for which the increase will take effect.
- Scheduled rate increase is applicable to new contracts and not existing ones and once set cannot be changed.
- Upwork said that the feature will be rolled out gradually.
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I=2
- Upwork introduces purchase of AI apps such as Adobe, Miro, Tabnine, and Jasper in a freelancer account.
- The offers come with discounts, use cases and content on how to use them.
- Jasper offer was already announced in July, but now Upwork freelancers get a dedicated page for these tools.
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I=5
- Upwork has introduced Boosted Profiles feature in beta version.
- The feature will increase visibility for freelancers.
- Freelancers who subscribe to Boosted Profiles feature will appear at the top of “invite freelancers” page for clients who are hiring.
- Freelancers have an option to set the amount they will pay per click as well as the end date.
- A client cannot click a freelancer profile more than once per job post.
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I=1
- Upworks launches research institute to expand the company’s study of workforce dynamics and to provide business leaders with tools and insights that will guide their future workforce decisions.
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I like the recent product releases from Upwork.
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In my opinion, scheduled rate increases could have a substantial positive effect for Upwork over the long run given that it is currently suffering from declining freelancer rates.
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Boosted profiles is an obvious low hanging fruit as Fiverr launched a similar offering years ago which has a good reception and is helping them to expand their take rate.
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Showcasing powerful tools to freelancers is a good way to enhance their ability to deliver for clients and earn some additional advertising revenue on those partnerships.
Most importantly seeing those shipments helps build trust in Upwork execution which remains the current Nr. 1 concern and closely to be observed topic.
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I=4
- Upwork partners with additional providers of generative AI tools such as Adobe, Amazon, ClickUp and Miro.
- It has also partnered with training resources providers such as Coursera, Jasper and Udemy in order to help talent improve the quality of their wwork.
- Upwork has also opened a waitlist for its Chat Pro, a new GPT-4-powered app currently in beta version that will help talent complete work faster and more effectively.
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I=4
- Upwork enters into a partnership with vendor management systems (VMS) and managed service providers (MSP), SAP Fieldglass and Flextrack, for its Enterprise Suite business.
- Other than centralizing and streamlining workforce management, onboarding, and payment into existing workflows and one system, the partnerships will also “mitigate risks of departmental hiring outside of existing procurement processes, provide comprehensive control over sourcing and hiring, and reduce extraneous approvals and hiring workstreams,” Upwork said.
- Upwork said it has also introduced managed services, a new enterprise darshboard and AI job post generator for Enterprise Suite Clients.
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I=3
Upwork said fixed contract disputes can now be done within Upwork instead of contacting customer support via email.
I=5
Upwork brings Boosted Profiles feature to all work categories and job types.
I=3
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Upwork lowers one of the requirements for calculating Job Success Score (JSS) to speed up the time it takes to match clients with the right talent and to improve score accuracy.
"A Job Success Score now appears once freelancers complete 2 or more projects with 2 or more clients anytime within 24 months. (Previously: 4 or more projects with 2 or more clients within 24 months), " Upwork said in a community post.
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Upwork also said that more weight will be given to public feedback when calculating JSS.
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I=5, January 26, 2024
Upwork said boosted proposals will only be available to eligible freelancers.
“To promote a quality match with the client, the boost table appears if you are a relevant match for the job. Eligible freelancers will see this option, while others can apply organically. The boost option will appear during the proposal submission process,” Upwork wrote.
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