There are differing views on what levels of service are acceptable in a service level agreement between a vendor and a customer and a lack of this can lead to disappointment, frustration and conflict between the two parties.
Drawing up or having a service level agreement makes the process much smoother and less hostile by defining both the customer's expectations and the vendor's ability to meet those expectations. Below are some of the takeaways from our recent webinar on service levels agreements:
What is a service level agreement?
- An agreement between a service provider or vendor and the user quantifying the minimum acceptable standards to the user.
- It is NOT a general contract, although they have similar components
Some key components of a service level agreement include:
- Services descriptions
- Payment clauses
- Measurement periods
- Reporting obligations
The limitations of a service level agreement is that it cannot compensate for poor vendor selection, measure the value of a service or price efficiency, or address lack of or no governance.
Some questionable service level agreement practices to be weary of include:
- Too many exclusions or instances of excused performance
- No reporting obligations
- When the customer is responsible for monitoring service levels
We will be uploading the recording to our YouTube channel, stay tuned.
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