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What an outsourcing SLA should include

A service level agreement turns "good service" into numbers both sides can measure. The best SLAs are short, measured from your own systems, and tied to what customers actually feel. This guide covers what to include and how to write each part.

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What should an outsourcing SLA include?

An outsourcing SLA should define the scope and hours covered, responsiveness targets per channel, quality targets on a shared scorecard, the rules and system used to measure each target, a reporting and review rhythm, and remedies for missed targets. Three to five well-measured targets work better than a long list nobody reviews.

Core targets
Responsiveness, quality, customer satisfaction
Source of truth
Your own helpdesk or telephony data
Review rhythm
Weekly operations, monthly or quarterly SLA
Remedies
Improvement plans first, service credits once stable

The parts of a good SLA

Each part answers one question: what is promised, how it is measured, how it is reported and what happens if it is missed.

  • Scope and hours

    Which channels, languages, queues and hours the agreement covers, including public holidays and peak periods.

    What is covered

  • Responsiveness targets

    Service level for calls and chat, first response time for email and tickets, with the measurement window for each.

    How fast

  • Quality targets

    Quality-assurance score on a shared scorecard, plus customer satisfaction where you survey customers.

    How well

  • Measurement rules

    Which system is the source of truth, how abandoned or out-of-hours contacts count, and over which period targets apply.

    How it is counted

  • Reporting and reviews

    Which reports arrive when, who attends weekly and monthly reviews, and how corrective actions are tracked.

    How you will know

  • Remedies and exit

    What happens after missed targets, from improvement plans to service credits, plus notice periods and knowledge transfer on exit.

    What if it fails

Common SLA metrics and how to write them

The example targets are illustrations of format, not recommendations. Set yours from your own baseline and customer expectations.

  • Service level

    What it measures
    Share of calls or chats answered within a target time
    Example wording
    80% of chats answered within 60 seconds, measured daily in opening hours

  • First response time

    What it measures
    Time to the first human reply on email or tickets
    Example wording
    90% of tickets receive a first reply within 4 business hours, measured weekly

  • Resolution time

    What it measures
    Time from opening to solving a ticket
    Example wording
    Median resolution under 24 hours for priority-2 tickets, measured monthly

  • Quality score

    What it measures
    Share of points met on a shared QA scorecard
    Example wording
    Average QA score of at least 90%, from a minimum weekly sample per agent

  • Customer satisfaction (CSAT)

    What it measures
    Share of surveyed customers who are satisfied
    Example wording
    CSAT reported monthly; target set after a three-month baseline

  • Abandonment rate

    What it measures
    Share of callers or chatters who leave before an answer
    Example wording
    Under 5% abandoned after the first 10 seconds, measured daily

Keep the list short. Three to five measured targets with clear rules work better than fifteen that nobody reviews.

Writing an SLA that works in practice

Most SLA disputes come from unclear measurement, not poor service. These points prevent the usual arguments.

How do you set targets you can actually meet?

Start from a baseline: run the service for six to twelve weeks, measure everything, then set targets. Targets set before go-live are guesses, and a missed guess damages trust on both sides.

Remember that faster answers need more staff. A tighter service level is a cost decision as much as a quality decision, so agree targets and staffing together.

Which measurement rules should be written down?

  • Which system's data counts if numbers disagree
  • Whether contacts abandoned within the first few seconds are excluded
  • Whether response targets run in calendar time or business hours
  • The period each target is measured over: interval, day, week or month
  • How outages of your own systems are treated

How should quality be measured?

Use a shared quality scorecard with a small number of weighted criteria, such as accuracy, resolution, tone and process compliance. Agree the sample size per agent and week, and run calibration sessions where both teams score the same conversations until scores match.

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What should reporting look like?

  • Daily: volumes, service level and backlog for the operations leads
  • Weekly: KPIs against target, QA findings, top contact reasons, actions
  • Monthly: trends, SLA performance, staffing and improvement plan
  • Quarterly: business review of targets, scope and roadmap

What belongs in the exit terms?

Agree the notice period, a knowledge-transfer plan, return or deletion of your data, and ownership of procedures, macros and knowledge-base articles the team created. Clear exit terms make it easier to commit, because leaving is never a trap.

Last reviewed: . Written and reviewed by the OLYMP BPO team in Prishtina, Kosovo. About the company

Outsourcing SLAs: common questions

What is an SLA in outsourcing?

A service level agreement is the part of an outsourcing contract that defines the service levels the provider commits to, such as response times and quality scores, how they are measured, how they are reported and what happens if they are missed. It turns expectations into numbers both sides can check.

What should a customer support SLA include?

It should include the scope and hours covered, responsiveness targets per channel, quality targets on a shared scorecard, clear measurement rules and the system used as the source of truth, a reporting and review rhythm, and remedies for missed targets, from improvement plans to service credits.

What is a good service level for customer support?

There is no single right number. Set targets from your own baseline, customer expectations and budget, since faster answers need more staff. Many contact centres express voice targets in an "80% within 20 seconds" format, but chat, email and social channels need their own targets.

Should an SLA include service credits?

Service credits, a price reduction when targets are missed, can be useful for mature services with a stable baseline. During the first months, a joint improvement plan usually works better, because targets are still being calibrated and credits can push both sides into arguing about measurement rather than fixing the service.

How often should SLA performance be reviewed?

Review operational numbers weekly and the SLA as a whole monthly or quarterly. Weekly reviews catch problems while they are small; monthly or quarterly reviews adjust targets as volumes, products and customer expectations change.

Want to see a sample SLA?

Tell us your channels and hours. We will propose service levels and measurement rules you can check against your own data.

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