Giving service level agreements perspective: Giving service level agreements perspective, an opinion article by Abubakr Hattas, Group Business Improvement Specialist – Corporate at Servest Johannesburg, 31 October 2018 – In yesteryear, a man’s (person’s) word was sacred and could be relied on, as it was based upon the honour of the parties for its fulfilment, rather than being in any way enforceable. The act of shaking hands and what is called, a ‘gentleman’s agreement’, was a way of sealing a deal, without cumbersome paperwork or a formal contract. Today though, service level agreements are at the heart of a relationship, as they set out the (agreed) criteria for the product, or the quality of service you want to achieve. It usually deals with measurement of activities or services. In legal terms, they are worth the paper it is written on, but we all know that a perfect execution is not a realistic measure of an activity. In getting to a point where a Service Level Agreement (SLA) is more personable, negotiation of it involves a compromise between two or more parties. In the case of a client-service provider relationship, the client’s ideal list of needs should be offset against the service provider’s ability to prioritise these, in terms of what is realistically achievable. A balance needs to be effected, so that the desired levels of performance can be achieved. Despite the agreement, conversely, this ‘meeting of the minds’ often impede innovation, in the form of better solutions, to meet requirements or existing needs. Facilities management in southern Africa is largely managed by procurement, which usually determines the ultimate benefits, for the least amount of money. Whilst this is the natural order of business, you should not impose restrictions on the service provider that are so tight, that they inhibit the development of a creative and effective working partnership. Imposing punitive service level agreements often have service providers operating within the boundaries of the contract and aim to meet only its minimum requirements, i.e. doing the job it gets paid to do. Translated differently, anything that is done out of scope, directly impacts the profitability of the contract, as it then costs the client and has an adverse impact on the relationship with the service provider. All in all, it makes for an awkward … [Read more...]
