Service Level Management (SLM), is a process that ensures services (and, therefore, service levels), are defined, negotiated and delivered.
It allows IT resources be planned accurately. This reduces costs and creates a consistent customer experience. Regular reporting as well KPIs enable quick response to any irregularities.
SLM is fundamentally based on service level agreements, metrics and the setting of customer expectations. These can include everything from the time it takes to answer a ticket to the resolution of an issue.
The development of training materials, and their implementation is also essential to a strong SLM. This includes identifying requirements for training and testing staff members in order to ensure that they are retained.
SLM includes monitoring performance and adapting service levels to satisfy customers. SLM allows companies to constantly improve their offerings, and build trust in their clients.
SLM also focuses on improving customer service, which can lead both to increased revenue as well as value for the business. Consequently, it is imperative that both the IT and the business departments constantly strive to find new ways to increase customer satisfaction.
Service level management is a complex and ongoing process, so it needs to be well-staffed and managed with rock-solid processes. It requires an experienced team that can be relied upon to detect problems and issues well before they escalate. It is also important to have the right tools to manage SLAs and OLAs. These include alert workflows, context of the system, and others.