Beyond SLAs: Why Experience-Level Agreements (XLAs) Are the Future of GBS Performance

As Global Business Services (GBS) continue to mature in Malaysia and across the region, organizations are increasingly shifting from traditional Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to a more holistic, people-centric model—Experience-Level Agreements (XLAs). 

While SLAs measure output (e.g., response time, accuracy, compliance), XLAs focus on how end users feel about the services they receive—capturing sentiment, satisfaction, and perceived value. For GBS leaders aiming to deliver not just efficiency but experience, XLAs represent the next evolution. 

What Are XLAs, and How Do They Differ from SLAs? 

Aspect	SLAs	XLAs
Focus	Output metrics (time, cost, volume)	User sentiment and experience
Measurement	Quantitative (KPIs, % compliance)	Qualitative + quantitative (NPS, CES)
Objective	Efficiency and compliance	Engagement and satisfaction
Stakeholders	Service providers, operations teams	End users, business partners

An SLA might say "Respond to a ticket within 4 hours"—but if the user feels ignored or misunderstood, the service is technically delivered but experience suffers. XLAs aim to bridge that gap. 

Why XLAs Matter in the GBS Environment 

For companies operating Shared Services or GBS hubs in Malaysia, moving toward XLAs helps to: 

✅ Enhance internal customer satisfaction – Especially across HR, IT, and Finance touchpoints 

✅ Drive user adoption of digital tools – Better experience = less resistance to change 

✅ Differentiate mature GBS centers – Showcasing not just cost efficiency, but value creation 

✅ Align GBS closer to business outcomes – XLAs often tie into revenue impact, retention, and innovation enablement 

In sectors like BFSI, manufacturing, and tech, companies now prioritize user-centric metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Effort Score (CES) within their GBS dashboards. 

Real-World Example: XLAs in Action 

A leading pharmaceutical company operating a GBS hub in Kuala Lumpur integrated XLAs into their finance operations support. Instead of solely tracking case closure time, they also captured: 

• User satisfaction after each interaction 

• Ease of understanding provided solutions 

• Suggestions for improvement 

  
  

Results within six months: 

• 23% increase in user-reported satisfaction 

• 17% drop in repeat queries 

• Faster adoption of new ticketing platform 

Implementing XLAs: What GBS Leaders Should Consider 

1. Define the Experience Moments that Matter Identify key GBS touchpoints—employee onboarding, invoice processing, IT issue resolution—and measure experience at these moments. 

2. Co-create Metrics with Stakeholders Work with business units to define what "great experience" looks like. Use design thinking or user journey mapping. 

3. Embed Voice of Customer Mechanisms Use feedback forms, post-interaction surveys, or sentiment analysis tools to collect qualitative insights. 

4. Balance XLAs and SLAs Don’t discard SLAs. Instead, complement them with XLAs to create a more comprehensive view of performance. 

5. Enable Continuous Improvement Treat XLAs not as static reports, but as ongoing inputs for process redesign, training, or automation. 

Why Malaysia-Based GBS Hubs Are Well-Positioned 

Malaysia's GBS ecosystem is increasingly focused on digital transformation and user experience. Organizations here benefit from: 

• A strong multilingual service culture 

• Advanced digital infrastructure and data analytics capabilities 

• National-level support for customer experience upskilling (e.g., MDEC, HRD Corp) 

These factors make Malaysia an ideal location to pioneer XLA-based service models that go beyond transactional delivery. 

How AGOS Asia Can Help 

As a GBS transformation consultancy in Malaysia, AGOS Asia supports organizations in: 

• Designing and embedding XLAs into their service delivery framework 

• Training GBS teams on experience-driven metrics 

• Building dashboards that integrate SLAs, XLAs, and VoC insights 

Our goal: To help GBS leaders move from being process providers to true experience partners. 

Final Thoughts 

As GBS continues to evolve from cost centers to value enablers, measuring experience is no longer optional. XLAs represent a strategic advantage that connects operational performance with user perception. 

Whether you’re just starting your GBS journey or looking to elevate an existing center in Malaysia, now is the time to integrate XLAs into your transformation roadmap. 

👉 Learn how XLAs can accelerate your GBS maturity: www.agosasia.com 📩 Contact us to schedule a conversation with our GBS consultants