Just because a ticket has been resolved within the SLA doesn’t necessarily mean the requester is satisfied. Did they have to explain their query five times, or were they transferred to a different team three times? If so, they’ll be left with a bad impression, even if the turnaround time is neatly in the green.
That’s why, since this summer, Freshservice has introduced Experience Level Agreements, or XLAs for short. They work alongside your SLAs and shift the focus from speed to experience.
New in Freshservice
What is an XLA?
An SLA looks back: target met or not met. An XLA monitors the situation whilst the ticket is still open. Each ticket is given a Unified Experience Score ranging from 0 to 100. The score starts at 100 and drops as soon as friction arises, for example if a ticket is reopened or gets passed back and forth between teams. If things are going well, you can also award points.
The score is visible in real time within the ticket, so the agent can see immediately how things are going.
Three pillars, one score
You decide for yourself how much weight each pillar carries.
Reliability
Will we meet the agreed resolution time? This pillar uses the targets from your existing SLA.
Quality
How quickly is the first response received, and how often is the applicant updated? Is the ticket reopened or forwarded to another team? And has the solution been documented?
Difficulty
How often does the applicant have to reply or add further details to the ticket? Too much back-and-forth means it’s too much of a hassle for them.
Take corrective action before things go wrong. Don’t wait any longer for a poor satisfaction score to come in afterwards. If the score drops for an open ticket, the team steps in whilst there’s still time to salvage the situation.
Automatic two-tier escalations. You set the thresholds yourself, for example below 60 and below 30. If a ticket falls below such a threshold, the relevant agent, group or team leader automatically receives a notification. Manual checks are no longer necessary.
Say goodbye to the ‘watermelon effect’. Reports based on SLAs can appear green whilst users are dissatisfied: green on the outside, red on the inside. XLAs reveal that hidden friction.
Availability
How to get started with XLA’s
XLAs are available in the Freshservice Enterprise subscription, both globally and per workspace. You don’t have to start from scratch. There are standard templates for VIPs, major incidents and service requests. The preview function allows you to test a policy on existing tickets before you put it live.
SLAs show what you do. XLAs show how the user experiences it. Curious to find out how XLAs fit into your Freshservice? We’ll help you set them up.