Understanding Our IT Support Priority Levels and Response Times
When you raise a ticket with the IT Help Desk, we assign it a priority based on how much it affects you and the business. That priority determines how quickly we respond and how quickly we aim to resolve it. This article explains the four priority levels, what kinds of issues fall into each, and what you can expect from us.
Our support hours
The IT Help Desk operates during the following business hours, during normal working days (excluding bank holidays and other public holidays):
- Monday to Thursday: 09:00 – 18:00
- Friday: 09:00 – 17:00
Our targets are measured in business hours, not clock hours. The timer only runs during the hours above, so a ticket raised at 16:30 on a Friday doesn't lose time over the weekend; it picks up again at 09:00 on Monday and only 30 minutes have elapsed since it has been logged.
Two targets apply to every ticket:
- First response – how quickly someone from IT will acknowledge your ticket and begin working on it.
- Resolution – how quickly we aim to have the issue fixed or the request completed.
Priority levels at a glance
| Priority: | Who is affected: | First response: | Target resolution: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urgent | Many users or a whole site | Within 1 business hour | Within 12 business hours |
| High | One user completely unable to work | Within 6 business hours (same working day) | Within 18 business hours |
| Medium | Work is impacted but a workaround exists | Within 2 calendar days (up to 2 working days) | Within 7 calendar days (1 week, about 5 working days) |
| Low | Minor issues, access requests and other routine requests | Within 2 calendar days (up to 2 working days) | Within 14 calendar days (2 weeks, about 10 working days) |
Urgent
An Urgent ticket means the business is significantly disrupted: multiple people can't work, or a core service everyone relies on is down.
Examples:
- Internet or network outage affecting the office
- Microsoft 365 (email, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive) not accessible for multiple users
- A server, phone system, or line-of-business application down for a whole team or department
- Suspected security incident, such as a ransomware alert or a compromised account
- Wi-Fi down across a floor or building
- A critical meeting room or presentation system failing immediately before a client-facing event
If you believe you have an Urgent issue, please email helpdesk@outra.co.uk or visit our portal to log a case, so we can respond straight away.
High
A High ticket means one person is unable to do their job, or a time-critical business process is blocked.
Examples:
- Your laptop or desktop won't start, won't log in, or has a hardware fault
- You can't access email or Teams at all
- Your account is locked and you have already tried to unlock it, but you can't reset it
- A business-critical application won't open for you
- Lost or stolen device
- Payroll, invoicing, or another time-sensitive process is blocked by an IT fault
Medium
A Medium ticket means something is broken or degraded, but you can still work, perhaps with a workaround.
Examples:
- A single non-critical application isn't working
- A backup job has failed
- Shared mailbox or calendar not syncing correctly
- VPN not connecting for one staff member
- A monitor, docking station, or headset has stopped working
- Software needs updating or licensing for a department
Low
A Low ticket covers minor faults and routine requests.
Examples:
- SharePoint site creation or folder/mailbox permission changes
- Setting up or amending an out-of-office message
- Application/Software access request
- Application installation
- One non-critical feature not working in an app
- Unable to print to one printer when others are available
- Distribution group creation or membership changes
- Folder or file access requests
- Mobile phone or MFA setup
- Cosmetic issues, questions, or "how do I…?" requests
- Hardware requests for new peripherals (mouse, keyboard, headset)
Projects
Some requests are too large to be handled as a standard ticket. If a request is likely to take more than 2–3 business days to scope, prepare and deliver, or involves planning, third parties, scheduled downtime, or changes affecting many people, we'll convert your ticket into a Project ticket.
Projects sit outside the SLA targets above. Instead, we'll agree a scope, timeline and key milestones with you, assign a lead from the IT team, and keep you updated on progress at agreed checkpoints.
Examples of requests that typically become projects:
- Transferring a domain to or from another registrar or provider
- Setting up a new domain, including DNS, email routing and security records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
- Migrating email, files or a Microsoft 365 tenant from another provider or company
- Office moves, new office setups, or network and Wi-Fi redesigns
- Rolling out new laptops or phones to a whole team or the business
- Deploying or replacing a business application or phone system
- Building a new SharePoint intranet or restructuring file storage
- Server, firewall or infrastructure upgrades and replacements
- Company-wide security initiatives such as MFA or device encryption rollouts
- Integrations between systems, for example linking your CRM and finance software
Please always log all requests on help desks and if we determine your request is a project, we'll review it, let you know it needs to become a project, and work with you on next steps.
New starters and leavers
Onboarding and offboarding follow their own process and are not covered by the priority levels above, because they depend on notice being given in advance.
New starters – minimum two weeks' notice
We need at least two weeks' notice before a new starter's first day to order and configure their equipment, create their accounts, and assign the right access and licences. Please contact HR ASAP who start this process and they are the only ones authorized to request new starters or leavers, please follow their guidance. Requests received with less than two weeks' notice may mean the new starter does not have their equipment or full access on day one.
Leavers – minimum one week's notice
We need at least one week's notice before a leaver's last day so we can plan the disabling of their accounts, recover their equipment, and arrange any handover of mailboxes, files, or licences to their manager. Please contact HR ASAP who begin this process and they are the only ones authorized to request leavers. If a leaver needs to be offboarded immediately for any reason, please get in touch with HR immediately, follow HR's guidance and they will pass on this information to us internally.