A service-level agreement (SLA) is an important part of business consulting and is often used between a company’s internal operations and its customers. It outlines the requirements for each party to reach their goals and provides an avenue for reporting on these goals as well as any issues that arise.
SLAs protect the end-user and the service provider, by establishing standards and targets. They also establish consequences for not meeting these expectations. SLAs also allow businesses to create key performance metrics that can be used to identify areas that do not meet their strategic goals.
The SLA should include all services included in the contract, including details on turnaround time and any exclusions. The contract should include a http://royston-consulting.com/outsourcing-consulting-services-by-board-room list that specifies the metrics used to measure service provider performance.
Metrics should only reflect factors under the control of a service provider and be easily collected. They should also be set up with a reasonable base, so they can be refined as time goes on.
A key performance indicator (KPI) is a metric used to measure how well a company is performing in relation to its primary goals. It can help the company determine if it is going off course, a problem common to small businesses.
