Service commitment requires three parts to have value

A question about SLA (service level agreement, which ties timeframes and conditions to each type of work) often arises when you have signed a long-term package and want to know: how long until results are delivered, how are urgent requests prioritized, and if there are delays, who is responsible for what. This is the right question to ask at the beginning of the contract, not after waiting too long several times.

The real SLA consists of three parts

Many parties write in contracts "feedback within 24 hours" and call that an SLA. That is not enough. A valuable service commitment needs to include three parts:

• Delivery time: the number of working days from when the brief is approved until the first deliverable is ready.
• Number of revisions: How many revisions are included in the commitment, and from which round onwards will additional charges apply.
• Process for missed deadlines: If a deadline is not met, which party notifies first, how to handle it, and what the priorities are in the next sprint.

An SLA without a third party cannot bind anything. Both parties can still argue as before after signing.

The creative service commitment is an agreement that includes specific delivery deadlines, the number of revision rounds, and the process for handling unsatisfactory outcomes. Lacking any part means the rest is merely a one-sided expectation.

Sakas & Company, Agency Service Level Agreements; Lolopepe, SLA in Creative Services

Layer according to urgency level

Not everything has the same level of priority. Applying a common SLA to both regular publications and communication crises is incorrect on both sides: routine tasks often have overly high expectations, while urgent matters are not prioritized enough. Sinh Vũ divides into three tiers:

• Regular tasks (periodic publications, scheduled content): the clock runs during business hours, delivery deadlines are calculated in working days, integrated into the sprint rhythm. Confirm receipt of the task on the next working day.
• Urgent tasks (urgent sales documents, unexpected events): respond within the same working day, shorten the delivery deadline compared to the default, and clearly flag when submitting the brief.
• Image incident (media crisis, serious errors in circulating documents): Separate SLA, response within hours, resolution within 24-72 hours depending on the package level. This is the only tier that can operate outside of business hours.

Borrowing the tiered approach from incident management: the higher the level, the faster and more continuous the response; the lower level follows the regular schedule and is flexible. Applying this principle to creative services helps both parties agree on priorities without debating each case.

The higher the urgency level, the faster and more continuously the clock runs. The low level measures during business hours and can be extended when the sprint is full.

Atlassian, Incident Severity Levels; Rootly, Incident Support Levels P1-P3.

Distinguish between feedback and results delivery.

Confusing these two milestones is the source of most SLA conflicts. Clients think the clock starts when they send a message, while the studio counts from when they have enough information to proceed.

Common errors when setting up an SLA

• Understanding "quick feedback" as "done immediately" leads to an expectation of unlimited hours.
• Only record response time, overlooking delivery deadlines and the number of revisions. As a result, commitments only measure the smallest part of the process.
• The SLA does not specify consequences for missed deadlines, so when it happens, no one knows what the next steps are.
• Apply a common SLA level for all types of work, without stratification. Tasks are often expected to be urgent, but urgent tasks are not prioritized separately.
• For retainers with multiple sprints, consolidate the month instead of measuring by each sprint. Consolidating the month hides backlogs and makes accountability difficult.

The viewpoint of Sinh Vũ

Sinh Vũ clearly distinguishes two rhythms in long-term packages. The regular rhythm consists of focused working sessions following a prioritized backlog, arranged in sprints. The incident rhythm is a commitment to respond specifically to urgent visual situations, with a 24-hour turnaround for the large enterprise package and 48-72 hours for the growth package.

Because the contracted hours have a cap, Sinh Vũ's SLA is tied to setting the right priorities rather than promising unlimited handling. The number of revisions and deadlines for each task are agreed upon from the start so that both parties can measure and compare, without relying on subjective feelings of 'fast' or 'slow'.