Training Course On Service Charters And Service Level Agreements

INTRODUCTION

This Service Charters and Service Level Agreements training course will ensure that you understand how to decide rationally what activities to outsource and what not, how to select the best contractor and how to evaluate the delivered performance of all parties involved. On this training course, you will understand the different contract types, the pros and cons of SLAs, avoid the potential pitfalls and improve the performance. Balanced scorecards to measure the contractor performance, used in several branches will be discussed. Through a combination of teaching and group work, you will leave this training course with practical tools & practices to develop improved SLAs.

In the competitive environment of today, managing your contracts regarding outsourced activities like IT, operations, maintenance and facilities management are more than ever an important issue. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are being applied as a highly effective way to manage and control the relationship between the service provider and the end-user, both internally and externally. It manages the expectations of both parties, sets out the parameters of responsibility and offers performance indicators. Creating and managing formal agreements with suppliers of equipment and maintenance services requires not only a complete understanding of the business requirements and organization needs, but also depends on keeping up-to-date on contracting.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

At the end of the course, the participants will be able to:

• Understand Basic Outsourcing Considerations
• Learn the Features, Functions and Benefits of Lean Contracts
• Understand the Different Contract Types and When / How to apply them
• Understand the Basics of SLAs
• Learn How to Define Service Levels
• Understand How to Monitor the Contractor Performance and Relate the Performance to Penalties and Rewards
• Learn How to Develop and Negotiate a Contract – The Contracting Cycle
• Understand Negotiating Tips & Tricks
• Learn How to Manage SLAs during the Contracting Period

DURATION

10 Days

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

This training course will benefit all levels of personnel engaged in purchasing and procurement, commercial and contracts management departments, and technical operatives providing performance under service level agreements. It will enable them to contextualize their work, understand the contract and become aware of the different issues and risks associated with Service Charters and SLA contracting.

This training course is suitable for a wide range of professionals but will greatly benefit:

• Service Delivery professionals/Quality Assurance Professionals Contract Administrators, Contract Professionals and Project Coordinators
• Buyers, Purchasing Professionals and Procurement Officers
• IT Professionals
• Those involved in the planning, evaluation, preparation and management of tenders and awards for service contracts or internally-supplied corporate services

COURSE CONTENT

Outsourcing Considerations

• Introduction to Program
• Introduction Delegates
• Asset Management - Roles and The Relationship with Contracting
• Considerations in Outsourcing Activities – What to outsource and what not?
• Outsourcing Models

“Agreements” in general/types of agreements

• Memorandums of Understanding
• Goods agreements
• Service agreements
• Service Level Agreement
• Service Charters
• Contract Management Plans

Drafting obligations or expectations

• What is an obligation?
• What is an expectation?
• Essential terms (Conditions)
• Warranties

Legally Binding Obligations

• Terms essential to a contract
• Intermediate terms
• Enforcing legality

How do we measure performance?

• Who/what/when/how
• Objective or subjective measures?
• Including measurement in a contract

Enforcing the essentials

• Identify and manage risks
• Communicate with stakeholders
• Establish and sustain contract management capability
• Establish systems and procedures
• Management reporting on contracting activity
• Quality assurance of contracting activities
• Managing panel arrangements

Building a Contract Management Plan

• Relationships
• Transition arrangement
• Skills and experience required
• Responsibilities
• Contract start-up
• Administration of the contract
• Contractor performance
• Variations
• Extension options
• Disputes
• Record Keeping
• Lessons learned

 Principles and Functions of Service Level Agreements

• The need to measure quality of performance
• Why, when and how can SLAs help to achieve quality
• Key objectives
• SLAs: Contracts or Contract substitutes?
• Introducing SLAs for services bought in from contractors
• Use of corporate SLAs between in-house departments
• Assessment of Service Levels – current & required
• Defining Key Performance Indicators to Monitor the Performance of All Parties Involved
• Use of Balanced Scorecard with SLAs
• How to Relate Payments and Rewards to Contractor Performance?
• Is SLA always the right solution? – partnerships
• Vendor Management

Key Elements of a Service Level Agreements

• What services are being measured?
• Typical quality measures
• SLA Governance Frameworks: Managing, measuring and reporting service performance
• Duties of the customer
• Risk sharing and SLAs: Managing problems
• Termination of the agreement

Drafting your Service Level Agreement

• Drafting principles
• A model structure for the SLA
• Essential elements of a quality SLA
• Using appropriate measurement language
• Carrots or sticks to encourage achievement
• SLA checklists
• The Contracting Cycle
• The Tendering Process – Modern Ways of Tendering
• Costing the Service
• Choosing the Right Contractor
• Writing the SLA – SLA Templates
• Review the Draft SLA
• Implementing Contract Management & Delivery – How to make it work?

SLA in Supplier Performance Management

· Supplier Service Level Agreements

· Steps to Continuously Manage Vendor Performance and SLAs

· Key Features and Benefits of Vendor SLA

Negotiating the SLA

• Everything is About Expectations
• Defining the Negotiation Objective
• Determine Your Primary, Alternative and Elegant Currencies
• Negotiation Ploys and Tactics – tips and tricks

Managing the in-life SLA

• Review processes
• Using escalation to manage quality performance
• Keeping the SLA relevant: Managing changes
• Negotiation techniques to manage the variation
• Customer intervention options with an underperforming contractor
• Learning and applying lessons for the next SLA

Using a Scorecard Approach to SLA Management

• Origins of the scorecard approach
• Aligning the SLA with the corporate strategy
• Balancing the needs of stakeholders
• Planning and Constructing a SLA scorecard
• Key Performance indicators to support the SLA
• Business process quality improvement

GENERAL NOTES

• This course is delivered by our seasoned trainers who have vast experience as expert professionals in the respective fields of practice. The course is taught through a mix of practical activities, theory, group works and case studies.
• Training manuals and additional reference materials are provided to the participants.
• Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be issued with a certificate.
• We can also do this as tailor-made course to meet organization-wide needs.
• The training fee covers tuition fees, training materials, lunch and training venue. Accommodation and airport transfer are arranged for our participants upon request.
• Payment should be sent to our bank account before start of training