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Upwork, Inc. (Upwork) transitioned from a hiring platform to a comprehensive multi-product work marketplace and set a new benchmark in the industry with its forward-thinking approach.
Frost & Sullivan recently researched the hiring platforms industry and, based on its findings, recognizes Upwork with the 2023 Global New Product Innovation Award. Upwork is the world’s largest work marketplace that connects businesses across the globe with independent talent with skills in over 10,000 categories such as copywriting, graphic design, marketing, programming, and artificial intelligence services in over 180 countries.
Upwork became the world’s work marketplace after a rebranding in 2015. The company has since evolved from a freelance hiring platform to a trendsetting multi-product work marketplace that supports a broad range of work arrangements. This shift is fueled by Upwork’s pioneering offerings, including its Talent Marketplace™, Project Catalog™, Virtual Talent Bench™, Enterprise Suite, an end-to-end solution for full-time hiring, and new artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.
These disruptive solutions make the company a well-rounded marketplace for sourcing, hiring, and engaging remote independent talent and complementing talent gaps global companies are increasingly dealing with in today’s dynamic work environment. For example, Upwork’s Project Catalog includes thousands of projects in over 300 predefined categories by independent talent that clients can easily browse, purchase, and hire to solve particular business needs. Moreover, Upwork has updated the Project Catalog with a consultation feature. Consultations allow clients to purchase and schedule individual consultations directly with talent and obtain in-depth insights from skilled experts. These advanced services exceed the expectations of the traditional hiring marketplace, allowing talent to build long-term rapport and monetize their skills to generate new business opportunities.
“Upwork’s offerings stand apart in the hiring platforms market as they tap into the changing global work and hiring climate,” said Ankita Singh, senior industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan.
Upwork is also leading in its market position and has attracted leading brands such as Microsoft, Airbnb, Nestle Health Science, and Nasdaq. These high-profile clients have adopted a flexible workforce model and hire on-demand, independent talent through Upwork. Upwork’s growing customer base significantly boosts its credibility and empowers the company to add further value to its offerings.
For this reason, Upwork recently restructured its fee model to a straightforward 10% for freelancers to enhance transparency and competitiveness. This change significantly simplified the previous fee structure, better facilitating payments in the platform.
“Upwork’s commitment to delivering value to the hiring and talent communities with changes in its pricing strategy and the transition from a freelance hiring place to a marketplace that supports various work arrangements is well-placed and relevant in the current market,” noted Singh.
Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has developed an innovative element in a product by leveraging leading-edge technologies. The award recognizes the value-added features/benefits of the product and the increased return on investment (ROI) it gives customers, which, in turn, raises customer acquisition and overall market penetration potential.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards (frost.com) recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.
About Upwork
Upwork (upwork.com) is the world’s largest work marketplace that connects businesses with independent talent from across the globe. We serve everyone from one-person startups to large, Fortune 100 enterprises with a powerful, trust-driven platform that enables companies and talent to work together in new ways that unlock their potential. Our talent community earned over $3.8 billion on Upwork in 2022 across more than 10,000 skills in categories including website & app development, creative & design, customer support, finance & accounting, consulting, and operations. Learn more at upwork.com and join us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X, formerly Twitter.
Contact: Christine Kim
E: press[.]upwork.com.
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christine.savoie[.]frost.com 
