Service Level Agreements (outsourcingtoolset, Module 10)

The Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a critical document in any outsourcing deal, creating a shared understanding of what the client organization can expect for its money. It defines the responsibilities of each party; defines the services and reports; and defines what successful service is, and is not, and what will be done about it - all critical to the success of your deal. An SLA imposes a commitment on both sides - on the provider to provide defined services with defined performance, and on the client to use those services within defined parameters. While SLAs are present in nearly 90% of all outsourcing deals, one does not need to outsource to employ the SLA as a useful management technique. It has also become an increasingly standard document between internal clients and internal providers - particularly for shared services. This module provides you with the structure, methodology, templates and examples to help you successfully draft a Service Level Agreement (SLA). It begins with a discussion of how a SLA forms part of the suite of governing documents including the contract conditions. It then provides an overview of the key components of an SLA and describes each component, giving cases and examples to help clarify the intention of the techniques presented. PRODUCTIVITY GAINS Based on product use in practice, clients have experienced a savings of 60% in effort in rapidly attaining a structured, user-friendly, and comprehensive document and has saved clients an average of two months for each SLA developed