What Are Experience Level Agreements (XLAs)? A Complete Guide

A service can meet every technical target and still leave users frustrated. That's because service quality alone is no longer enough, experience has become the true differentiator. That’s where Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) come in. Instead of focusing solely on response times and performance metrics, XLAs measure how people actually experience a service.

By placing user satisfaction and business outcomes at the heart, Experience Level Agreements help organisations deliver services that create real value. In this blog, we will discover how XLAs go beyond traditional metrics to create meaningful, human-centred experiences that drive loyalty, productivity and lasting business value. Read on!

What are Experience Level Agreements?

Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) are agreements that measure the quality of users' experiences with Information Technology (IT) services rather than focusing only on technical performance. They help organisations evaluate whether their services meet user expectations. For example, an XLA could focus on improving the onboarding experience for new employees or enhancing the way employees interact with workplace technology.

Unlike traditional Service Level Agreements (SLAs), which measure operational metrics such as uptime and response times, XLAs focus on the outcomes and perceptions of end users. By combining user feedback with experience data, XLAs help organisations identify improvement opportunities, enhance service quality, and deliver more meaningful digital experiences.

XLAs vs SLAs: The Key Differences

While both XLAs and SLAs are used to evaluate IT services, they focus on different outcomes. SLAs measure technical metrics such as system uptime, response times, and issue resolution, ensuring that predefined service standards are met.

In contrast, XLAs measure the quality of the end-user experience by assessing factors such as user satisfaction, productivity, and overall perception of IT services. Here are the key differences between XLAs and SLAs:

Understanding the ITXM™ Framework

The IT Experience Management (ITXM™) Framework is a continuous, four-step cycle that focuses on managing IT based on outcomes rather than just outputs. It is designed to work for organisations of any size and can be applied whether you’re starting fresh or building on existing practices. With each cycle, organisations strengthen the connection between IT and business outcomes. The ITXM™ Framework consists of the following four stages:

1) Measure Experiences

Everything begins with measurement. Before setting goals, organisations must establish a clear baseline to measure future improvements accurately. Continuous data collection is key to knowing whether improvements are actually working.

So, the first step is to gather feedback from employees about their interactions with IT services and digital tools. Feedback should be collected when users experience a service rather than long after the interaction. It also needs to be relevant to what users are interacting with, and the questions should provide new insights rather than repeat what is already known.

2) Share Experience Data

Once experience data has been collected, it should be shared with relevant stakeholders, including IT teams, business leaders, and decision-makers. Sharing the findings through dashboards and reports promotes transparency.

Sharing experience data can sometimes be challenging, especially when it highlights areas that need improvement. However, addressing these issues is far more beneficial than ignoring them. When the data is shared across teams, it creates a shared understanding and accountability. Everyone sees the same reality, making it easier to align on improvements. Also, most organisations discover that a large portion of feedback is actually positive.

3) Identify Areas for Improvement

After analysing the data, organisations identify recurring issues, trends, and opportunities for improvement. Prioritising areas that have the greatest impact on employee productivity and satisfaction enables teams to focus their efforts where they deliver the most value.

The goal here isn’t to immediately solve everything but to ask the right questions. For example: Which services are causing the most delays? Which teams or processes are linked to lower satisfaction? Which issues seem resolved but still leave users struggling? Answering these questions helps organisations prioritise the improvements that will deliver the greatest value to employees and the business.

4) Improve What Matters Most

The final step involves implementing targeted improvements based on the insights gathered. The focus should always be on what makes the biggest difference to users while saving time and reducing frustration. This means prioritising real employee impact over internal metrics.

Organisations may optimise digital tools, streamline IT processes, strengthen support services, or introduce new technologies. As improvements are made, it is important to track and share the results to evaluate the impact. When service desks and IT teams see how their work directly improves user experience, it reinforces the importance of their efforts.

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How to Implement XLAs Using the ITXM™ Framework?

Implementing XLAs within an ITXM™ framework requires collaboration across service delivery, IT teams, business stakeholders, and service owners. The following steps can help organisations successfully adopt and manage XLAs:

1) Understand Your Users

Start by really getting to know your users. Interact with them regularly, gather feedback and observe how they use IT services in their day-to-day work. When you clearly understand their needs and pain points, you can tailor your services to deliver a better and more meaningful experience.

2) Train Your Team

Moving to an XLA-driven approach is about processes as well as mindset. Your service desk team must be trained to focus on empathy, clear communication and understanding the user’s perspective. When your team values the user experience, every interaction becomes positive and impactful.

3) Monitor and Report on User Experience

To make XLAs effective, you need to track how users feel about the services they receive continuously. This means using tools to collect real-time feedback, measuring satisfaction levels and analysing trends. Regular reporting helps organisations identify gaps and take action to improve the overall experience.

4) Commit to Continuous Improvement

Experience Level Agreements require ongoing attention. So, regularly review feedback and performance metrics to find areas for improvement. This could involve refining processes, introducing new tools or upskilling your team. The goal is to keep evolving so you can consistently exceed user expectations.

Key Benefits of XLAs

When organisations focus on improving experiences and delivering meaningful interactions for both customers and employees, several valuable outcomes emerge. These include the following benefits:

1) Enhanced Productivity

Poor employee experiences often stem from issues like unavailable applications or underperforming devices that slow down daily work. XLAs help organisations better understand these challenges by capturing real user feedback. With these insights, organisations can take targeted actions to remove obstacles and create an environment where employees can work efficiently.

2) Improved Customer Loyalty

A positive employee experience often contributes to better customer experiences. Experience Level Agreements help organisations understand the factors that influence customer satisfaction and identify opportunities to improve service quality. By continuously enhancing these experiences, organisations can strengthen customer loyalty and encourage repeat business.

3) Reduced Employee Attrition

When employees feel heard and valued, they are more likely to stay with an organisation. XLAs play a key role in identifying what matters most to employees and ensuring those areas are continuously improved. Organisations that focus on improving employee experience, whether through flexible work arrangements, reliable tools or regular support systems, are better positioned to retain talent.

4) Continuous Service Improvement

XLAs encourage organisations to regularly measure, review, and improve user experiences rather than treating service delivery as a one-time effort. By continuously monitoring experience data and responding to feedback, organisations can adapt to changing user needs, refine their services, and enhance service quality.

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Measuring Success with XLAs: The Metrics You Need

Measuring success with Experience Level Agreements can be more complex than with traditional SLAs. XLAs require a broader approach that blends quantitative data with qualitative insights to truly understand the user experience. Here are the metrics you need:

1) Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a widely used metric to gauge user loyalty and willingness to recommend a service to others. This provides a strong indication of how well the service meets expectations. NPS is especially helpful for identifying long-term trends and understanding whether improvements are positively impacting user perception.

2) Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Scores

Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores offer a more immediate view of user experience. After interacting with the service desk, users rate their experience, usually on a simple scale. This provides quick feedback on how well the team is performing and helps highlight specific areas that may need improvement.

3) Employee Satisfaction (ESAT) Score

Employee Satisfaction (ESAT) scores are gathered through surveys and feedback tools to measure how employees feel about the digital tools, IT support, and workplace services they use. High satisfaction scores indicate that technology is effectively supporting employees in their daily work.

4) Digital Experience Score

A Digital Experience Score combines multiple factors, such as device performance, application reliability, system responsiveness, and user feedback, to provide an overall measure of the employee's digital experience. This metric helps organisations identify trends and prioritise improvements that have the greatest impact.

Practical Examples of Using XLAs

The following examples show how organisations can use XLAs to measure and improve user experiences alongside traditional SLAs:

1) IT Service Desk Support

A company may have an SLA stating that support tickets must be resolved within four hours. However, an XLA measures how employees feel about the support they receive. For example, the organisation could track a target such as "90% of employees rate their support experience as satisfactory or higher." This ensures the focus is not just on speed, but also on service quality and user satisfaction. 

2) Employee Digital Workplace Experience

When rolling out a new collaboration platform, an SLA might measure system uptime and response times. An Experience Level Agreement, however, could measure whether employees can complete key tasks easily and efficiently. For example, the target could be "85% of employees report that the platform helps them work more productively." This links IT performance directly to employee experience and business outcomes.

Common XLA Challenges

Here are a few challenges associated with implementing and managing Experience Level Agreements:

1) Organisational Culture

Implementing XLAs often requires a significant cultural shift. Many organisations are accustomed to measuring success through technical metrics and SLAs, making it difficult to adopt a user-centric mindset. Employees and leaders must embrace the idea that service quality is defined not only by performance metrics but also by user experience and satisfaction.

2) Cross-team Collaboration

XLAs typically span multiple departments, including IT, Human Resources (HR), customer service and business teams. Without strong collaboration and shared objectives, it can be difficult to gather meaningful experience data and act on insights. Improving collaboration across teams enables organisations to respond quickly to user feedback and implement lasting improvements.

3) Inaccurate Measurements

Measuring experience is more complex than tracking technical performance. User feedback can be subjective, inconsistent, or influenced by individual perceptions. If organisations rely on limited or poorly designed metrics, XLAs may not accurately reflect the real user experience, leading to misguided decisions and improvement efforts.

4) Lack of Commitment to XLAs

Some organisations treat XLAs as a simple replacement for SLAs rather than a long-term improvement strategy. Without leadership support, regular reviews, and a commitment to acting on feedback, XLAs can become just another reporting metric rather than a tool for amplifying experiences.

Conclusion

Experience Level Agreements are transforming how organisations measure service success by shifting the focus from technical performance to real user experiences. By combining XLAs with SLAs, businesses can gain much deeper insights into productivity and value delivery. As customer and employee expectations continue to evolve, adopting XLAs can help create more user-centred services that drive long-term success.

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