What is SLA (service level agreement)?
A service level agreement turns a promise into something that can be measured. It names the service, the targets, how they are measured and reported, and the remedy if a target is not met. The remedy may be a credit, an escalation or a review, depending on what was agreed.
An SLA is not the same as a response time or a fix time, although those are common targets inside one. It is also different from an operational level agreement, which is an internal agreement between teams, and from an underpinning contract with a supplier.
Terms are not standardized. Two providers can both offer a four hour response and mean different things by it, for example a call back, a technician dispatched, or a technician on site. Always read the definition of when the clock starts and stops.
How it shows up in practice
- Define each target clearly: what starts the clock, what stops it, which hours count, and which locations are covered.
- Separate response from arrival and from resolution, because each is measured at a different point.
- List exclusions, such as access delays caused by the site, so both sides know what pauses the clock.
- Agree how performance is reported and reviewed, and how a missed target is handled.