How to Set SLA That Works? Text Customer Service Lead Answers!

Text's Customer Service Leader, Kacper Wiącek, on how outsourcing companies can create, manage, and communicate effective service level agreements that balance customer expectations with reliable, scalable service delivery.

• Name: Kacper Wiącek
• Role: Customer Service Leader at Text
• Experience: 7+ years of delivering exceptional customer service and creating an environment where not only agents can thrive and meet goals, but customers are happy to come back and scale their businesses.

Creating a service level agreement (SLA) isn’t difficult. Maintaining consistent service delivery across teams, tools, and customer demands is where the real challenge begins. In today’s technology industry, SLAs define how a service provider delivers value, protects customer satisfaction, and aligns support operations with measurable business objectives.

Instead of another generic guide on how to create an SLA, we turned the most common questions from sales and marketing teams, service leaders, and IT stakeholders into a real conversation.

Building a solid SLA foundation

Before defining targets, timelines, or escalation procedures, every service agreement needs a clear structure. Many companies struggle at this stage, unsure which key components actually belong in a strong SLA. A vague document might look flexible, but it often leads to missed deadlines, misaligned customer expectations, and confusion between the parties involved.

A well-defined service level SLA clarifies which specific services provided are included, what level of service availability is guaranteed, and how accountability works when problems occur, whether those problems involve service outages, network security breaches, or delays caused by multiple vendors.

What should partners include in a good SLA?

Kacper:
A strong SLA should clearly explain what the service provider agrees to deliver and under what conditions. At its core, a service level agreement (SLA) should answer five questions:

• What specific services are covered?
• What level of service availability is guaranteed?
• How quickly will the service provider respond?
• What is the expected resolution time?
• What happens if the agreed service level is not met?

These fundamentals help align expectations and ensure the service provided supports real business needs. SLAs work best when they’re practical and tied to how teams actually operate.

Once these questions are answered, the SLA should be structured in a way that’s easy to review and update:

• Scope: Clear definition of services rendered and exclusions
• Availability: Support hours, holidays, and coverage windows
• Response SLAs: Expectations by priority
• Resolution SLAs: Timelines by urgency
• Severity definitions: P1–P4 criteria
• Escalation procedures: Ownership and handoff rules
• Reporting cadence: How performance metrics are shared
• Breach handling: Including service credits when appropriate

It’s also critical to list exclusions such as third-party dependencies, client-side delays, or force majeure events. These protect both sides and prevent disputes later.

Setting SLA targets that actually work

One of the most difficult aspects of creating SLAs is balancing ambition with realism. Overly aggressive targets may look good during sales conversations, but they often undermine long-term service performance and team sustainability.

How should they decide on response times that are realistic?

Kacper:
Start with data, not assumptions. Review historical response and resolution times, peak workloads, and common failure points. These inputs should guide your SLA calculations, not best-case scenarios.

Here’s a reference framework many IT customers recognize across cloud services, web applications, and traditional technical support:

These targets help teams meet expectations in a timely manner while maintaining consistency. Clients value reliability more than occasional speed.

Offering the right SLA for the right client

Not all customers require the same coverage. A startup and an enterprise organization will have very different needs, budgets, and risk tolerance. That’s why SLAs should reflect different engagement models.

Should we offer different SLAs to different clients?

Kacper:
Yes. A customer SLA applies to one specific customer. A service based SLA applies to a single service across all customers. A multi level SLA combines both and works well for complex environments, especially in cloud computing.

A typical tiered structure looks like this:

• Essential: Email support, standard response times
• Pro: Priority channels, faster responses
• Premium: 24/7 support, named manager, enhanced service warranties

Tiered SLAs allow a company to scale support responsibly while still meeting contractual commitments.

Tracking what matters most

An SLA only delivers value if it can be measured, reviewed, and improved over time. While it’s tempting to track everything, effective service level agreements focus on a defined set of performance metrics that reflect real outcomes. The goal is not reporting for reporting’s sake, but understanding how the service provided impacts customers and the business.

Well-chosen metrics help teams validate service performance, align with business objectives, and continuously improve the customer experience. They also allow stakeholders to clearly verify service levels against what was agreed.

Which metrics are worth including in an SLA?

Kacper:
The most effective SLAs rely on metrics relevant to both operations and customer perception. I recommend focusing on:

• First response time: How quickly customers hear back
• Resolution time: How fast issues are fully resolved
• Service availability: Especially critical for cloud services and web applications
• SLA compliance rate: How often targets are met
• Customer satisfaction: A proxy for perceived quality

These should be supported by key performance indicators, business process metrics, and technical indicators such as defect rates or recurring coding defects. Together, they allow teams to measure performance in a balanced, actionable way.

Handling urgent issues with clarity

When critical issues arise, speed and clarity matter more than process complexity. SLAs should clearly define how urgent incidents are handled so teams can act decisively instead of debating priorities. This is especially important in environments that rely on cloud computing, where downtime can escalate quickly.

Clear severity definitions also protect customers during high-impact events such as service outages, network security breaches, or failed deployments.

What’s the best way to handle urgent or high-priority issues?

Kacper:
A tiered severity model keeps everyone aligned. Each level should reflect both technical impact and customer risk:

• P1 (critical): Full outages, data loss, payment failures
• P2 (high): Major functionality unavailable
• P3 (normal): Standard issues affecting limited users
• P4 (low): Minor issues or enhancement requests

Escalation rules should be automatic. If a P1 issue stalls, it must trigger predefined escalation procedures, often involving site reliability engineering or disaster recovery teams. This structure protects technical quality and minimizes confusion during high-pressure situations.

Preventing burnout while meeting SLAs

Strong SLAs are designed to be sustainable. If meeting targets consistently exhausts teams, the agreement itself is flawed. Long-term service delivery depends on systems that balance responsiveness with realistic workloads.

SLAs should account for human limits just as much as technical ones.

How can partners stick to SLAs without burning out their teams?

Kacper:
Start by designing SLAs around real capacity. Use automation to handle repetitive tasks, pause SLA timers when waiting on customer input, and avoid stacking back-to-back workloads. These adjustments ensure SLAs remain achievable without compromising well-being.

When teams aren’t constantly racing against the clock, they deliver better results, and customers feel that difference.

Keeping SLAs up to date

SLAs should evolve alongside products, customers, and operating environments. What worked six months ago may no longer reflect today’s scale, risk profile, or customer needs, especially as emerging technologies change how services are delivered.

Regular reviews ensure SLAs remain aligned with reality.

How often should SLAs be reviewed?

Kacper:
Quarterly reviews are a good baseline. During these check-ins, review missed targets, recurring issues, and changing expectations. Pay close attention to whether performance levels still match the current scope of services, particularly in fast-moving information technology environments.

SLAs that adapt over time build trust instead of friction.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Even well-designed service level agreements can fail if they’re misunderstood or poorly applied. Many issues don’t come from bad intent, but from gaps between what’s promised, what’s delivered, and how success is measured. These gaps can quietly undermine customer satisfaction and service performance over time.

What are the most common SLA mistakes companies make?

Kacper:
I see a few patterns repeat across companies, regardless of size or maturity. The first is overpromising. When sales team or marketing team commitments don’t reflect operational capacity, SLAs quickly become a source of tension instead of trust.

The second issue is vague definitions. If a service level isn’t clearly defined (what counts as a response, when a ticket is considered resolved, or which specific services provided are included), teams spend more time debating SLA breaches than solving customer problems.

Finally, many companies skip customer education. SLAs only work when both sides follow the process. If customers bypass the service desk, contact individuals directly, or escalate outside agreed-upon paths, it breaks the system. Clear communication and shared ownership are essential.

Using tools to stay on track

Managing SLAs manually becomes increasingly risky as teams scale. Without automation and visibility, it’s difficult to track deadlines, maintain consistency, or verify service levels, especially when supporting multiple customers or cloud services.

How can tools help teams meet SLA commitments?

Kacper:
Tools are critical for turning SLA commitments into repeatable processes. A good system helps teams monitor resolution time, track SLA metrics, and trigger escalation procedures before issues become breaches.

At Text, our tools support SLA delivery across the service desk. Automation handles prioritization, alerts surface at-risk tickets, and reporting ties performance metrics back to real outcomes. This reduces manual effort and helps teams stay focused on delivering quality service, not chasing clocks.

Talking about SLAs with clients

An SLA only creates confidence if clients understand it. Too often, SLAs are written in overly technical or legal language that obscures their real purpose. Clear communication turns a service agreement into a trust-building tool rather than a safety net.

How should SLAs be communicated to clients?

Kacper:
Keep the language simple and human. Explain SLAs as a description of how your team works, not as a list of penalties. Focus on outcomes, response expectations, and how issues are handled under the agreed-upon terms.

When clients understand what to expect, and what happens when something goes wrong, they’re far more likely to trust the service provider and remain confident during incidents.

Getting started with your SLA

Writing your first SLA can feel overwhelming, especially when balancing operational realities with customer expectations. The key is to start with a version your team can consistently deliver and refine it over time.

What’s the easiest way to create an SLA right now?

Kacper:
Start small and practical. Define your support hours, list the channels you support, and set clear response and resolution time targets. Add a simple escalation path and commit to regular reviews.

Even a basic SLA provides structure. From there, you can expand into customer-based SLA, internal SLA, or more detailed agreements as your company and customer base grow.

Conclusion

A strong service level agreement (SLA) isn’t about hitting arbitrary numbers. It’s about aligning people, processes, and technology around shared expectations. When designed realistically and reviewed regularly, SLAs improve customer satisfaction, protect teams, and support sustainable service delivery.

At Text, we help organizations turn SLAs into operational frameworks that scale across customers, services, and teams, without sacrificing quality or trust.

FAQs

What is a service level agreement (SLA) in outsourcing?

A service level agreement (SLA) is a formal service agreement that defines what services are provided, the expected service level, how performance is measured, and what happens if targets are missed. In outsourcing, SLAs protect both the customer and the service provider by setting clear, agreed upon terms for service delivery.

How do you set SLA targets that are realistic for outsourced services?

To set realistic SLA goals, start with historical performance data and team capacity. SLA targets should reflect what the service provider can deliver consistently, not best-case scenarios. Successful SLAs balance customer expectations with sustainable service performance.

What are the key components of a strong SLA?

The key components of an SLA include service scope, service availability, response and resolution time, escalation procedures, performance metrics, SLA breach handling, and reporting cadence. Together, these elements define how the service provider agrees to deliver specific services in a timely manner.

What’s the difference between an SLA and KPIs?

An SLA defines the agreed service level and expectations, while key performance indicators (KPIs) are the metrics used to measure performance against that agreement. KPIs support SLA metrics by showing whether service levels are being met.

What are common SLA metrics used by outsourcing companies?

Common SLA metrics include first response time, resolution time, service availability, deflection rates, customer satisfaction, and service performance trends. These metrics help outsourcing companies verify service levels and improve customer experience.

How should SLA breaches be handled in outsourcing agreements?

SLAs should clearly define what happens when service levels are missed. This often includes escalation procedures, service credits, and review meetings. Repeated SLA breaches may trigger contractual actions, depending on the agreed service level agreement SLA.

What is a multi-level SLA, and when should it be used?

A multilevel SLA combines customer level SLA and service based SLA structures. It’s commonly used when a company delivers multiple services to different clients or supports cloud services across multiple teams.

How do SLAs improve customer satisfaction in outsourcing?

SLAs improve customer satisfaction by setting clear expectations, ensuring predictable service delivery, and providing transparency around performance. When customers know how issues will be handled and resolved, trust in the service provider increases.

How often should SLAs be reviewed or updated?

SLAs should be reviewed at least quarterly or whenever business objectives, service scope, or technology change. Regular reviews help ensure the SLA reflects current service performance, emerging technologies, and evolving customer needs.

What are examples of SLA terms for IT support and BPO services?

Examples include defined support hours, guaranteed response and resolution times, service availability targets, escalation paths, and reporting requirements. For IT customers, SLAs may also cover disaster recovery, cloud computing uptime, and technical support response times.