Understanding Contractor Performance Ratings

All contractors will be graded on assignments they complete in Dante. This article will help you become familiar with the performance rating process. 

NOTE: All performance ratings (excluding onboarding tests) received before 3/30/2018 were erased. 

What Is a Performance Rating?

A performance rating is an evaluation of the quality of your work and your ability to follow directions on a specific assignment. Your individual assignment ratings are combined to provide an overall Performance Rating.

This is the current rubric:

Unacceptable/L1: Substantial (~8+) editing done for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and/or client's preferred style (AP, Chicago, etc.). Multiple instances of inaccurate information. Multiple missed style guide requirements.

Needs improvement/L2: Medium to substantial (~6-8) editing done for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and/or client's preferred style (AP, Chicago, etc.). More than one instance of inaccurate information (had to deep fact check). More than one missed style guide requirement.

Developing/L3: Minimal to medium (~4-6) editing done for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and/or client's preferred style (AP, Chicago, etc.). One instance of inaccurate information. One missed style guide requirement.

Proficient/L4: Zero to very minimal (~0-3) editing done for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and/or client's preferred style (AP, Chicago, etc.). No inaccurate information or missed style guide requirements.

Mastery/L5: Zero editing needed.

To be accepted as a contractor through the onboarding, you need to receive a passing grade on your practical test. Your onboarding score will be your first performance rating. As you complete more assignments, the score will become an average of all ratings. 

Where Is Your Performance Rating?

On your dashboard in Dante, you'll see a "Performance Rating" section in the top right corner. If you click "View ratings," it will open another window that breaks down your ratings. 

A. Performance Rating: This box shows your cumulative rating. This score includes all grades from every position you hold, including writer, editor, designer, etc. In addition to "Overall," you can also see your yearly and monthly grades.

B. # of Performance Reviews: This box shows the number of reviews you've received overall, as well as yearly and monthly.

C. Individual Review Details: This section will show you every review that you've received. If you have just completed the onboarding, you'll only see the review for your practical test. The longer you work for CopyPress, the more reviews you'll receive, and you'll be able to assess each rating you are given. You can click on the assignment, then select the paper icon on the right of the assignment details to open the actual rating to see your star rating and the feedback. 

You can also filter your rating list by "Keyword" - "Grade" - "User Group" to narrow down your ratings easier. 

Who Rates You?

Assignments are based on tasks within the workflow. For instance, our "Standard Article Workflow" starts with Article - Writing which is where the Writer actually writes the content. It then goes through a Plagiarism Check via Copyscape and a Readable.io analysis before reaching the Editor. After the editor completes their stage, the article then goes to a QA Member to double-check the content with the style guide and other quality metrics. Finally, it goes to the Project Manager for approval. 

If you are the Writer, you will be reviewed by the Editor. If you're an Editor, you'll be reviewed by a QA Member. If you are the QA Member, you will be reviewed by the Project Manager. 

The goal is to place accountability for the article on each individual task owner within the workflow. Regardless of where you fall in the workflow, knowing that another team member will review your work should push you to provide a flawless piece and receive a high rating.

How Is Your Performance Rating Used?

Your performance rating is hidden from all external users. It's only visible to you and our internal project management team. Our internal team will not release information about you or your performance rating to any external member.

We also understand the flaws and subjectivity with contractors rating other contractors. Therefore, your performance rating is not the defining factor for whether you'll receive ongoing work. In addition to your performance rating, we keep internal records and notes on all our contractors. Moreover, our project managers recruit and build teams for specific campaigns, meaning once you are tested on a project and perform well, you will likely become an active member of that project regardless of your letter grade. 

If you receive a low rating, read through the notes and grading to understand why you received the grade you did. If you review your rating and still don't believe it's a fair representation, please contact community@copypress.com.

If you frequently receive low grades, it could be indicative of a larger issue of quality or inability to follow directions, which could result in warnings and the ultimate termination from our community. If you're turning in quality work in a timely manner, you should have a high performance rating. If you're delivering low-quality content and missing important formatting or style requirements, you will likely receive a lower rating.

All contractors should strive to submit work that meets the quality and style requirements outlined for the assignment, which will result in a high rating and often more assignments.