What a real IT SLA looks like for staffing firms

Most IT support contracts are written by the vendor's legal team, for the vendor's benefit. For a staffing firm, that usually means vague response-time language, wide exclusion windows, and no real accountability when a recruiter can't log into the ATS during peak hours.

What to actually check for

Before signing anything, look past the marketing language and check three things: how "response time" is defined, what hours the SLA actually covers, and what happens when it's missed.

• Response vs. resolution. A vendor can hit a 15-minute "response" SLA by sending an automated acknowledgment email, while the actual issue sits unresolved for hours. Ask for a resolution-time commitment, not just an acknowledgment one.
• Coverage hours. If your recruiters work US hours and your support desk works India-daytime hours, you have a coverage gap disguised as 24/7 support. Confirm the SLA is measured against your business hours, not the vendor's.
• Consequences for misses. An SLA with no penalty or credit for repeated misses is a suggestion, not a contract.

The baseline we hold ourselves to

We treat under-15-minute average response and 99.999% uptime as the floor, not a headline number — because a missed submission during a client's decision window costs more than any support contract.