MSP Evolution: Prioritization
The 3rd Pillar in the Operational Transformation Process for MSPs
The key to the Toyota Way and what makes Toyota stand out is not any of the individual elements...But what is important is having all the elements together as a system. It must be practiced every day in a very consistent manner, not in spurts.
- Taiichi Ohno, Father of the Toyota Production System
If all an MSP did was Break/Fix, life would be easy. But most of you don’t! And so many of your tools aren’t MSP friendly. They come from Enterprise or the break/fix world.
A good example is default Autotask ticket priorities: Critical to Low (I would never tell a Client their request was a low priority) does not cut it. Like so many other things in the mystical world of the MSP, there are a lot more factors that go into sorting the Techs’ worklists. Factors like:
Relationship with the Client
Level of Managed Services being provided
Where in the Cradle to the Grave is the Client Request is at
What is the Contractual Urgency / Impact, of in the absence of such, what is a reasonable expectation
MSPs encounter significant operational challenges due to a lack of robust prioritization systems and processes. Without a structured approach to managing client requests, MSPs often struggle to determine which issues demand immediate attention and how to allocate resources effectively. This deficiency leads to an inconsistent engagement experience, where not all customer needs are properly addressed; leading to Squeaky Wheel enablement. Consequently, the Priority field within PSA tools may be underutilized, failing to communicate the true severity of a request.
(If the above seems a bit over your head, keep reading. You’ll be fine. And you can always reach out to info@agmspcoaching.com with your questions.)
This lack of clarity hinders the efficient use of dashboards and widgets to provide techs with a prioritized view of their workload. The result is often a reactive break/fix model rather than a proactive, data-driven approach. Ineffective prioritization can cause backlogs to accumulate, potentially leading to missed Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and ultimately customer dissatisfaction. The core problem is that the absence of well-defined prioritization results in the inability to consistently focus on and resolve the most critical client needs promptly, impacting both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
So, what is the solution? Something that takes into consideration the following items:
SLA Configurations
Workflow Rule Impact Study
Account Classifications
3 Critical Contract Fields for Service Delivery Operations
SLA Performance Report
And this is where Taiichi Ohno’s philosophy comes into play. He is considered the father of the Toyota Production System (TPS) and by extension, Lean Manufacturing. Rather than beating his employees until morale improved, he believed in driving costs out of products, increasing efficiency, eliminating waste, and improving client AND worker satisfaction by everyone working together to change and improve the system on a regular basis. In this way, everyone consistently followed the system every day to achieve results.
If you have followed me for long, then you know that’s what I and my team here at Advanced Global do: We provide a program for MSPs using the Autotask software that want to Resolve 90% of Service Delivery Issues, so an MSP can grow to $1MM, $3MM or More in ARR, by implementing the 4-Pillars of Operational Improvements in 8-10 Weeks, without Wasting Time, Tech Confrontations, or Frustrating Clients!
If you want a TLDR with that, we specialize in helping Clients get off their butts, grow their MSPs, and become Autotask Gladiators.
By the way, I’m Steve. And I (and my team) have been working in Autotask and the MSP world for a very long time. Welcome to this corner of the Internet where we work together to help your MSP grow and thrive. And please check out our YouTube channel if you’d like to see some of these things in action.
SLA Configurations
SLA configurations are fundamental to prioritization for MSPs, ensuring that the most critical client issues receive timely attention. By defining specific response and resolution targets for different types of requests, categorized by the Priority field, MSPs can effectively manage their workload and allocate resources. There are recommended SLA configurations for 11 distinct service delivery workflows, each tied to a specific priority level such as Critical, High, Medium, Standard, and Quick Hit.
For example, a Critical request demands immediate engagement and aims for completion within a business day, while a Standard request has a more relaxed SLA, allowing for engagement within a business day and completion within two (or three of you follow Karl Palachuk). Utilizing the "Next SLA Event Due Date" to sort dashboards and widgets enables technicians to easily identify and address tickets approaching their SLA deadlines, preventing breaches and ensuring a proactive approach.
Furthermore, defining backlog criteria based on the age of tickets within each priority level (e.g., Critical > 1 day, High > 2 days) helps MSPs focus on resolving older, high-impact issues first. Properly configured SLA automation is key, as it informs techs what to work on next and alerts service coordinators to tickets needing intervention. Ultimately, well-defined SLA configurations, aligned with a robust prioritization framework, enable MSPs to deliver superior service and manage client expectations effectively.
The key is that all non-project Client Requests (Tickets) are under SLA Automation control. The field that is used to sort the worklists is the Next SLA Event Due Date. And SLAs are created for each level of Managed Services being provided along with a Non-Managed Service SLA.
Workflow Rule Impact Study
Workflow Rules (WFRs) have a significant impact on automated and semi-automated mechanisms for MSPs, and WFRs work in conjunction with the SLA Automation.
Once key fields like Priority, Status, etc. are set during triage (see our fall 2024 blog series on how to do this), WFRs can automatically move the ticket through the proper workflow and complete other necessary fields such as Queue, Work Type, Status. This automation ensures that high-priority issues are routed and managed according to predefined processes without manual intervention, leading to faster engagement and resolution.
While WFRs can be used for various automations, including communications and alerts, their role in controlling and updating workflows based on Status directly enhances efficiency. This ensures that different Stages in the Client Journey trigger specific automated steps, streamlining the service delivery process. By leveraging WFRs, MSPs can move away from a purely reactive model to a more structured approach where the Ticket dictates its automated handling and the resources allocated to it. The effective use of WFRs enhances operational efficiency and consistency, significantly improving the overall customer experience.
Account Classifications
Account classifications are used as a Default Service Desk Contract designation until the Contract Module is fully configured (See 3 Critical Contract Fields for Service Delivery Operations section below). By setting the different Account Classifications, MSPs can use those to determine which level of SLA Automation should be used for any one Client Request based on the Classification. This allows due to "Contractual Obligations," Managed Service Customers are prioritized over non-Managed Service Customers. This principle ensures that clients with ongoing agreements receive the attention their contracts stipulate.
Furthermore, even within Managed Service agreements, there can be different tiers like Standard and Premier, which might have the same SLA configurations but with variations in coverage, such as 24/7/365 support for critical and high-priority issues for Premier clients. For non-Contract T&M Customers, a separate Non-Contract SLA is often implemented with longer response times, typically double the standard contract SLA. Some MSPs have found that setting the Non-Contract SLA at four times the contract SLA incentivized these customers to upgrade to a Managed Service Agreement, highlighting the direct link between prioritization (through SLA response times) and business goals.
Once the Account Classification has been created, WFRs are used to apply the SLA based on Account Classification, if there is no Contract in the Ticket (Hint: Use Contract Category to determine if a Contract is in the Ticket or not). Set a WFR for each level of service level management: Non-Contract SLA, Standard SLA, Premium Level SLA, etc.
This is a quick way to set the SLA Automation while the MSP goes through the Advanced Contract improvement process. Using Account Classifications gets the Service Delivery Team up and running, with this temporary workaround superseded by properly setting up the 3 Critical Contract Fields for Service Delivery Operations.
3 Critical Contract Fields for Service Delivery Operations
There are three critical contract-related fields that significantly impact the service delivery side of the house: Default Service Desk Contract, Contract Category, and Service Level Agreement.
The Default Service Desk Contract is the contract field that alerts the service delivery Team via the Ticket that this is a Client with managed services. It sets the process that all labor for the Client will be applied to the primary contract in the cascading contract automation.
FYI: Outside of the contract field in the ticket, the contract category field is the only one that is seen on the service delivery side of the house. Specifically, WFRs do not see the contract itself, but they can see if Client requests have a contract category applied to the Ticket, and this is how a WFR can tell if this is a managed or non-managed service Client.
The SLA is directly tied to the contract and dictates the expected response and resolution times based on the Priority field of the request. Different workflows (e.g., Critical, High, Medium, Standard) have distinct recommended SLA configurations. The SLA automation depends on the contract having a designated SLA. MSPs may even implement different SLAs for non-contract customers, further emphasizing the contract's role in setting prioritization guidelines.
Managed Service Client response times are prioritized over Time & Materials Customers (note the difference between Client and Customer) due to "Contractual Obligations". Even within managed services, different tiers (e.g., Standard, Premier) may exist, potentially influencing coverage for high-priority issues. Effectively utilizing these three contract-related elements ensures that MSPs can consistently focus on the most critical client needs in a timely manner.
SLA Performance Reports
SLA Performance Reports are critical for MSPs to gauge their effectiveness in meeting agreed-upon service levels, which are directly tied to prioritization. These reports offer insights into various sub-metrics of SLA performance, including Triage (First Response), Tech Engagement (Resolution Plan), and Completion (Resolved). By monitoring these metrics, MSPs can identify if they are meeting the response and resolution targets set for different priority levels such as Critical, High, Medium, and Standard.
A key aspect is that SLA configurations are recommended to be unique for different priority workflows. SLA Performance Reports then act as a benchmark/tripwire to see if the service delivery team is adhering to these priority-based expectations. For instance, if the Triage SLA (often set at 1 hour) is consistently missed for high-priority tickets, it indicates a failure in the initial prioritization process and requires attention.
Furthermore, the SLA Summary Widget serves as a proactive tool, indicating tickets nearing their SLA due dates and allowing Service Coordinators to intervene and ensure prioritized tickets are addressed on time. Ultimately, SLA Performance Reports provide the data needed to understand if the MSP is effectively translating its prioritization strategy into tangible service delivery outcomes and meeting customer expectations based on the urgency and impact of their requests.
Summary
Effective prioritization on a multi-dimensional level is critical for MSPs to overcome operational challenges and efficiently manage client requests. A lack of robust prioritization systems leads to inconsistent request segmentation and underutilization of priority fields, hindering a proactive, data-driven approach. SLA configurations are fundamental, defining response and resolution targets for different priority levels (Critical, High, Medium, Standard, Quick Hit). Utilizing "Next SLA Event Due Date" helps techs address urgent tickets, and backlog criteria based on ticket age by priority ensures focus on high-impact issues.
Ultimately, a well-defined prioritization framework, aligned with SLA configurations, WFRs, and understanding of account classifications, enables MSPs to deliver superior service and manage client expectations effectively.
I hope that made sense for you. If it didn’t, don’t stress – we get questions at info@agmspcoaching.com every week from MSPs asking for help implementing and understanding our strategies. We see you. And we’re here for you.
Please make sure to tune in next week,
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