BoldDesk Chat SLA: How to Configure and Track Response & Resolution Times
A Service Level Agreement (SLA) for chat defines the expected response and resolution times between your support team and customers. In BoldDesk, SLAs help ensure timely replies, improve customer satisfaction, and provide visibility into performance benchmarks. This guide explains how to configure SLAs for chat, what metrics are enforced, and how they are calculated.
What is a Chat SLA in BoldDesk?
A Chat SLA sets measurable targets for:
- First Response Time – How quickly agents acknowledge new conversations.
- Response Time – How fast agents follow up after the first reply.
- Resolution Time – How long it takes to fully resolve or close a conversation.
Each SLA can operate during calendar hours (24×7) or business hours, and you can create multiple SLAs mapped to different conversations using conditions.
Why SLAs Matter
A well-defined SLA:
- Sets clear expectations for customers and agents.
- Improves accountability by enforcing measurable targets.
- Enhances customer experience with timely responses.
- Defines consequences for missed targets.
SLA metric (What will be measured/enforced?)
These predefined metrics help you measure and enforce your support targets:
- First response (Time to first response) – The time taken for an agent to reply to the customer for the first time.
- Response (Time to next response) – The time taken for the agent’s follow-up replies after the first response.
- Resolution (Time to resolution) – The time taken to fully resolve or close the conversation.
Operating hours depend on whether the due date is calculated using calendar hours or business hours.
The SLA target time is set based on the ticket’s priority.
How is the first response time calculated?
The first response time is measured from the moment a customer sends a message until the agent sends the initial reply. This helps track how quickly agents acknowledge new conversations.
To let the customer know their issue is being handled, the agent should send a quick acknowledgment.
You can use this metric to enforce a first response time goal, with a minimum setting of 1 minute.
How is the response time calculated?
Response time is the time it takes for an agent to reply to a customer after the first response has been sent. To ensure timely follow-ups, you can set a minimum interval of 1 minute between responses.
Average response time
The total time spent responding based on the SLA during the specified period is divided by the total number of responses provided by the agent during the specified time.
How is the resolution time calculated?
Resolution time is the time an agent takes to solve or close a conversation. Using this, you can enforce the conversation queries to be addressed at a specific time or choose a minimum of 1 day.
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The minimum resolution time for live chat is set to 24 hours by default. This cannot be reduced, but it can be increased based on your requirement.
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If a conversation is marked as resolved multiple times within the specified period, each instance will be counted separately in the calculation. For example, if an agent resolved the same conversation twice, once in 30 minutes and again in 1 hour and 30 minutes, the average resolution time would be 1 hour (total 2 hours divided by 2).
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Average Resolution Time: The average time it takes to resolve conversations within a specific period. It is calculated by dividing the total time spent resolving all conversations (marked as solved or closed) by the number of conversations resolved during that period.
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Resolution time should always be greater than response time.
FAQ
1. Can I create multiple SLAs for chat?
Yes. BoldDesk allows multiple SLAs mapped to different conditions for flexibility.
2. Does SLA apply outside business hours?
Only if you select calendar hours. Otherwise, SLA calculations pause outside business hours.
3. Can I reduce the minimum resolution time below 24 hours?
No. The default minimum for live chat is 24 hours, but you can increase it.
4. Are SLA metrics included in reports?
Yes. SLA compliance and breach details are available in BoldDesk reports.
5. What happens if an SLA target is missed?
The conversation is flagged, and escalation rules can trigger alerts or reassignments.
