Mastering Service Level Agreements: Principles and Practices
Introduction
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are critical in ensuring that companies achieve their strategic goals when working in long-term partnership arrangements with external service providers or internal departments.
An SLA establishes the **measurement methodology** that drives the quality of service performance—whether as a binding contract between a supplier and a customer or as a formal agreement between internal service departments. Professionals involved in service provision must fully understand the issues, processes, and risks that arise in SLA management to ensure effective performance, compliance, and partnership success.
This Course Will Feature
* The benefits of using service level agreements
* How the different levels of SLAs operate
* Planning, drafting, and managing effective SLAs
* SLA contracting structures and their applications
* SLA strengths and weaknesses for both internal and external contractors
Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
* Plan and draft a range of service level agreements
* Construct and control SLA negotiations and disputes
* Integrate SLAs into the procurement process
* Negotiate effectively with internal and external service providers
* Document and evaluate quality outcomes from service contracts
* Assess results using performance frameworks and scorecards
Course Content
**Day One – Principles and Functions of Service Level Agreements**
* The need to measure quality of performance
* Why, when, and how SLAs help achieve service quality
* Key objectives of SLAs
* SLAs: Contracts or contract substitutes?
* Introducing SLAs for external services
* Corporate SLAs between in-house departments
**Day Two – Key Elements of a Service Level Agreement**
* Defining the services being measured
* Typical quality measures in SLAs
* SLA governance frameworks: Managing, measuring, and reporting
* Duties of the customer in SLA performance
* Risk-sharing mechanisms and problem management
* Termination of SLAs
**Day Three – Drafting Your Service Level Agreement**
* Drafting principles for clarity and effectiveness
* A model structure for SLAs
* Essential elements of a quality SLA
* Using appropriate measurement language
* Incentives and penalties for performance
* SLA drafting checklists
**Day Four – Managing the In-Life SLA**
* Review processes and monitoring mechanisms
* Using escalation to manage quality issues
* Keeping the SLA relevant: Managing change
* Negotiation techniques for SLA variations
* Customer intervention with underperforming suppliers
* Capturing lessons learned for future SLAs
**Day Five – Using a Scorecard Approach to SLA Management**
* Origins and principles of the scorecard approach
* Aligning SLAs with corporate strategy
* Balancing the needs of stakeholders
* Planning and constructing an SLA scorecard
* Key performance indicators for SLA monitoring
* Business process quality improvement
Who Should Attend?
This programme is designed for:
* Procurement and Supply Chain Professionals
* Contract Managers and Service Managers
* Project Managers and Team Leaders
* Vendor Relationship Managers
* Operations and Performance Managers
* Any professional involved in drafting, managing, or monitoring service agreements
Enquiries and Registration
Enquiry at : admin@keleaders.com
Whatsapp: 0044 790 125 9494
For more details visit our website : www.keleaders.com
