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This article was published under the client's by line
in a trade publication.
Using Six Sigma to Build Success Into Contact
Center Operations
A strategy once reserved for use in manufacturing, companies
in every sector concerned with process and operational improvement
are eyeing Six Sigma's approach to quality assurance. With
its implementation of a measurement-based methodology, Six
Sigma has real appeal for today's metric-conscious business
processes. And, its focus on variation reduction and process
improvement, with its impact on improved customer satisfaction
and ROI, is hard to resist.
Six Sigma is a disciplined, project-based approach designed
to eliminate defects in any given process. Through use of
data-driven methodology, its objective is the production of
perfect or near-perfect products and services.
In the world of statistics, sigma is used to indicate how
far a process has deviated from perfection. In Six Sigma,
it represents the amount of variation relative to customer
requirements. An operation performing at the Six Sigma level
records a negligible degree of variation, resulting in products
or services that are 99.9997% defect free - a defect being
defined as anything outside of customer specifications.
Measuring the number of defects and then determining how
to eliminate them by improving the process that produced them
is the basis of the Six Sigma approach. Its pro-active methodology
provides the tools necessary to help achieve the high level
of quality that is represented statically by "six sigma".
In addition to a methodology, Six Sigma also represents a
business philosophy that defines a corporate environment that
is committed to continuous improvement of its operational
processes and is driven by customer needs and satisfaction.
Is Six Sigma the Right Tool for the Job?
Given the statistical methods, process focus and analytical
approach of Six Sigma, and its birth in manufacturing theory,
is Six Sigma an appropriate tool for the contact center environment?
Is it really a good fit or are those who suggest its use in
the industry trying to force a square peg into a round hole?
Contact Center Operational Environment vs Manufacturing
Environment
Contact center processes are people centric and therefore,
dynamic. They are prone to random variations in terms of consistency
and predictability. This makes its processes far more difficult
to control or measure. In a manufacturing scenario, on the
other hand, the product proceeds linearly through the production
process and can, at any point, be measured, analyzed, and
checked for quality against a static criteria.
As a result - because of the significant differences between
manufacturing, where Six Sigma has seen its greatest successes
to date, and the contact center environment, which serves
up a number of limitations to meaningful, statistical measurement
- can Six Sigma effectively be applied to improve contact
center operations?
Actually, the question is rhetorical. Six Sigma has already
proved itself integral to the continued growth and expansion
of a number of contact center-based organizations. But only
after those organizations underwent a change in perspective
regarding their operation, and then implemented an essential
component, a framework to drive the application of Six Sigma
tools.
A Shift in Perspective - Moving to a Process-Centered
Approach
Before Six Sigma can successfully be applied to the contact
center environment, management needs to undergo a shift in
how it views its operations. The contact center needs to be
understood from a process-centered perspective. This, as opposed
to viewing its operations as an enormous number of individual
transactions. Transactions whose components represent such
random and variable human elements that they defy any meaningful
measurement or analysis. And without such analysis, formulating
a strategy for improvement becomes very difficult.
True, most call centers do engage in measurement of one type
or another. This generally consists of comparing performance
against set targets. But the focus tends to be on segments,
rather than on the entire process. Typically, measurement
tracks those things that easily lend themselves to numbers,
such as completion time or number of calls handled, averaging
many calls over an extended period of time. While this does
provide individual performance data, little of the information
actually links with customer satisfaction, process improvement,
or ROI. And, in the real world, that's what process improvement
and quality control are all about.
Once a contact center comes to terms with itself as a process-centered
entity, it is in a position to develop specific performance
metrics that can provide an objective and consistent long-term
understanding of those processes. Relevant measurements and
performance criteria can be assigned to the various components
of the process. This allows for the level of monitoring, measurement,
and analysis required for improvement. And, as importantly,
for the detection of variations that signal the presence of
underlying problems. Management is then empowered to become
pro-active in addressing disconnects and potential defects,
moving the entire operation closer to Six Sigma quality. In
the absence of such a framework, contact centers run the risk
of focusing on the exceptions, in a sense, expending their
resources running around putting out fires, rather than realizing
the benefits of real operational improvement.
Extreme Make-Over - Contact Center Edition
To build a successful quality assurance strategy into the
contact center environment, transforming it into a continually
improving and growing operation, two basics are essential.
A nail and a hammer.
- The Nail - a framework that provides focus and direction
- The Hammer - an effective improvement methodology that
structures solutions
Like a nail, the right framework brings the pieces together.
It does so first, by aligning the view of the contact center
with the idea of a process-centered enterprise. It accomplishes
this by defining existing procedures, identifying key customer
related processes, and establishing a plan for operational
improvement. Next, it reveals and analyzes weaknesses. It
discovers and points to areas within processes that present
opportunities for defects. Finally, this is essential; it
identifies what should be measured, provides metrics for that
measurement, and translates the results into an effective
plan for improvement.
The hammer, Six Sigma's high impact tools for measurement
and analysis, now knows where to strike.
Once the areas appropriate to their application have been
identified, they becomes an integral part of carrying forward
a plan for process improvement.
Like a hammer and nail, however, the two - a framework for
process improvement and Six Sigma methodology - must work
in tandem to be effective.
A successful framework will challenge and provide incentive
and direction for improvement; include training; and engage
all levels of management. It will not only identify what needs
to be measured, analyzed, improved, but will also provide
direction toward developing a solution for improvement. Without
this, Six Sigma in the call center environment would, to continue
the analogy, amount to a hammer flailing around without direction
or purpose. And that often results in more harm than good
- or in the least, a great deal of misspent energy. What you
come up with is statistical analysis, but no idea what to
do with it in order to improve process efficiencies, customer
satisfaction, or ROI. The framework brings structure to the
quality assurance and operational improvement that is critical
and indispensable.
Learning to Use the "Business End" of the
Hammer
Standard Six Sigma training generally focuses on the various
tools it employs - Pareto analysis, matrices of different
sorts, tree diagrams, the Kano Model. These are usually studied
as isolated exercises or within the manufacturing environment.
However, to effectively apply Six Sigma in the contact center
environment, training which focuses directly on using the
tools as they apply to the operational process, objectives,
and peculiarities of the contact center is critical to success.
As we saw earlier, there are definite differences between
the manufacturing and the contact center environment. While
standard Six Sigma training may teach you about Six Sigma,
you still may be a good distance away from understanding how
to successfully use that information to improve your contact
center operations.
If using key Six Sigma tools to improve contact center ROI
is the goal, selecting a training program that allows you
to learn - or if you already hold a belt for completed training,
to apply -- its powerful methodology directly within the context
of the contact center environment should be your first consideration.
Better yet, select one that allows you to use your own contact
center data and process information as training material and
you'll be a step further in developing the applications you
need to achieve success.
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