A service-level arrangement (SLA), an important part in business consulting, is often used as a link between a company’s operations and customers. It defines what each party needs to reach its goals and provides a mechanism for reporting on those goals and any issues that arise.
SLAs are designed to protect both the service provider and the end user by establishing expectations, standards and consequences for either meeting or not exceeding them. They also allow for key performance indicators to be created that can help an organization identify areas where it is not on track with its http://royston-consulting.com/generated-post-3 strategic objectives.
The SLA should include all services included in the contract, including details on turnaround time and any exclusions. The contract must also specify the metrics that will measure the performance of the service provider.
Metrics must be easy to collect and reflect only those factors that the service provider can reasonably control. They should also have a reasonable starting point so that they may be refined over the course of time.
KPIs are metrics that measure how well an organization is performing with respect to its primary goals. It can help determine whether the business is veering away from its course, a common problem with small businesses.