Narrative 5: The essential role of SLAs
Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system - BTS Series
Narrative 5: The essential role of SLAs
Every organization that interacts with customers establishes a timeframe within which agents should respond to queries as part of a service level agreement (SLA). For instance, a team might set an SLA requiring that the first response to any customer ticket be sent within an hour of its inception.
Let's look at an example: You schedule a 10 AM medical appointment using the healthcare provider's app. As part of their service commitment, they guarantee—through an SLA—that all patients will be seen within 15 minutes of their scheduled time. When you arrive and check in, you can feel confident that you'll be called in to see the doctor shortly.
This level of timeliness is critical in healthcare, where delays can affect outcomes, patient satisfaction, and trust in the provider. The SLA ensures that the clinic is accountable for prompt service and provides a positive patient experience.
The same idea applies in any service industry: SLAs help maintain customer trust and satisfaction and keep operations running smoothly by setting specific standards. It is essential for businesses to carefully measure, document, and manage SLA metrics to ensure they consistently meet or exceed expectations for service quality.
What are service level agreements (SLAs)?
An SLA is a formal contract that sets the expected standards for quality, agent availability, and responsiveness between a customer and their service provider. It is essential to measure service delivery by establishing clear and achievable performance goals.
SLAs are key to improving customer service because they outline specific targets, such as response and resolution times, which help ensure consistent and effective service delivery. Modern customer service tools now include SLAs to track performance, ensure compliance, and help escalate issues when they reach certain limits. By utilising automation, teams can prioritise tasks more efficiently. This results in better service delivery and higher customer satisfaction.
Types of SLAs
Zoho Desk offers two types of SLAs:
Service Level Agreements define the level of service a customer can expect from your support team based on measurable performance targets—such as response and resolution times—for specific customer issues.
SLAs are customer-facing and are typically tied to factors such as ticket priority, customer tier, or support plan. Zoho Desk also allows you to configure SLAs based on business hours, time zones, and ticket severity to ensure compliance and timely follow-up.
Examples of SLAs:
- Responding to high-priority support tickets within 1 hour
- Resolving technical issues within 24 hours for standard support
- Providing onboarding or implementation support within a set timeframe
Operational-Level Agreements (OLAs) are internal policies that outline the actions various teams will take to meet the commitments outlined in SLAs. They are beneficial in larger organisations where teams rely on one another to deliver those services and meet agreed-upon performance levels.
Examples of OLAs:
- The IT infrastructure team must resolve backend server issues within 4 hours to support SLA uptime targets
- The compliance team must review and update data privacy settings within two business days
- The network team must report and resolve outages within an agreed window to avoid SLA breaches
What are escalations?
Escalations provide a backup system to prevent delays, which can still happen even with clear SLAs. SLA escalations are automated backup plans that activate when a deadline for a response or resolution is missed. To prevent the issue from being overlooked, these rules quickly reassign it to a higher authority or a peer. This approach enables businesses to maintain the necessary service standards, even in challenging circumstances.
Components of an SLA
Agreement overview: This section outlines the start and end dates of the SLA, identifies the parties involved, and summarizes the services covered.
Description of services: This section outlines all included services, response and resolution times, escalation processes, and maintenance schedules.
Communication protocols: This outlines the process for updating and communicating during the support process.
Penalties and remedies: This section outlines penalties, such as service credits or compensation, that may be applied if service standards aren’t met. It also explains how breaches are handled.
Exclusions: This describes events and conditions that void SLA obligations, such as force majeure or customer misconfiguration.
Termination and review: This outlines the processes for reviewing, updating, or terminating the agreement.
Why do businesses need SLAs?
- Enhanced alignment between service delivery and customer expectations
SLAs establish a mutual understanding between the service provider and the customer regarding the service to be delivered. They play a crucial role in achieving the right balance between the parameters of service delivery and support.
- Prioritization
SLAs specify which issues require immediate attention and prompt resolution.
- Standardized support delivery
By clearly outlining their approach to service delivery, businesses can ensure consistency throughout the organisation. This minimises the risk of errors and operational slip-ups.
- Better customer satisfaction
SLAs detail the expected response times for critical issues and the support processes for non-critical matters, ensuring prompt resolutions. Compliance with these established timelines leads to higher customer satisfaction levels.
- Continuous service improvement
Examining service performance data allows for the identification of areas for improvement, adjustments to the services outlined in the SLA, and updates to SLA targets to meet business demands and expectations better.
Final thoughts on SLAs
SLAs are essential for providing reliable, clear, and high-quality service through ticketing systems. They set appropriate expectations and provide a way to measure and improve support performance.
Please stay tuned for more Desk behind-the-scenes series.
Regards,
Kavya Rao
The Zoho Desk Team
Also, read:
Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system (BTS Series)
- Narrative 4: Exploring the support channels
- Narrative 3 - Comprehending user management
- Narrative 2 - Understanding organizational departments
- Narrative 1 - The significance of a business account
Further reading:
The Wheels of Ticketing Series
- Eighth Insight - Oversee module relationships with Lookups
- Seventh Insight - Organize your data using Modules
- Sixth Insight - The Hidden C in Data
- Fifth Insight - Maximize the role of Departments
- Fourth Insight - The power of Multi-Layouts
- Third Insight - The Importance of Data Segregation
- Second Insight - Let's talk Layouts
- First Insight - Find your Fields
Access your files securely from anywhere
Centralize Knowledge. Transform Learning.
All-in-one knowledge management and training platform for your employees and customers.
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Kavya Rao Addepalli
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Zoho CRM Plus Resources
Zoho Books Resources
Zoho Subscriptions Resources
Zoho Projects Resources
Zoho Sprints Resources
Qntrl Resources
Zoho Creator Resources
Zoho CRM Resources
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
Is this a SCAM email or is it really Zoho?
L.S. I received the following message. Is this from Zoho? I have had a Zoho One account for many years and my website has been online for years. If it is a scam, I think you should know about it.Is it possible to use HTML formatting in SMS messages sent from Zoho?
Hi everyone, I have a question regarding sending SMS from Zoho When we send emails from Zoho, we can include HTML code to format the message (like adding links, styling, etc.). Is it possible to do something similar when sending SMS messages through Zohoan issue in Zoho CRM where the workflow rule is not triggering
H I’m currently facing an issue in Zoho CRM where the workflow rule is not triggering when a new lead is created through a webform. I’ve double-checked the criteria and field updates, everything seems fine but it still doesn’t fire. Has anyone faced thisOption in pipeline deal to select which hotel or branch or store if client has more than one local store
Hi, I would like to know if there is an option in the deal pipeline to select which hotel, branch, or store a deal is related to—if the company has more than one location. For example, I have a client that owns several hotels under the same company, andEmail Insights included in Bigin emals are marked as SPAM everywhere
Today I noticed that email recipients who use Office 365 never receive emails sent from Bigin. Further examination showed that all Email Insights links in email headers are marked as spam/phishing by Office 365. Example screen included. The problem isEmail Parser Not Extracting Fields Correctly with Certain Label Formats
I’ve been testing the Email Parser functionality in Zoho CRM to automatically extract data from incoming emails and map it to CRM fields. During testing, I noticed that parsing sometimes fails when the email contains field labels formatted like this:How do I import Connected Records for a Deal?
Can you point me to an example of the CSV file that would add related records to an existing CRM Deal? I imported a Deal, then tried importing a connected record using a unique ID that references the Deal ID, but it doesn't attach it to the Deal recFile Upload Field in Zoho Forms Not Updating Existing File in Zoho CRM
Hi everyone, I’m trying to understand the behavior of a file upload field mapped from Zoho Forms to Zoho CRM. Scenario There is a File Upload field in a Zoho CRM module. A Zoho Form also has a File Upload field, which is mapped to that CRM field. WhenZoho Training
Greetings! I am trainer. My focus area is Project Management and MS Project. I have used Zoho CRM to a good extent. Though, I was interested in using ZOHO projects, as there were no live projects, I could not take it up for studies. Recently a clientDetailed list of scoring rules in Zoho CRM
Good morning Zoho community, warm greetings The reason for my message today is that I have a problem with my CRM, which I will explain below: Our organization has scoring rules designed to rate our potential customers or leads in the application basedHow to create a summary document from Projects details
Hi, Our team is creating many projects inside Zoho Project. When closing a project, they write a summary document containing data from the projects it-self (understand project budget, customers, etc...), and editable (ie the document is either a WriterRequest to Recover Deleted Task List – Project ID: RIV-MOD-10722
Hi Zoho Team, I hope this message finds you well. My Zoho task list associated with Project ID: RIV-MOD-10722 appears to have been deleted. When I clicked on the task link from the email notification, I received the following message: "Task has been deletedHost in US Data Centre
I humble apply to be registered on US Data centreconvert the project to templet
i have some deployment ME product for different customer , i need to create a fixed template for use it rather then keeping creating this template every timeBest practices for managing Project Charters, Business Case and RAID logs within Zoho?
Hello everyone, I’m currently refining our PMO setup within Zoho Projects and I’m curious how others are handling high-level governance documentation. We’ve been using the standardized Project Charter, Business Case and RAID frameworks from projectmanagertemplate.comResource Management System built using Zoho CRM, Creator, Projects, and People:
In a Resource Management System built using Zoho CRM, Creator, Projects, and People: CRM Deal Closed → Creator Allocation Engine → Zoho Projects Task Assignment What is the recommended architecture to handle dynamic reassignment when: an employee goesDynamic Remaining Quantity in Lookup During Allocation
Hi everyone, From what I understand in Zoho Creator, lookup fields only display the stored value from the source record and do not dynamically update while a form is being filled. Because of this, showing a real-time updated remaining quantity insideconnect zoho creator with google drive
Hello everyone, I need to connect to a folder drive. The idea, is that google drive loads a text document with some data, I must read that text document to be able to autofill a form that I have in zoho creator with that data. I also attach PDFs and placeAbility to Attach Record-Specific Files Automatically in Workflow Email Templates
Currently in Zoho CRM, email templates allow attachments to be added, but these attachments are static and remain the same for every recipient. There is no straightforward option to automatically attach a file that is stored within the specific CRM recordUploaded files are not included when using "Include user submitted data" in Email Notification
In Send Email notification workflow in Zoho Creator, there is an option called "Include user submitted data" which allows the email to contain all the form submission details. However, when this option is enabled, files or images uploaded through Filekanban view for client portal
Are kanban views an option for client portals? Access to Kanban views in the client portals would solve some mobile-compliant issues I have with the UI. Kanban functions very nicely on mobile and would be a super asset for my clients and vendors as theyCredit Card Pre-Authorization with later Capture/Settlement
We really enjoy the convenience of being able to pay off a customer's invoice using our Auth.Net integration with Zoho Books. Unfortunately, we can only take advantage of this feature with a small percentage of our customers as it leaves a gaping holeZoho Cliq not working on airplanes
Hi, My team and I have been having this constant issue of cliq not working when connected to an airplane's wifi. Is there a reason for this? We have tried on different Airlines and it doesn't work on any of them. We need assistance here since we are constantlyZoho Sign 2025–2026: What's new and what's next
Hello! Every year at Zoho Sign, we work hard to make document signing and agreement execution easy for all users. This year we sat down with our head of product, Mr. Subramanian Thayumanasamy, to discuss what we delivered in 2025 and our goals for 2026.Work Orders / Bundle Requests
Zoho Inventory needs a work order / bundle request system. This record would be analogous to a purchase order in the purchasing workflow or a sales order in the sales cycle. It would be non-journaling, but it would reserve the appropriate inventory ofIzettle or Sumup Integration for Zoho Books.
The Stripe & Square clearing works great in Zoho Books. Any further integrations planned in the future for Izettle or Sumup? These card processors are very common for taking payments with a card reader.Train Zoho Answer Bot Based on Customer
Hi all, Is it currently possible to mark Help Centre articles to a specific customer, and restrict the answer bot to only use relevant information if it is either marked as "General", or tagged for the specific customer in question? We currently haveTrying to access records in a custom module in Zoho Desk and not having luck
I've built a custom module in Zoho Desk and am using a custom function to query the records in the module and I'm not having any luck. The only way I have found to retreive a record is by getting it by its recordID (the long zoho assigned one). The functionComposite items inside of composite items; bill of materials needed
Hi Zoho and Everyone, I am evaluating whether Zoho Inventory will work for my small business. I grow and harvest herbs and spices but also get from wholesalers. I use all these items to make herbal teas, but also sell them as individual items on my Shopify store and Etsy. I discovered the composite item bundling and am wondering if I could get some assistance since there is no bill of materials: Our herbal company's best selling tea is a sleepytime tea. Sleepytime Tea can be purchased in three weightsZOHO Books Smart Accounting Software for Travel Agency
Dear Travel partner, Contact for Travel Agency Accounting Setup & Training Vansh Travel (ZOHO Books Authorised partner) Email: info@vanshtravel.com Mo: +91 98984 95155 Please find PDF452 Mailbox delivery restricted by policy error
We have been testing Zoho desk for about a week now and have been forwarding emails in via an Exchange Online Mail flow rule without issue until yesterday. Suddenly yesterday morning we started getting the vast majority of the emails stuck in PendingSend Email reply on behalf of Agent
Hi, When using the send email reply via the API I can set the reply on behalf of the customer by using impersonatedUserId in the header of the API call. Is there a way to do this for Agents too? I need to be able to send an email reply on behalf of anSharing Tickets to a team within a department
Hi there, We have a need for one department to be able to share tickets to a specific team within a department, I'm wondering if this is possible? All the shared tickets are going into the 'Shared Tickets' view for the whole department but is there aRemoving To or CC Addresses from Desk Ticket
I was hoping i could find a way to remove unnecessary email addresses from tickets submitted via email. For example, a customer may email the support address AND others who are in the helpdesk notification group, in either the TO or CC address. This resultsDo not use isnull()
Does not always return booleans. Can also return null. Never use this function. Just use var==null instead.Organization wide Account and Contacts Visibility/Sharing Capabilities?
Has anyone figured out a way to make visibility or sharing of Accounts and Contacts to be available across the entire organization without having to have every individual user edit their Sharing permissions? For our sales folks they need to be able toIs there a way to configure dark mode for Campaigns emails that go out to customers?
I've found a lot of information on how to configure dark mode for my (The user) personal Zoho workspace and email, but is there any way to edit dark mode settings on emails that we send out to customers via campaigns? We sent out a test email the otherWhen Does WorkDrive integrate with Books?
When Does WorkDrive integrate with Books?FSM integration with Books
Hi, I have spent a few months working with FSM and have come across a critical gap in the functionality, which I find almost shocking....either that, or I am an idiot. The lack of bi-directional sync between Books and FSM on Sales Orders/ Work OrdersHow to close an estimate ?
Hello, I have created estimates, and converted them to invoices to get 50% payment. Now I have 2 cases where the estimate stills shows status partially invoiced, however: 1. for one of them, project stopped half way, so the remaining part will never beNext Page