SLA & Work Hours

The SLA & Work Hours section controls how support response and resolution times are measured in JMS Help Desk.

SLA stands for Service Level Agreement. An SLA defines how quickly the support team should respond to a ticket and how long it should take to resolve it.

This section helps managers establish clear service targets, monitor delayed tickets, and ensure that important support requests receive attention on time.

What This Section Is Used For

Use SLA & Work Hours to:

• Set response time goals.
• Set resolution time goals.
• Create department and category-specific SLA policies.
• Configure escalation rules.
• Select users who should receive escalation notifications.
• Set working days and hours.
• Add holidays and other non-working days.
• Activate or deactivate SLA policies.
• Review and restore deleted SLA policies.

This helps JMS measure support performance consistently.

Recommended Setup Order

Configure SLA settings in the following order:

1. Set the organization’s working days and hours.
2. Add holidays and other non-working dates.
3. Create the required SLA policy.
4. Select its department and category.
5. Add the policy conditions.
6. Configure the response and resolution goals.
7. Add escalation levels and notification recipients.
8. Activate the policy.
9. Submit a test ticket that matches the policy.
10. Confirm that the correct goals and escalation rules are applied.

Configuring working hours and holidays first helps JMS calculate SLA time correctly.

Response & Resolution Goals

The Response & Resolution Goals tab displays the active service targets for each department and priority level.

The table may include:

• Department: The team responsible for the ticket.
• Priority: The urgency level, such as Medium, High, or Critical.
• Response Goal: The amount of time available for the first response.
• Resolution Goal: The amount of time available to resolve the ticket.

For example, a Medium-priority ticket for the IT Department may have:

• Response Goal: 1 minute
• Resolution Goal: 5 minutes

This overview helps managers and agents quickly understand the expected handling time for different tickets.

Response Goal

The response goal defines how quickly an agent should first respond to a newly created ticket.

The response timer helps the team identify tickets that have not yet received attention.

When reviewing a response goal, confirm:

• The policy is active.
• The ticket matches the policy conditions.
• The correct department and category are selected.
• The priority matches the policy.
• The configured working hours are correct.

Resolution Goal

The resolution goal defines how long the support team has to resolve a ticket.

The resolution timer helps managers identify tickets that are approaching or have passed their expected completion time.

A ticket may appear as:

• Within the resolution target.
• At risk of missing the target.
• Overdue or breached.

Viewing SLA Policy Details

Select an SLA policy to review its complete configuration.

The policy details may include:

• Policy name.
• Active or inactive status.
• Priority.
• Department.
• Category.
• Response goal.
• Resolution goal.
• Conditions.
• Escalation rules.
• Notification recipients.
• Date created.
• Date updated.

Reviewing these details helps administrators confirm that the policy is configured correctly before it is used on active tickets.

SLA Policies

The SLA Policies tab is where SLA rules are created, reviewed, updated, activated, deactivated, or deleted.

An SLA policy tells JMS:

• Which department the policy applies to.
• Which category the policy applies to.
• Which priority activates the policy.
• How quickly the team must respond.
• How quickly the team must resolve the ticket.
• Who should be notified when a ticket is delayed.
• When each escalation level should be triggered.

SLA policies control how ticket deadlines and escalations are calculated.

Creating an SLA Policy

To create an SLA policy:

1. Open SLA Policies.
2. Select the option to add a new policy.
3. Enter a clear policy name.
4. Select the department.
5. Select the category.
6. Enter the response time in minutes.
7. Enter the resolution time in minutes.
8. Add the required conditions.
9. Configure the escalation levels.
10. Select the users who should receive notifications.
11. Save the policy.
12. Activate the policy when it is ready for use.

After saving, refresh the page and confirm that the policy appears once with the correct information.

SLA Policy Fields

When creating or editing a policy, users may configure:

• Policy Name: A clear name for the SLA rule.
• Department: The department responsible for matching tickets.
• Category: The ticket category linked to the policy.
• Priority: The urgency level required for the policy.
• Response Time Minutes: The amount of time available for the first response.
• Resolution Time Minutes: The amount of time available to resolve the ticket.
• Status: Whether the policy is active or inactive.

Use a policy name that clearly identifies its department, priority, or purpose.

Conditions

Conditions determine when an SLA policy should apply.

Examples include:

• Priority is High.
• Department is IT Department.
• Category matches a specific issue type.

When a policy contains multiple conditions, the matching rules determine whether all conditions must be true before the policy is applied.

Before activating a policy, confirm that:

• The selected department exists.
• The category belongs to the selected department.
• The priority is correct.
• The conditions match the intended tickets.
• Another active policy does not create an unintended conflict.

Escalation Levels

Escalation levels determine what happens when a ticket is not handled within the expected time.

An SLA policy may include three escalation levels:

Level 1

The first reminder or escalation notification.

Level 2

A second escalation if the ticket still requires attention.

Level 3

The final escalation for a more serious delay.

Each escalation level may include:

• Users to notify.
• A trigger time in minutes.

For example:

• Level 1 triggers after 1 minute.
• Level 2 triggers after 2 minutes.
• Level 3 triggers after 3 minutes.

Escalation levels help ensure that delayed tickets do not go unnoticed.

Configuring Escalation Levels

To configure an escalation level:

1. Select the escalation level.
2. Enter its trigger time in minutes.
3. Select the users who should be notified.
4. Save the policy.
5. Review the policy details.
6. Confirm that the trigger times and recipients are correct.

Escalation times should follow a logical order, with later levels occurring after earlier levels.

Activating and Deactivating Policies

An active SLA policy can be applied to matching tickets.

An inactive policy remains saved but should not apply to newly created tickets.

To change a policy’s status:

1. Open SLA Policies.
2. Find the required policy.
3. Change its active or inactive status.
4. Refresh the page.
5. Confirm that the selected status remains.

Before deactivating a policy, review any active tickets that may depend on it.

Editing an SLA Policy

To edit a policy:

1. Open SLA Policies.
2. Find the required policy.
3. Select Edit.
4. Update the required settings.
5. Save the changes.
6. Refresh the page.
7. Reopen the policy and confirm that the changes remain.

After editing an active policy, submit or review a matching test ticket to confirm that the correct goals are applied.

Holiday Schedules

The Holiday Schedules tab controls the working calendar used for SLA calculations.

This is important because SLA timers should consider when the support team is available.

If a ticket is created outside working hours or on an active holiday, JMS can use the configured schedule when calculating response and resolution times.

The Holiday Schedules area includes:

• Working hours.
• Closed days.
• Holidays.
• Active and inactive holiday records.

Working Hours

The Working Hours table displays each day of the week.

It may include:

• Day
• Status
• Start Time
• End Time
• Summary

Each day can be marked as:

• Working
• Closed

For example:

• Monday through Friday may be working days.
• Saturday and Sunday may be closed days.

The start and end times define when the support team is available.

Configuring Working Hours

To configure working hours:

1. Open Holiday Schedules.
2. Review each day of the week.
3. Mark each day as Working or Closed.
4. Enter the start time for each working day.
5. Enter the end time for each working day.
6. Save the changes.
7. Refresh the page and confirm that the schedule remains.

Confirm that the start time is earlier than the end time.

Closed Days

A day marked as Closed is treated as a non-working day.

Closed days are commonly used for:

• Weekends.
• Office closure days.
• Days when support is unavailable.

Confirm that closed days do not have conflicting working-hour values.

Holidays

The Holidays section records special non-working dates.

A holiday record may include:

• Holiday Name
• Date
• Active Status

When a holiday is active, JMS can treat that date as a non-working day during SLA calculations.

Adding a Holiday

To add a holiday:

1. Open Holiday Schedules.
2. Select the option to add a holiday.
3. Enter the holiday name.
4. Select the correct date.
5. Set the holiday as active or inactive.
6. Save the holiday.
7. Refresh the page and confirm that it appears once.

Use clear holiday names and verify the year before saving.

Editing or Deactivating a Holiday

To update a holiday:

1. Find the holiday in the list.
2. Select Edit.
3. Update the name, date, or status.
4. Save the changes.
5. Refresh the page.
6. Confirm that the updated information remains.

Deactivate a holiday if it should remain saved but should not affect SLA calculations.

Trash

The Trash tab stores SLA policies that have been removed from the active policy list.

The Trash table may show:

• Policy name.
• Department.
• Priority.
• Date deleted.
• Available actions.

Available actions may include:

• Restore: Returns the policy to the SLA policy list.
• Delete Forever: Permanently removes the policy.

Trash helps prevent accidental loss of SLA configurations.

Restoring an SLA Policy

To restore a policy:

1. Open Trash.
2. Find the required policy.
3. Select Restore.
4. Return to SLA Policies.
5. Confirm that the policy is available again.
6. Review its department, category, goals, conditions, escalation rules, and status.

A restored policy may need to be activated before it can apply to new tickets.

Permanently Deleting a Policy

Delete Forever permanently removes the SLA policy.

Before permanently deleting a policy:

• Confirm that the correct policy is selected.
• Confirm that the policy is no longer required.
• Review whether it is needed for auditing or future reference.
• Confirm that another active policy covers the required tickets.

This action should only be used when the policy will not be needed again.

Testing an SLA Policy

After creating or updating a policy:

1. Confirm that the policy is active.
2. Create a ticket that matches its department, category, and priority.
3. Open the ticket.
4. Confirm that the correct response and resolution goals are displayed.
5. Wait for the configured test interval when appropriate.
6. Confirm that escalation levels are triggered in the correct order.
7. Review the ticket history or audit log.
8. Resolve the test ticket after testing is complete.

Use short time values only in a controlled testing environment.

Troubleshooting

An SLA Policy Does Not Apply

Confirm that:

• The policy is active.
• The ticket’s department matches the policy.
• The ticket’s category matches the policy.
• The ticket’s priority matches the policy.
• All required conditions are satisfied.

A Category Does Not Appear

Confirm that the category belongs to the selected department.

An Escalation Does Not Trigger

Confirm that:

• The policy is active.
• The ticket matches the policy conditions.
• The escalation trigger time is correct.
• Notification recipients are selected.
• The ticket has not already been resolved or closed.

The SLA Time Appears Incorrect

Review:

• Working days.
• Start and end times.
• Closed days.
• Active holidays.
• The ticket’s creation time.
• The selected SLA policy.

A Restored Policy Does Not Apply

Open the restored policy and confirm that it is active and still has valid department, category, condition, and escalation settings.

Why SLA & Work Hours Matter

SLA & Work Hours helps JMS Help Desk maintain consistent service quality.

By configuring clear response goals, resolution targets, and escalation rules, the support team understands how quickly tickets should be handled. Working hours and holidays help ensure that SLA performance is measured using the correct support schedule.

Reports can then show whether the team is meeting its service targets and where improvement may be required.

In short, SLA & Work Hours helps JMS manage support expectations, reduce delays, and apply consistent service standards across departments.