This autumn was a busy and productive time for Etcetera, full of new challenges and key milestones. In our seasonal updates, we love to share the latest team highlights, analyze trends on Upwork, and explain how these changes impact our work. Let’s dive in!
What’s New on Upwork
Upwork continues to test updates and adjust the platform to better meet user needs. One notable change is the removal of fees for accepting invites and introducing job-posting fees for clients. It’s good to see the platform tracking what works and eliminating unnecessary features.
One standout feature is Proposal Insight, which we wrote about in our blog post. It’s still in testing and comes with varying pricing, which shows Upwork is searching for the perfect balance for its users.
We’re glad Upwork is shifting from “pay for everything” toward a more balanced approach, offering useful features at a fair price.
Some changes on the platform are already well-known among users, so we won’t go into those. But the “under-the-hood” updates sparked lively discussions within our team, especially regarding Upwork’s new AI tool — Uma.
Uma is an AI-powered tool, similar to ChatGPT, but with a limit of 10 generations per week for regular users and free access for professional freelancers. However, the spotlight is on how Uma is integrated into client tools, which directly impacts freelancers.
From the client side, Uma is being woven into several key functionalities:
- Job Post Generation: Clients can write a few lines about their needs, and Uma automatically creates a detailed job post. Our sales team encounters these posts daily. While they’re structured and professional, they often lack specific details about the client’s expectations, making it harder to understand projects.
- “Best Match” Suggestions: Uma now matches clients with the “best freelancers” for their needs. Previously, we could predict how clients might evaluate freelancer profiles, but now these algorithms are less transparent, leaving us guessing about the criteria for the “perfect match.”
- Candidate Comparison: Uma helps clients compare freelancers and decide who best fits their needs. However, this creates a paradox: job posts lack clarity, ranking remains mysterious, and recommendations rely on opaque data.
We often joke that soon, Uma might be holding conversations with itself without needing us at all!
Additionally, Upwork removed its Product Updates page and now provides reports on changes only once per quarter. So, we’re keeping an eye out for new updates in the next month or two.
What’s Happening at Etcetera
We were thrilled to celebrate the birthdays of seven teammates this fall — happy birthday to all of you!
We also welcomed three new members to the team, who’ve already hit the ground running, and said goodbye to three others. Currently, Etcetera is a team of 35.
One of our internal highlights was implementing a new feedback format. Now, before every 1:1 meeting, managers provide detailed feedback about their collaboration with each team member. This allows us to track individual progress and address key situations in real time. After two months of using this approach, we’ve already noticed significant improvements in teamwork and productivity.
Check out our Sales Funnel results in the photo!
Winter Plans
We’re continuing to adapt to Upwork’s updates and are still looking for a new sales team member to help us negotiate effectively with clients.
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