A service-level contract (SLA) can be an important part of consulting for businesses. It is often used to establish a relationship between the internal operations of a company and its clients. It outlines how each party can achieve its goals. It also provides a reporting mechanism to track progress and resolve any issues.

SLAs protect end users and service providers by establishing targets, standards and consequences if they are not met. SLAs also allow businesses to create key performance metrics that can be used to identify areas that do not http://royston-consulting.com meet their strategic goals.

The SLA should define all the services that are included in a contract, with details on turnaround times and any exclusions. The contract should include a list that specifies the metrics used to measure service provider performance.

Metrics that are easy to collect should be chosen to reflect factors that are under the reasonable control of the service provider. They should be set at a reasonable baseline so that they can be improved over time.

A key performance indicator, or KPI, is a metric that measures how well a business is performing in terms of its primary goals. It can help a business determine if they are veering from their course, which is an issue that is common for small businesses.