Every company takes a different approach to Service Level Management differently. There are some standard best practices to follow as a guide. These include: describing the services provided (including what’s excluded, so there’s no room for mistakes or assumptions made by either party); identifying performance metrics; including a definition of measurements and measurement methods and the expected turnaround time and establishing accountability, escalation protocols and tradeoffs between costs and services; and agreeing to dispute resolution procedures and indemnification clauses in the event that conflicts arise.
SLM ensures that everyone is on the same page so departments don’t argue over who is responsible for what. This is especially important when you work with external vendors. Making sure you document SLAs clearly can prevent confusion that could lead to delays in delivery, poor performance metrics, and unhappy customers.
In addition, SLM can help you keep agile by continually reviewing and monitoring your services and service levels. You can then make rapid changes informative post as needed.
You can also improve the quality of your service to meet or exceed your goals. For instance, you might would like to improve the speed of your website. However, past an amount of time, users won’t notice any change therefore, you won’t benefit from the effort.
SLAs can be a great method to draw in potential customers since they provide them with an understanding of what their investment will look like. A dedicated team for SLM is a good idea, since it will ensure that their efforts will not be ignored or forgotten after the contract is signed.