Service Level Agreement: A Guide for Support Teams

What is an SLA?

SLA stands for Service Level Agreement. It is a formal commitment between a service provider and a customer that defines the expected level of service.

In the context of customer support, SLAs are implemented within ticketing or helpdesk platforms. When a customer submits a support request, the system tracks the SLA for that ticket. 

For example, a ticket might have a 2-hour response SLA. The support team then has to respond within that time frame, and the system may flag tickets that are at risk of breaching the SLA.

Apart from customer support SLAs, there are several other types of SLAs used across different industries and service contexts:

1. Internal SLAs – Agreements between different teams within the same organization. For example, IT supports agreeing to resolve internal employee issues within a set time.
2. Service-based SLAs – Focus on a specific service rather than the customer. For instance, cloud storage uptime guarantees 99.9%.
3. Multi-level SLAs – Combine multiple layers, such as corporate-wide SLAs, customer-specific SLAs
4. Outsourcing SLAs – Between a company and an external provider, specifying performance, uptime, and support expectations.

How to write an SLA agreement? 

1. Write a clear SLA overview

Your SLA should start with a concise summary that explains what services your support team will provide, which customers are covered, and how success will be measured. This introduction sets expectations for both your team and the customer, ensuring everyone understands the scope and objectives of the agreement.

Here is how you can start writing a draft

• Add a one-sentence summary at the top of the SLA that names the covered channels and customer group.

• List the three primary metrics used to judge success, for example, first response time, resolution time, and monthly CSAT.

• Publish the overview on the customer support page and link to it in welcome emails.

• Save the wording in your contract template so it remains consistent across accounts.

2. Define support team goals

Once the SLA overview is in place, the next step is to clearly outline the goals for your support team. These goals should be measurable, realistic, and tied to the service outcomes defined in the overview.

Setting clear goals ensures everyone knows what success looks like for each type of request and helps prioritize work effectively.

Here is how to define goals:

1. Categorize support requests by priority (e.g., critical, high, medium, low) and assign specific targets for each.

2. Define measurable metrics such as first response time, resolution time, or customer satisfaction scores for each category.

3. Align customer expectations with what your team can realistically deliver, ensuring goals are achievable.

3. Specify requirements for success

After defining goals, it’s important to outline what both your support team and customers need to do to achieve them. 

Clearly identifying these requirements helps prevent misunderstandings, ensures tickets can be resolved efficiently, and gives both sides a framework for accountability.

How to specify requirements:

• List what customers must provide, such as account details, error logs, or reproducible steps for reported issues.

• Identify what your support team needs to meet goals, including access to internal tools, knowledge bases, or assistance from other departments.

• Include any recurring support activities, like weekly reports or check-ins, that are necessary to keep the SLA on track.

4. Assign Roles and Points of Contact

A clear SLA requires specifying who is responsible for monitoring and meeting service commitments. 

How to assign roles and contacts:

• Identify primary contacts on both the support team for day-to-day communication.

• Assign backup contacts in case the primary contact is unavailable.
• Map roles to specific SLA responsibilities, such as ticket ownership, escalation management, and reporting.
• Record all contacts, including names, titles, and communication channels, within the SLA and your internal documentation.

5.Define procedures for SLA breaches

Even with clear goals and requirements, there may be times when service targets aren’t met. Planning for SLA breaches ensures your team can respond quickly, maintain customer trust, and implement corrective measures to prevent repeated issues.

How to handle SLA breaches:

• Establish an escalation path for tickets approaching or exceeding SLA limits, including who should be notified and in what order.
• Specify remedies for the customer, such as service credits or priority handling for unresolved tickets.
• Track breaches in your support software and review reports regularly to identify patterns and implement long-term improvements.

6. Set conditions for termination

An SLA should include clear conditions under which the agreement can be reviewed, modified, or terminated. This ensures both parties understand when the SLA may no longer be effective and provides a structured way to update or end the agreement if necessary.

How to define termination conditions:

• Specify scenarios that would trigger a review or cancellation, such as repeated SLA breaches or changes in service requirements.

• Establish a notice period that either party must give before termination.

• Include a process for reviewing and approving SLA changes to maintain alignment between your team and the customer.

How to use Mevrik to track and meet your SLA targets

You can manage SLA objectives directly within Mevrik, the same platform you rely on for all your support operations. Since Mevrik already monitors your team’s performance, it becomes a central tool for keeping SLA commitments visible and actionable.

In Mevrik, administrators can create SLA policies that define response and resolution targets. Automated alerts notify agents when a ticket is approaching a time-sensitive SLA, ensuring urgent issues get priority attention. If an SLA is breached, the system immediately flags the incident for both agents and managers, helping your team respond quickly and maintain high service standards.

Final thoughts

An SLA doesn’t need to be a long and complicated document. Start by keeping it to a page or two that clearly outlines service scope, goals, responsibilities, and escalation steps. This approach makes it easier for both your team and your customers to understand and follow.

With a simple structure, your SLA can cover response times, resolution targets, and key metrics in a clear format that everyone can reference quickly. And with support platforms like Mevrik, you can track and manage these SLAs effortlessly, ensuring your team delivers consistent, high-quality service every time.

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