Explanation:

If the company wants to monitor how well it’s meeting its service level agreements (SLAs), the most direct and relevant KPI is the SLA Adherence Rate. This metric specifically tracks whether support cases are being resolved within the defined SLA timeframes, giving organizations a clear indicator of compliance performance.

🚫 Option A: Case Backlog Volume
Case backlog volume refers to the total number of unresolved cases at a given time. While this is an important operational KPI, especially for understanding workload and staffing needs, it doesn’t directly measure SLA compliance. A company might have a large backlog and still meet SLAs if high-priority cases are resolved on time. Therefore, backlog volume is related but not sufficient for tracking SLA adherence.

🚫 Option B: Average Time to Answer (ATA)
ATA measures the average time it takes for a customer inquiry to receive an initial response, typically in a contact center environment. This KPI is useful for understanding responsiveness, but it only represents one piece of the SLA puzzle — and doesn’t confirm whether the full resolution time met SLA standards. It's valuable, but it’s not a comprehensive SLA compliance measure.

✅ Option C: SLA Adherence Rate ✅ (Correct Answer)
SLA Adherence Rate directly tracks the percentage of cases handled within the agreed timeframes defined in service contracts. It reflects how well your support team is complying with SLAs for:

✔️ First response time
✔️ Case resolution time
✔️ Escalation management

A high SLA adherence rate means customers are receiving the expected level of service, while a low rate signals potential risks to customer satisfaction and contractual obligations. This metric helps ensure that the organization is meeting service commitments and maintaining trust and accountability.

🚫 Option D: Number of Overdue Cases
Tracking the number of overdue cases gives insight into how many SLA breaches have occurred, which is useful for spotting SLA failures. However, this KPI represents only the negative outcomes and doesn’t capture the overall success rate. It lacks the balance of showing how often the team is successful, making SLA Adherence Rate a more holistic and strategic measure.

🧩 Summary:
To monitor SLA compliance effectively, organizations should focus on the SLA Adherence Rate — the most accurate and strategic KPI for measuring service performance against contractual expectations. Other metrics like backlog, overdue cases, and ATA provide supporting insights, but they don’t offer the full picture on SLA performance.

📚 Official Salesforce Reference:
🔗 Salesforce Service Cloud SLA Management (Entitlements)