A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a formal contract between a contact/call center and its clients. The ones that they answer the calls for. To create a service level agreement document, both the client and the center agree on what service standards need to be met. This document defines limits for things like average wait time, average handle time, customer churn rate, and other contact center KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). Having an SLA from the get-go removes any confusion about performance.
Parts of a Service Level Agreement (SLA)
A service level agreement usually includes business process metrics that a contact center must achieve once they start working for the client. The client can then rest assured that there will be a degree of accountability and transparency from the contact center. Below is a list of commonly used sections within a service-level agreement document. (This is not legal advice)
- Introduction and Purpose: SLA documents are usually created by the contact center (service provider). They have an introduction and purpose section which includes the services provided. This provides an overview of what the document will include. Once aligned, both parties can move to the next section.
- Scope of Services: Next is the scope of the services. Yes, it’s customer support but through what mediums? This is the section for diving into the specifics. This section can include things like inbound call handling, outbound sales calling, live chat, email assistance, social media support, etc.
- Service Performance Metrics: After the services have been defined, there would be KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and metrics attached to each of them. These will be the benchmarks, so anything lower is unacceptable. This is the ruler that the client measures your service quality against. So be confident but also be conservative. It’s better to underpromise and overdeliver. Common KPIs in SLAs include response times, resolution times, customer satisfaction scores (CSAT), and first-call resolution (FCR) rates.
- Uptime and System Availability: Uptime and System availability sets expectations for reliability. It guarantees a certain percentage of uptime and outlines plans for outages. While modern systems are strong and have multiple backups, it is never possible to promise 100% uptime. Hardware can fail, software can fail or there may be human error. So having an outage plan in the SLA is essential to prevent yourself from any liabilities. Usually, this plan would include some reliable way of capturing inbound requests and returning them once systems are back up.
- Quality Standards: Quality standards are the heart and soul of this agreement. This is where a service provider agrees to a certain benchmark for service delivery. This section details quality assurance processes and monitoring processes that the contact center will implement to audit call quality. There would also be benchmarks for agent interactions and performance.
- Reporting and Reviews: This section has the frequency and type of reports that service providers will share with their clients. This can have a list of review meetings, performance reports, call audits, etc. This is what the client will use to hold you to your commitments in the previous sections.
- Escalation Procedures: The SLA also includes escalation procedures. If the issue is not resolved by the contact center, there must be a communication channel and plan in place to address these issues. Most clients who are outsourcing customer support, also have a small internal department for these tasks. These agents will likely handle these escalated issues.
- Support Hours and Coverage: Some clients only expect service during working hours on business days. Others want 24/7 support and even support during holidays. Your SLA should have these service hours in it. Coverage locations should be included as well. Covering multiple time zones will require you to stagger agent schedules throughout the day. Make sure that the client is aware of this.
- Roles and Responsibilities: This agreement is not one-sided. The SLA clearly defines what falls under whose purview. All the parties involved must know where they fit into the customer service process. As a center, you too should have expectations for communication, updates, and support from the client.
- Penalties and Remedies: There’s also a section for penalties, remedies, and incentives tied to SLA benchmarks. This defines what happens when the service level is not met, or when the service level is exceeded. Most organizations use a service credit system to keep track of this.
- Confidentiality and Security: This section outlines how call and customer data will be protected by the contact center. This involves adherence to compliance laws like HIPAA or GDPR. Since data from the customer is going to the client through a contact center, you need to agree with the client on what data you can collect.
- Review and Termination: Every agreement has a termination clause, and so does an SLA. This usually contains notice periods, handoffs, and data deletion processes. There would also be clauses for renewal which will likely verify service levels in the past year.
Upholding SLAs in Call Centers
Upholding the promises made in an SLA directly impacts your business as a contact center. These contracts are generally renewed yearly, and meeting the requirements of these documents is the strongest case for renewal. Here’s how to uphold your SLA commitments.
- Monitor Performance Metrics: Use software to monitor response times, hold times, and other metrics within your SLA. These can provide real-time reports on agent performance and the performance of your contact center as a whole. Remember the metrics help you identify the problem, they are not the be-all and end-all solution.
- Agent Training: The key to achieving many of the SLA commitments is to have well-trained agents. Make sure that you have regular training sessions. These sessions will include internal training sessions and external sessions with the client and their team.
- Workforce Management: Have a way to forecast call volumes throughout the day, the month, and the year. Several workforce management tools can help you predict these numbers, which you can then use to schedule shift timings for your agents.
- Automation with AI Agents: AI Agents like Phonely can help you meet and uphold some of your SLA metrics. AI agents can help route calls smartly, reduce wait times, and also improve FCR rates by screening the customer.
Consequences of Failing to Meet SLAs
Failing to meet Service Level Agreements can have financial repercussions, while this is not always the case, the damage to your reputation is still a major consequence. Failing to meet commitments can cause the center to lose a key piece of their business, and turn customers into detractors. In a competitive field like this, reputation is everything. That’s why monitoring and adjusting processes is the only right way to approach this. It’s always good to identify potential failure points in your process and then make adjustments to account for them. Example: Having remote agents available during the holiday season to meet high call volumes.
