Recruiter's Glossary

Examples: CES (Customer Effort Score) • Customer Experience (CX) • SLA (Service Level Agreement)

SLA (Service Level Agreement)

Term from Customer Service industry explained for recruiters

An SLA (Service Level Agreement) is a commitment between a service provider and a customer that clearly states what services will be delivered and how quickly. Think of it like a promise about response times and quality of service. For example, a customer support team might promise to respond to all emails within 24 hours or answer phone calls within 2 minutes. Companies use SLAs to set clear expectations with their customers and measure how well their support team is performing. It's a key term in customer service roles because meeting these time and quality promises is often a major part of the job.

Examples in Resumes

Consistently exceeded SLA targets by maintaining 98% response rate within 4-hour window

Managed customer support team of 12 agents to meet all Service Level Agreement metrics

Improved SLA compliance from 85% to 95% through better ticket routing and team training

Typical job title: "Customer Service Representatives"

Also try searching for:

Customer Support Agent Customer Service Manager Support Team Lead Customer Experience Representative Help Desk Agent Service Delivery Manager Client Support Specialist

Where to Find Customer Service Representatives

Professional Networks

Job Boards

Example Interview Questions

Senior Level Questions

Q: How would you design an SLA policy for a new customer support department?

Expected Answer: A strong answer should include setting realistic response times, considering different priority levels for issues, planning staff scheduling to meet peak demand times, and establishing monitoring systems to track performance.

Q: Tell me about a time when your team was struggling to meet SLAs. How did you improve the situation?

Expected Answer: Look for answers that demonstrate leadership, problem-solving, and the ability to implement new processes. Should include specific examples of improvements made and results achieved.

Mid Level Questions

Q: How do you prioritize tickets when multiple cases are approaching SLA breach?

Expected Answer: Should explain their decision-making process, including considering factors like issue urgency, time until breach, and customer impact. Should mention communication with team members and escalation procedures.

Q: What metrics do you use to track SLA performance?

Expected Answer: Should mention response times, resolution times, first-contact resolution rates, and customer satisfaction scores. Should understand how these metrics impact overall service quality.

Junior Level Questions

Q: What is an SLA and why is it important?

Expected Answer: Should be able to explain that SLA means Service Level Agreement and describe it as a promise to customers about service quality and response times. Should understand why meeting these agreements is important for customer satisfaction.

Q: How do you ensure you're meeting your response time SLAs in your daily work?

Expected Answer: Should discuss basic time management skills, prioritizing urgent cases, and using available tools to track response times. Should show awareness of the importance of quick responses.