ICS: Management Support Tools
How to write a Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Craig Brown
What is an SLA?
A service level agreement defines the provision of a service between
provider(s) and purchaser/recipient. They can provide a useful and valuable
framework for services that have co-dependencies interacting on a regular
basis where the historical relationship has often been a “gentleman’s
agreement” with no clear lines of accountability, especially when services
change.
A service level agreement can be either external or internal, depending if
you are purchasing services outside of your organisation. Examples of
“external” SLA’s would be cleaning contracts or the purchasing of out of
hours laboratory medicine services from another Trust, whereas “internal”
SLA’s may represent service descriptions between Critical Care and
Therapies or Radiology within the same organisation.
Clearly the limitation of internal SLA’s is that unless there is a true
purchaser and provider relationship in terms of financial flows then these
can be harder to sustain. However some organisations are creating internal
mechanisms for cross charging of activity, and having the boundaries and
expectations of services defined can be very powerful.
It is important the purchaser/receiver of the service is the main author of
the SLA, as they set the service boundaries they require. It is their interest
to monitor and maintain the SLA as they are on the receiving end of the
provider’s service.
Each SLA by its nature is different as it describes different services,
however there are some common aspects that will help in their
construction.
Parties
There should always be a description of the parties involved, described in
terms of who is providing and who is purchasing/receiving the service. It is
imperative that this is clarified down to named individuals on both sides of
the SLA, so that should disputes occur it is clear who is responsible to
resolve the dispute.
Description of the service
1
ICS: Management Support Tools
Service Level Agreement
This should be where the purchaser/receiver describes clearly what they
would like the provider to supply as well as your responsibilities to them. If
there are service specifications then these can inform the process, however
there may be local nuances and specific idiosyncrasies that you may wish to
add.
It is important to remember to define the service provision when there may
be periods of absence, for example maternity leave, prolonged sickness,
vacancies and explore how the provider will cover those aspects of service
delivery.
Be as specific in the description of the service as you need to be, this
section is where you and your provider will discuss the feasibility of what
can be provided within their resource, so remember to be realistic. You will
also have responsibilities to the provider, such as ensuring they are working
in a safe environment, or that you will supply suitable service descriptions.
Duration
You will need to specify how long the SLA will be in place and how often it
will be reviewed by both parties. It is better to aim for an annual review
rather than attempting to put something in place for longer, as situations
change for both providers and purchasers.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
This is how you will measure the effectiveness of the service provision, you
need to write into the SLA how you will track the effectiveness of the
provider, for example it could be, “weekly attendance at an MDT”, or
“urgent lab results processed within 1 hour”. Be aware that as the
purchaser/receiver the onus will be on you to monitor and track the KPI’s,
so the more you set, the more you will need to measure.
Intellectual Property, liability and dispute resolution
You will need to clarify who owns the SLA in terms of intellectual property
and liability. It should be the purchaser/receiver, therefore if the provider
fails to provide the services required you have to identify the next steps to
take. Usually this would be giving the provider notice that the service was
failing with the specific KPI, and enough time to resolve the situation or
supply a suitable contingency plan. This is where the named individuals on
the SLA would be contacted to commence that dialogue. If the dispute
could not be resolved locally then an escalation plan is required to seek
more senior input into the situation. All of this needs to be written into the
SLA at source, who the initial responders are, and who to escalate the
situation to if required.
Change control
2
ICS: Management Support Tools
Service Level Agreement
Once the SLA has been agreed there needs to be a timeframe identified for
both parties as to how soon changes can be made after the initial
agreement. For example you do not wish to be re-writing an SLA a week
after agreeing it, there should be a period of stability on both sides as
negotiated locally. Change requests should be made in writing between the
parties with a response time identified in the SLA to either accept the
change or request further clarity/amendments. The request should come
through to the named individual on the SLA, who may wish to discuss it
further and understand the implications before responding.
Termination
Should one or either party wish to terminate the SLA there needs to be a
notice period identified for both parties to find alternate arrangements. The
termination would be presented in writing with a suitable response time
identified to acknowledge the request and to explore suitable alternatives.
The named individuals on the SLA would be the first responders to this
situation.
Charges and payment
Where there will be financial flows, either through internal cross charging or
external payment, it needs to be made clear how and when these payments
will be made. The terms and pricing structure agreed prior to the SLA being
signed off and you may require your finance department to become involved
in order to ensure that targets set for invoices are realistic.
In conclusion, a service level agreement is a powerful tool to help define
the service provision and expectations of two or more parties involved in
delivering services to patients. It does require focus to construct and often
involves negotiation and compromise, however through the act of
construction it can encourage a better understanding of the pressures and
challenges for all parties.
For further examples please go to:
http://www.england.nhs.uk/2012/11/05/temp-sla/
3