SLA Policies
Define response and resolution time targets with live compliance tracking and automated breach alerts.
SLA (Service Level Agreement) policies define the expected response and resolution times for tickets based on their priority. Workestra tracks compliance in real time, surfaces SLA status on every ticket, and sends automated alerts when tickets are at risk.
Creating SLA Policies
- Go to Support > Settings > SLA Policies
- Click the + button
- Fill in the policy form:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Policy Name | Display name (e.g., "Standard Support") |
| Description | When this policy applies |
| Applicable Priority | Low, Medium, High, or Urgent |
| Response Time (Hours) | Target time for first response |
| Resolution Time (Hours) | Target time for full resolution |
| Business Hours Only | Toggle to pause SLA timers outside business hours |
- Click Create Policy
Example Configuration
| Priority | First Response | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Urgent | 1 hour | 4 hours |
| High | 4 hours | 8 hours |
| Medium | 8 hours | 24 hours |
| Low | 24 hours | 72 hours |
How SLA Tracking Works
When a ticket is created, Workestra automatically matches it to an active SLA policy based on the ticket's priority. The SLA timer starts from the ticket creation time.
SLA Status Indicators
SLA status appears in three places:
- Ticket list — Small dot + remaining time next to each ticket row
- Ticket detail sidebar — Banner at the top of the sidebar
- Dashboard — SLA Compliance % stat card
| Status | Indicator | Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| On Track | Green | Less than 75% of resolution time elapsed |
| Warning | Amber | 75%–100% of resolution time elapsed |
| Breached | Red | Resolution time exceeded |
First Response Time
Workestra tracks when the first agent reply (non-internal) is sent on each ticket. This is displayed in the ticket metadata and used for response time reporting.
Automated Alerts
Workestra runs a daily SLA check that scans all open tickets against their applicable SLA policies:
Warning Notifications (75% threshold)
When a ticket has used 75% of its SLA resolution time:
- The assigned agent receives an email alert and an inbox notification
- The ticket's SLA indicator changes to amber
Breach Notifications (100% threshold)
When a ticket exceeds its SLA resolution target:
- The assigned agent receives an email alert and an inbox notification
- Workspace admins are also notified via inbox
- The ticket's SLA indicator changes to red
SLA checks run once per day. For real-time SLA indicators on individual tickets, the status is computed live when you view the ticket.
Escalation Rules
You can also manually escalate a ticket from the ticket detail page by clicking Escalate, which sets the priority to Urgent and notifies workspace admins.
Managing Policies
Edit a Policy
- Find the policy in the list
- Click the Edit (pencil) icon
- Modify fields
- Click Save Policy
Delete a Policy
- Click the Delete (trash) icon on any policy
- Confirm the deletion
Deleting a policy removes SLA tracking from all tickets that were using it. Consider deactivating instead if you want to preserve historical data.
Best Practices
- Create one policy per priority level for clear coverage
- Enable Business Hours Only to avoid unfair SLA breaches outside work hours
- Start with generous targets and tighten as your team matures
- Monitor the SLA Compliance metric on the dashboard weekly
- Use the Escalate action for tickets approaching SLA breach
Next Steps
- Tickets — How SLA indicators appear on tickets
- Support Analytics — SLA compliance reporting
- Auto-Assignment — Ensure tickets are assigned quickly
- Email Processors — Auto-create tickets with SLA