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What does SLA mean and what is it used for?

Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2024 8:47 am
by jrineakte01
SLA stands for “Service Level Agreement,” but what is it and what is its function? Here you can find all the information about this term and also why it is important for your company to have an SLA for the services provided.

You can browse through the topics to find the answers to each of your questions:


The acronym SLA stands for “Service Level Agreement” in Spanish (Service Level Agreement or Service Level Guarantee). It is a contract signed between the parties involved in a
list of ethiopia consumer email negotiation that determines the responsibilities of each party in relation to the contracted services.

What is SLA used for?
The SLA serves to define the scope of work and establishes the rules, agreements, goals and other issues related to the service to be provided. Over time, demands may change, so it is important that the document is reviewed periodically so that the guidelines are redefined according to the needs of the moment.

When drawing up the SLA , it is also important to analyse possible risk scenarios and anticipate them. To do this, it is worth inserting clauses into the contract that protect the company from misappropriation in the negotiations and ensure that everyone agrees to them.

Why is SLA important?
The SLA is essential to protect all parties during the negotiation, as it stipulates the duties and responsibilities of the contractor and the contracted party. Thus, the document guarantees the transparency of the process and facilitates the resolution of possible conflicts that may arise over time.

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In addition, it is possible to insert clauses on penalties and fines in the SLA if any of those involved in the negotiation fail to comply with their obligations set out in the contract. This also gives more security to everyone.


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How to make an SLA?
The purpose of an SLA is to formalize the contracting of a service, as well as to transparently define the responsibilities of those involved in the business. Therefore, to make a good SLA, the document must be clear and leave no room for interpretation.

Establish the rights and responsibilities of each party, list the metrics that will be used to monitor results, the respective objectives of each party, and define all deadlines that must be met.

What are the types of SLA?
SLA contracts have various applications, so they were divided into two categories: customer-focused SLAs and service-focused SLAs. In the first case, the document refers to the customer's demands regarding the contracting of the service, while the second is specifically directed to the service itself, being a simpler model.

Customer-centric SLA is more complex because each customer will have specific demands, which implies different contracts for each one. Therefore, care is needed when preparing the document and also during contract changes.
The SLA, which is based solely on the service provided , can be applied to different negotiations without making any changes to the contract. The document must list all the rights and duties of the parties involved in the process, as well as the list of services provided by your company.
What is Service SLA?
The service SLA sets specific guidelines for the service team to ensure an excellent customer experience. The SLA is composed of different service KPIs that help measure whether the support currently provided actually meets the expectations of consumers and resolves their issues.

It is important to monitor the service SLA as this tool will indicate the level of quality of the service provided and whether it is sufficiently satisfactory for customers . In addition, it is also possible to identify opportunities for improvement and work on them to optimize the consumer experience with the company.

How to calculate the service SLA?
To calculate the service SLA, you need to follow a few steps: first, define which metrics are really meaningful to your business. Then, establish what the goals and objectives will be. Finally, constantly monitor the results collected.

Customer service KPIs that can be used include average wait time, total service time, response time, and satisfaction level, to name just a few.

What did you think of the explanations about the meaning of SLA, what this contract is for, and what its importance is? With Zendesk , you can create your own SLA within the platform in just a few steps.