What’s an Operational-Level Agreement, and Why Should You Draft One?

Operational-level agreements (OLAs) define the processes, responsibilities and performance indicators service providers follow to deliver services to their clients. As opposed to service-level agreements (SLAs), which are client-facing, OLAs are internal contracts that apply to an organization’s teams.

Writing effective OLAs can significantly help your team meet — and exceed — client expectations. With a comprehensive OLA, every department knows what they're responsible for, so nothing is missed and teams can work efficiently.

This article will outline all the components of an effective OLA so you can maximize the usefulness of this crucial operational document.

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What’s an Operational-Level Agreement (OLA)?

An OLA outlines how teams will work together to fulfill a client's service request. It assigns roles and responsibilities, prescribes collaboration platforms and sets the escalation paths team members should follow if an incident occurs. But it doesn’t define the scope of deliverables — that’s in a statement of work (SoW).

Say you’re an IT service provider that offers tech support to clients. You’d use the following documents in the delivery of services:

• An OLA for your teams that outlines the workflows and tools they should use to complete work, typically following an industry-standard foundation like the IT infrastructure library (ITIL).
• An SLA with the client defining IT service management (ITSM) expectations, like uptime and support team availability.
• An SoW for each team member that sets goals for how fast they must respond to service requests or how long service desk shifts are. 

Why You Should Have Operational-Level Agreements

An OLA is an intermediary between team members and clients that states how teams should satisfy client requirements. With a well-defined OLA, everyone understands their role and responsibilities in the delivery of services, which is crucial to ensuring they complete their work on time and without incident.

Here are some benefits of documenting OLAs.

Standardizes Service Delivery Activities for Employees

An OLA establishes processes each department should follow during service delivery so everyone knows what to do and when. That way, employees are less likely to miss deadlines or let tasks fall through the cracks.

Improves the Quality of Service

OLAs outline the key performance indicators (KPIs) teams will use to make sure they’re on track. Common examples include the number of service desk cases and client revision requests. These metrics help service providers identify opportunities for continuous improvement in quality and collaboration.

Sets Expectations for Clients

While an OLA is for internal use, clients can be involved in the drafting process to ensure your timeline, tools and workflows align with their preferences. So this document is a great way to set expectations to avoid conflict later on. And even if a client isn’t involved, an OLA defines the client’s expectations as outlined in other client-facing documents, which helps your teams understand and meet these needs. 

OLA vs. SLA

Operational-level agreements and service-level agreements (SLAs) both outline expectations, responsibilities and performance indicators — the difference lies in their audience. An SLA is between a service provider and their client, while an OLA is between the service provider and their internal departments.

Here’s a table illustrating some critical differences between SLAs and OLAs.

Underpinning contracts (UCs) are also relevant here — they define the relationship between a service provider and any third-party vendors they work with to deliver services. This document is similar to an SLA but includes some elements of an OLA, such as deadlines, process instructions and billing procedures.

Components of an Operational-Level Agreement

While the contents of your OLA will depend on your industry, most follow a general outline. Here are the must-have components your OLA should include.

General Overview

The general overview provides valuable context for everything that follows. It might include details from the service-level agreement so readers understand the client’s goals, but this section focuses on briefly defining the service, timeline and processes. You might also outline the KPIs teams will track to monitor progress.

Stakeholders & Responsibilities

After the overview, add a list of everyone involved — including touchpoints on the client’s side. The operations manager might create an organizational chart to illustrate communication cadences, collaboration structures and reporting relationships.

Types of Work

Include a brief description of this project’s deliverables. Add general timelines and goals teams must meet to satisfy the client's needs but don’t prescribe the actual scope of deliverables. Leave that to the SoW and SLA. That way, your OLA doesn’t need updating every time goals or business needs change.

Processes

Establish standard operating procedures (SOPs) for every process. This might include: 

• Incident management plans for handling security breaches and other emergencies.
• Escalation paths for pushing back against service requests that are out of scope.
• Reviewal processes for auditing completed work and updating it per a client’s request.
• Billing procedures for submitting invoices to the organization’s accountants.

Expectations

Provide a list of expectations everyone must meet, such as working hours for support teams, response times for service requests and collaboration standards. Make them concise and clear so there’s no room for interpretation.

Operational-Level Agreement Best Practices

Your OLA is an essential internal document your organization will use for every service it offers, so it’s crucial to get it right. Here are five best practices for writing an OLA that effectively serves its purpose:

• Use a template so OLAs remain consistent organization-wide. 
• Keep your OLA clear and concise with plain language to reduce confusion and misunderstandings.
• Alphabetically organize the process documentation in your OLA so people can quickly find the one they’re after. 
• Provide links to resources like branding assets and style guides that team members need to complete their work.
• Outline a review process for monitoring progress toward the OLA’s defined goals.

Generate Clear Process Documents With Scribe

Crafting a comprehensive and valuable OLA isn’t easy — you’ll need to work with fellow department heads and the client to ensure this document accurately reflects the upcoming work. During the drafting process, let Scribe take a significant burden off your team by helping you create process guides for every department. 

Scribe automatically generates consistent, concise process documentation for anything your team members do on a computer or mobile device, significantly reducing the time it takes to write and update documents. Try the browser plugin for free to see if it suits your needs, or use the AI Document Generator to quickly generate the templates and style guides your OLA needs.