Service Level Agreement: Cleaning Consistency
Are you a business owner or a facility manager looking to hire a professional cleaning company? Do you know what a Service Level Agreement (SLA) is and what to expect when getting into a business relationship with a vendor?
What is an SLA?
A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a commitment between the client (you) and the service provider who will be coming to clean the facility or office. A well-defined SLA outlines and includes many important service components that are integral to optimum results and targeted goals. The most common component of an SLA is that the service should be provided as outlined in the and agreed upon in the contract. Cleaning companies define quality control systems that are used to determine service and quality levels. It helps them achieve their goals and measure success.
Here are different levels of a service level agreement:
Customer-based SLA
A customer service SLA defines, clarifies and states how your customer will get support from you. It also outlines the level of support and what to expect from the team. The most advantageous and valuable you can do as a business owner or facility manager is to create a strong customer-based SLA. It helps set clear expectations for the cleaning company so they can deliver optimum results. Satisfaction metrics are a huge help to see if the SLA is meeting all requirements and achieving all deliverables.
Service-based SLA
In a service-based SLA, the focus is on level of service that the customer expects from the vendor supplying the service, in this case, the professional cleaning company. The SLA also describes any penalty or correction that will take place if the goal is not achieved. With the level of service, guaranteed time and speed is also discussed. It is important to include service-based details in an SLA, including key metrics and responsibilities for transparency and accountability.
Multi-level SLA
A multi-level SLA is usually split into different levels. Each level addresses different set of customers for the same service that is going to be provided. A cleaning company can benefit from corporate-level SLA by including issues appropriate to every customer throughout the organization. Multi-level SLA also includes customer service and service-level details such as:
- Monitoring the process and service level reporting
- Steps for reporting issues with service
- Response and issue resolution
- Desired performance levels
As a general rule, most service providers have standard SLA’s. Some may even have more than one with various levels of services at different prices. Do you need more information about how we create our SLA agreement at the Carter Benette Group? Visit our website or call us at 1 (888) 588-2188.
