Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) measure the quality of the service employees receive throughout the lifecycle of a case.
While Service Level Agreements (SLAs) measure how quickly work is completed, XLAs help you understand whether the employee received an effective and positive support experience.
Using SLAs and XLAs together provides a more complete picture of case performance.
Why XLAs matter
Responding quickly doesn't always result in a positive employee experience.
For example, a case might meet every response-time target but still leave the employee without a clear answer or require multiple follow-up conversations.
XLAs help identify these situations by measuring aspects of service that traditional time-based metrics can't capture.
Together, SLAs and XLAs help answer two important questions:
- Did we respond quickly?
- Did we provide a good service experience?
How XLAs work
XLAs measure the employee experience throughout the lifecycle of a case.
Depending on your organization's configuration, experience metrics may evaluate areas such as:
- Meaningful communication
- Progress toward resolving the request
- Clear understanding of the employee's needs
- Successful outcomes after resolution
- Employee feedback
- AI-assisted quality assessments
Some experience metrics are assessed automatically, while others are based on employee feedback or case activity.
AI-assisted assessments
Some XLA metrics use AI to evaluate the quality of interactions within a case.
For example, AI can help determine whether:
- A response moved the case forward.
- The agent demonstrated an understanding of the employee's request.
- The employee's overall experience improved during the conversation.
Case Managers and Case Administrators can review and, where appropriate, override AI-generated assessments.
How XLAs support case management
Experience metrics help teams:
- Identify opportunities to improve service quality.
- Balance speed with employee satisfaction.
- Review trends across teams and services.
- Support coaching and continuous improvement.
Rather than replacing SLAs, XLAs complement them by providing additional insight into the employee experience.
Best practices
- Consider both SLA and XLA results when evaluating case performance.
- Focus on meaningful progress, not just fast responses.
- Review AI-generated assessments when they don't accurately reflect the case.
- Use experience metrics to identify improvements in processes, communication, and service delivery.