An unlimited number of service level agreements (SLAs)
can be defined. The
names, resolution times, and contract descriptions of each SLA depend
on the service level field type, the capacity of the service desk, and
the requirements of the customers and their service contracts.
For example, in a corporate service desk, SLAs may be defined
for different incident types, such as “Network outage”, with a resolution
time of 2 hours, or “request new speakers”, with a resolution time of
2 weeks.
Tip
Because
missed service level due dates can produce negative SLA reports, and unhappy
customers, it is important to set realistic expectations when creating
SLAs. Over
time, as the system is used and service level metrics are tracked, you
should see an increase in issues that meet or exceed their service levels.
Name—Enter a name
for the Service Level, for example, Gold
or Network
outage. This is the name that is displayed.
Description
of Contract—Enter
the details of the service level contract, for example, "Resolve
in 2 hours". A virtually unlimited amount of text can be entered.
The description is available to agents in a pop-up window when viewing
a customer’s Issue.
Attach
a new description file (optional)—An electronic
file, such as a Word document or text file, can be uploaded containing
a detailed service level description. This attachment is available to
agents in the SLA
Information pop-up window from the customer’s Issue screen.
Response
Time— Enter the amount of time allowed for Issue response for this
service level. Time can be specified in minutes, hours, days, and/or weeks.
The response
time auto-populates an SLA Date/Time field (which you can designate).
If, for
example, 2 hours is entered and an Issue comes in at 9am on Friday, the
associated Date/Time is automatically set to 11am on Friday. This
differs from the resolution time in that the Issue is supposed to be resolved
by the designated time with resolution time, but with response time, only
a response to the Issue needs to be sent within the designated period.
There are
two additional choices for calculating response time:
Real
Time (default)—Time is calculated on a 24-hour, 7-day week, 365-day
per year basis. So, if an Issue is received at 4pm on Friday, and the
response time is 2 hours, the due date will be set to 6pm on Friday.
Work
Schedule Time—Time is calculated using the Workspace Work Schedule.
For example,
if an Issue is received at 4pm on Friday (with a two-hour response time)
and the Workspace Work Schedule is defined as 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, the
due date is Monday at 10am.
Fulfillment Percentage Threshold——Enter the Fulfillment Percentage Threshold defined in the SLA.
Note
One day of work schedule time is equal to the number of workday
hours of work schedule time, not necessarily the next day that work is
scheduled.
Note
If you specify work
schedule time, but you haven't defined the Workspace Work Schedule, real-time
is used.
Resolution
Time—Enter
the amount of time allowed for Issue resolution for this service level.
Time can be specified in minutes, hours, days, and/or weeks. The
resolution time auto-populates the SLA Due Date field. If,
for example, 2
hours is entered and an Issue comes in at 9am on Friday, the due
date is automatically set to 11am on Friday. There
are two additional choices for calculating resolution time:
Real
Time (default)—Time
is calculated on a 24-hour, 7-day week, 365-day per year basis. So, if
an Issue is received at 4pm on Friday, and the resolution time is 2 hours,
the due date will be set to 6pm on Friday.
Work
Schedule Time—Time
is calculated using the Workspace Work Schedule. For
example, if an Issue is received at 4pm on Friday (with a two-hour resolution
time) and the Workspace Work Schedule is defined as 9am-5pm Monday-Friday,
the due date is Monday at 10am.
Fulfillment Percentage Threshold—Enter the Fulfillment Percentage Threshold defined in the SLA.
Escalations
Associated with SLA—If
this is a new service level, there are no associated escalation rules.
Escalation
rules can be defined in the next step.
SLA
Response Time—If you select Auto-populate based on the Submission Time + Response Time, the designated Response Time field is automatically set by the system when Issues are created based on the response time defined for this service level. For example, if the response time is one hour, and the Issue is received on Friday October 1 at 2pm, the response time field is automatically set to Friday October 1 at 3pm. This is done dynamically on the Create Issue page for Issues submitted by an Agent or by the system for Issues submitted by Customers via the web or email. If you do not want the system to auto-populate this field, select Do not auto-populate. You can also opt to leave the field empty.
SLA
Due Date—If you select Auto-populate
based on the Submission Time + Resolution Time, theDue
Date field is automatically set by the system when Issues are created
based on the resolution time defined for this service level. For
example, if the resolution time is two hours, and the Issue is received
on Friday October 1 at 2pm, the due date is automatically set to Friday
October 1 at 4pm. This is done dynamically on the Create
Issue page for Issues submitted by an Agent or by the system for Issues
submitted by Customers via the web or email. If
you do not want the system to auto-populate this field, select Do
not auto-populate. You
can also opt to leave the field empty.
When you are finished,
enter your password and click Save
SLA to create the service level. The page refreshes to the
Service Level Agreement Administration page.
To create additional service levels, click the Add New SLA button on the Service Level Agreement Administration page and
repeat the above process. An
unlimited number of service levels can be created. Each is listed as a
drop-down choice in the Service Level field.