applying six sigma in today’s call center
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DMA Teleservices Conference 2004. Applying Six Sigma in Today’s Call Center. Presented by:. Workshop Leaders. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Copyright 2004 The Call Center School
Applying Six Sigma in Today’s Call Center
Presented by:
DMA Teleservices Conference 2004
Copyright 2004 The Call Center School
Workshop Leaders
Penny Reynolds is a Founding Partner of The Call Center School where she heads up curriculum development. She develops and teaches courses on a wide variety of call center topics, including workforce management, performance measurement, and call center technologies. Penny is a popular speaker at industry conferences and association meetings and a frequent contributor to industry trade publications. Her articles have appeared in print publications such as Customer Interface and Customer Interaction Solutions, and online sources such as ICCM Weekly. She has recently published a book entitled Call Center Staffing: The Complete, Practical Guide to Workforce Management and has also co-authored the five textbooks for University of Phoenix’s call center certification program. An honors graduate of Vanderbilt University, Penny was one of the first recipients of Call Center Magazine’s prestigious Call Center Pioneer award.
Copyright 2004 The Call Center School
Session Objectives
In this session, you will learn to:
Define Six Sigma and its place in business today.
Compare Six Sigma to other quality improvement processes.
Outline the five-step process of Six Sigma.
Identify applications for Six Sigma in a call center operation.
Review Six Sigma success stories and failures.
Copyright 2004 The Call Center School
Definition
A fun-loving college fraternity
A smart way to manage a business or department
A process that uses facts and data to drive solutions
A management systems to achieve lasting business leadership
What is Six Sigma?(check all that apply)
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Definition
Statistically Speaking…
Sigma DPMO % Success
1 690,000 31%
2 310,000 69%
3 67,000 93.3%
4 4,700 99.38%
5 233 99.997%
6 3.4 99.9997%
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Key Concept
Three Main Target Areas
1. Improve customer satisfaction.
2. Increase efficiency.
3. Reduce defects and errors.
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Key Concept
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Types of Initiatives
1. Business transformation
2. Strategic improvement
3. Problem solving
Routes to Six Sigma Implementation
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Roles and Responsibilities
Team Member
Green Belt
Black Belt
Master Black Belt
(Champion or
Sponsor)
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Six Sigma Concepts
Distinguishing Themes:
1. Measurement by fact
2. Focus on the customer
3. Root cause analysis and verification
4. Breaking old habits
5. Risk management
6. Measurement of results
7. Sustainment of change
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The Six Sigma Process
The DMAIC Steps
1. Define
2. Measure
3. Analyze
4. Improve
5. Control
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DMAIC Step 1
Step 1: Define the problem.
Business case Problem/opportunity/goal statement(s) Constraints/assumptions Project scope Players and roles Preliminary plan
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Customer Requirements
Customer requirements and expectationsare
CTQ(critical to quality)
Questions:What are the customer “touchpoints” or “moments of truth”
in your organization? What are the internal processes that contribute to the
success of each contact and how well are you doing these?
Copyright 2004 The Call Center School
Types of Surveys
Continuous service improvement depends upon listening to what is happening
INSIDE and OUTSIDE the operation.
Evaluating internal measures of performance shows how efficiently the call center is using resources.
Listening to customers tells the call center how effectively resources are being utilized.
Copyright 2004 The Call Center School
Project Planning
Content Development
Survey Before the Survey: Conduct “critical incident study”. Ask customers to recount actual experiences. Focus on incidents that define customer perceptions. Gather perceptions and what led to conclusions. Ask for positives and negatives. Use one experienced interviewer. Use a purposive sample – customers to bring out issues.
KEY QUESTION:
How will you know when you’re done?
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Customer Concerns
Area of Concern Maintenance
Less Concern Potential OverEmphasis
Satisfaction
Imp
ort
anc e
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Copyright 2004 The Call Center School
DMAIC Step 2
Step 2: Measure.
Formulate a data collection plan. Gather data to validate and quantify problem or opportunity. Look for facts and numbers that provide clues to cause of problem or base of opportunity. Measure output that best quantifies the current problems. Train team members on sampling and measurement techniques.
Copyright 2004 The Call Center School
Six Sigma Alphabet
Y = f(x)Results (Y) are a function of the X s.
XAn input measure
Many X measures for a business processKey: Find the X which is root cause.
YAn output measure
Measures of the results and outcomes of a processGoal or objective
Links to customer and business requirements
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Call Center Measures
Customer Measures
Efficiency Measures
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Math Pictures
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Numbers!
Just a few examples…
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Performance Statistics
Employee AHT
Adam 4.28
Betty 3.88
Calvin 5.24
Diane 4.54
Ethan 4.00
Fredia 3.23
Grant 4.86
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Painting a Picture: Control Chart
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
A B C D E F G H
AHT
Employee
Average
UCL(Upper Control Limit)
LCL(Lower Control Limit)
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Performance Statistics
Employee AHT Rev/Call
Adam 4.28 $18.9
Betty 3.88 $17.6
Calvin 5.24 $17.8
Diane 4.54 $19.0
Ethan 4.00 $18.5
Fredia 3.23 $17.5
Grant 4.86 $19.2
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Painting a Picture: Scatter Diagram
AHT
Revenue per Call
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
$17 $18
$19
Key:
Correlation
Examples:
AHT vs Rev
AHT vs Experience
ASA vs Error Rate
AHT vs Quality Score
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Painting a Picture: Histogram
Handle Time (in min)
Nu
mb
er
of
calls
2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0
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DMAIC Step 3
Step 3: Analyze. Expand understanding of problem. Identify root cause/opportunity. Cause categories:
Methods (processes) Machines (technology) Manpower (people) Materials (data, instructions)
Methods: Flowcharts Fishbone cause and effect diagram SIPOC diagram Affinity diagram
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Fishbone Diagram
Definition: A cause-and-effect diagram that resembles a fish skeleton Purpose: Provides a determination of all causes of a problem and
can assist in identifying the root cause of a problem Benefits:
Identifies the possible causes of a problem by sorting and displaying them
Analyzes the current process by reviewing all potential factors that may cause a problem in a process to occur
Identifies probable and root causes of a problem
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Fishbone Analysis
Steps: State the problem briefly (fish’s head). Write the main factors or “oceans” that may be
causing the problem (example: material, machines (technology), methods, manpower).
Generate primary causes or “rivers” within each main factor by brainstorming.
Generate secondary causes or “streams” and continue asking why, until you have determined the root cause.
Identify the most likely cause(s) of the problem.
Copyright 2004 The Call Center School
Fishbone Example
Factor 3 Factor 4
Factor 1Factor 2
Problem
HighHighHandleHandleTimeTime
MaterialsMaterials
MethodMethod
ManpowerManpower
MachinesMachines
Customer Records
Marketing
Routing
Long Transaction Times
Database
Motivation
JobKnowledge
CallHandling Work Stations
Equipment Integration
Unclea
r
Broch
ure
Ease o
f
Enter
/Upd
ateSelec
t
Info
rmati
on
No HelpLog
In
/Out
Trans
fers
Long PathsW
rong Queues
Dow
ntime
Ergonomics
Access
Time
Dow
ntime
Insufficient Staff
Sche
dulin
gFo
reca
sting
Train
ing
CSR
Caller
s
Unpre
pare
d
HR
Adver
tisin
g,
VRU,
Mes
sage
s,
Litera
ture
Catalo
g
In-House
TrainingR
ecruitment
Com
pensationR
ecruitment
Working
Conditions
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DMAIC Step 4
Step 4: Improve. Beware of “see problem, kill problem”. Develop range of solutions – be creative! Determine best solution(s).
Step 4A: Implement. Implement step by step. Employ pilot program to test results. Analyze potential problems and opportunities. Sell the solution.
Copyright 2004 The Call Center School
DMAIC Step 5
Step 5: Control.
Beware the “rubber band” syndrome.
Develop a monitoring process to track changes.
Develop a contingency plan for problems.
Focus on the critical measures (Xs and Ys).
Sell the project with facts.
Hand off responsibilities to new owners.
Ensure support of management for the long term.
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Case Study
Six Sigma
Call Center Examples
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Resources
Recommended Reading: What is Six Sigma by Pande and Holpp Demystifying Six Sigma by Alan Larson Customer Surveying by Fred Van
Bennekom
Copyright 2004 The Call Center School
Penny Reynolds
615-812-8400
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