Service level agreement (SLA)
A service level agreement (SLA) is an agreed set of measurable service targets, such as how fast a request must be acknowledged and resolved, between a provider and its client or between internal teams.
Also known as: service level agreement · service levels
A service level agreement (SLA) defines the level of service someone can expect, in terms that can be measured. In maintenance and hospitality operations, SLAs usually set two clocks for each category and priority: a response time (how fast someone acknowledges or attends) and a resolution time (how fast the issue is fixed or made safe).
Example
A facility management company’s contract for an office building might include a table like this:
| Priority | Example | Response | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency | Major water leak | 30 minutes | 4 hours |
| High | No cooling on a floor | 2 hours | 1 working day |
| Normal | Flickering light | 1 working day | 3 working days |
These targets are illustrative; every contract sets its own. Reports then show the share of jobs that met each target.
How it relates to neighbouring terms
- An SLA is a commitment between parties. An internal version between departments is sometimes called an operational level agreement (OLA).
- A KPI measures performance; SLA compliance is often one of the KPIs.
- First response time and resolution time are the metrics an SLA is written in. MTTR is an average, so it can look healthy while individual jobs breach their SLA.
- Escalation is what happens when a job is about to breach, or has breached, its target.
Where TaskLoop fits
In TaskLoop, every task can carry a priority and a deadline, overdue tasks escalate to supervisors, and reports show response and completion times. Response and resolution timers are configurable per category and priority. See escalations and SLAs.