What’s a Normal IT Response Time?

What’s a Normal IT Response Time? SLAs Explained

Understanding SLAs lays the framework for an effective provider-recipient relationship.

Service level agreements (or SLAs) are critical to understand if you’re thinking about outsourcing any IT services. They ensure that recipients get adequate support from the service provider, outlining average response times and offering critical insight about the depth and level of service you can expect for your investment.

Below, we’re covering everything you need to know about service level agreements, as well as metrics and values you should check for as you read through your IT service provider contract.

What is an IT Service Level Agreement (SLA)?

A service level agreement is an outlined agreement that summarizes key points of the provider-recipient relationship. Customers can turn to the SLA as their business grows to ensure that they are getting the level of support anticipated during service delivery times.

More specifically, your SLA outlines when and how support will be provided, allowing a higher level of transparency around the customer support experience. Having this information up-front allows for a more effective and impactful client experience, laying the groundwork needed for immediate trust and support.

What is a Normal SLA Response Time?

Any well-written customer-based SLA will lay out the amount of time it should take to address any client-side IT issues in an attempt to accurately set customer expectations.

The average time it takes to address a tech concern varies based on several different factors, including:

The complexity of the issue
Available team resources
Internal urgency
Exterior urgency (from the client)

Often, the average IT team will reply to your request within 24 hours or less. If they are inundated or if they require additional explanation, it can take up to 48 hours. However, you will typically receive an acknowledgment and further explanation for the delay anticipated for this buffer time, if one exists.

As you review an SLA, it’s important to note the difference between a response to the request and the completion of the needed work. A response may be an acknowledgement of the request and include further details on expected work timeline, but it may not represent the time within which a customer can expect to receive service. See below for the difference between response and resolution times.

What is a Normal SLA Resolution Time?

Despite what many may believe, resolution time is different from response time.

Response time defines the time that it takes the provider to address a reported issue with a client, acknowledging their concerns and outlining any information or actions that can be immediately provided. SLA resolution time, in contrast, is the amount of time that it takes to fully resolve an issue.

Resolution time averages, like response time averages, vary based on the same factors listed above. Urgency and complexity are often the deciding factors in the average SLA resolution time, as managers and experts will need to prioritize requests based on these factors.

Experts estimate that the average resolution time for a low-priority request could be anywhere between 24-48 hours. Higher priority requests could be resolved in a matter of hours, depending on qualifying factors, client needs, and contract stipulations.

Here’s What an IT SLA Should Include

Perfecting your SLA is one of the most powerful preventative measures to ensure service call success, enhancing the customer experience and lowering the chances that your business incurs any kind of penalties or consequences — such as a bad review or a negative customer experience.

Below, our technical support experts have elements that IT services should consider including in their service-based SLA documents. These suggestions also serve as a guidepost to guide consumers as they go through the decision-making process.

Response Time

This element is one of the key performance indicators that both clients and internal managers will prioritize. As such, best practices dictate that your listed response time should be as short as is logistically possible. This often means a response occurs within a matter of hours or within one business day.

To avoid confusion or frustration, our experts recommend that vendors consider building in a buffer that accounts for team changes, busier seasons or other occurrences that could affect the accuracy or fulfillment of your customer SLA.

If you’re a client considering signing an SLA, it’s a good idea to confirm what protocol will be if any of your customer needs are deemed urgent, and what can be mutually agreed upon as “urgent” — ensuring that you have a plan in place that’s transparent and agreed upon by all stakeholders.

Resolution Time

Several authoritative sources have noted that lower-priority requests can take up to two business days to resolve. This berth leaves room for adequate research, as well as for flexibility in case any other critical matters surface that would need to take priority.

Of course, certain support requests need as urgent a response as possible, like a downed website or inaccessible database that powers internal and external tools.

Support Hours

Beyond support response and resolution times, there are a few other areas that an SLA should cover — for example, your business hours.

Most companies keep this part fairly general, listing out any deviations in hours or closures over the weekend. However, getting as specific as possible in this section is a way to set the expectations of both your account-specific support team members and your clientele.

Other hours-related inclusions attempt to proactively answer client questions. Examples of these include:

24/7 availability — Is your firm 24/7? Is it not? Are there extra charges after hours? Clearly outlining availability protocols at the outset of the relationship can help both the client and IT provider avoid dissatisfaction later.
“Off” hours — What about holidays and weekends? IT is an around-the-clock asset, with many businesses open on holidays and weekends (not to mention the ever-present importance of websites). Support during these “off” hours may come at an extra cost.

Services Provided

Defining the scope of services provided will clearly establish the expected level of delivery a client can expect from a vendor. If, for whatever reason, the solutions outlined in the scope of work don’t meet the anticipated needs of the client business, you may be able to revise the agreement later. However, finding out an issue is not covered or comes with a response or resolution time unsuitable for your needs can be an especially bitter discovery to make during an emergency. For this reason, reviewing emergency protocols should be a topic for thorough review as you establish an SLA.

Management Strategies & Processes

Ideally, an SLA will feature stipulations surrounding any reporting to be provided from the service provider to the client. It may also list out any rules or preferences regarding dispute resolution (such as mandatory arbitration) or any other key processes that the service offers by the client.

Is Your IT Service Provider Not Hitting the Mark on Response Times?

Things break. Whether you’re dealing with connectivity issues or a recurring software bug, you can enjoy the peace of mind that you’re in good hands with Techmate. Our experts support national and international companies in resolving these issues quickly, using our proven methods and processes to get you the rapid response time you deserve. For more information and to get started today, book a call with one of our service specialists. It’s our pleasure to support you.

Frequently Asked Questions About SLAs

Can You Negotiate an SLA?

SLAs, like any other form of a contract or agreement, can be negotiated in order to serve both the vendor and the client in equitable ways. It’s best to be as objective as possible in the negotiation process, coming to the table prepared with an outline of your needs, preferences and expectations. Your vendor can then collaborate with you to determine what is relevant and attainable based on your budget or any other project-specific extenuating factors.

Who Provides an SLA?

Technically speaking, anyone can provide an SLA. An SLA is simply an agreement between a provider and clientele that details the nature of the working relationship, as well as the scope of work and any other important clauses.

However, it’s typical that the service provider offers the first iteration of the SLA, leaving it open for the client to review and suggest changes for (if applicable). After the client signs, the service provider will countersign; and work can commence.

What Kind Of Metrics Should Be Monitored?

The answer to this question is entirely subjective based on the needs of a business. However, there are several key areas of consideration to focus on when it comes to metric monitoring for your SLA, including a service provider’s response time, availability and the overall level of customer satisfaction.

If you’re not sure where to start, we recommend reaching out to the potential solution provider to define what success looks like, and what you need to monitor along the day-to-day,to justify and quantify your tech support agreement.

What Should I Consider Before Signing an SLA?

As with any other form of a contract or agreement, it’s always best to read your SLA through multiple times before you sign. This ensures that no area of the SLA is missed. While each SLA may vary with its inclusions, typical areas of consideration for an SLA include: