Applying Six Sigma in Today’s Call Center

1. DMA Teleservices Conference 2004 Applying Six Sigma in Today’s Call Center Presented by:

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Definition What is Six Sigma? (check all that apply) • 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

5. Definition Statistically Speaking…

6. Key Concept • Three Main Target Areas • Improve customer satisfaction. • Increase efficiency. • Reduce defects and errors.

7. Key Concept Quality Initiative Business Initiative

8. Types of Initiatives Routes to Six Sigma Implementation • Business transformation • Strategic improvement • Problem solving

9. Roles and Responsibilities Team Member Green Belt Black Belt Master Black Belt (Champion or Sponsor)

10. Six Sigma Concepts • Distinguishing Themes: Measurement by fact Focus on the customer Root cause analysis and verification Breaking old habits Risk management Measurement of results Sustainment of change

11. The Six Sigma Process • The DMAIC Steps Define Measure Analyze Improve Control

12. Step 1: Define the problem. Business case Problem/opportunity/goal statement(s) Constraints/assumptions Project scope Players and roles Preliminary plan DMAIC Step 1

13. Customer Requirements Customer requirements and expectations are 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?

14. 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.

15. Content DevelopmentSurvey 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? Project Planning

16. Customer Concerns x x x x x x x x x Importance x x x x x x x Satisfaction

17. 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. DMAIC Step 2

18. Six Sigma Alphabet Y = f(x) Results (Y) are a function of the X s. X An input measure Many X measures for a business process Key: Find the X which is root cause. Y An output measure Measures of the results and outcomes of a process Goal or objective Links to customer and business requirements

19. Customer Measures Call Center Measures • Efficiency Measures

20. Math Pictures • A Picture is Worth a Thousand Numbers! • Just a few examples…

21. Performance Statistics

22. Painting a Picture: Control Chart 5.0 UCL(Upper Control Limit) 4.5 Average 4.0 AHT 3.5 LCL(Lower Control Limit) 3.0 A B C D E F G H Employee

23. Performance Statistics

24. Painting a Picture: Scatter Diagram Key: Correlation 5.0 4.5 4.0 Examples: AHT vs Rev AHT vs Experience ASA vs Error Rate AHT vs Quality Score AHT 3.5 3.0 $17 $18 $19 Revenue per Call

25. Painting a Picture: Histogram Number of calls 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 Handle Time (in min)

26. 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 DMAIC Step 3

27. 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

28. 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.

29. Fishbone Example Factor 2 Factor 1 Problem Factor 4 Factor 3

30. Machines Method Access Time Downtime Wrong Queues Ergonomics Long Paths Downtime Customer Records Database CallHandling Equipment Integration Routing Select Information Work Stations Ease of Enter/Update High Handle Time No Help Log In/Out Transfers Long Transaction Times Motivation Marketing CSR Callers Unprepared Unclear Brochure Job Knowledge Insufficient Staff Recruitment Working Conditions Compensation Advertising, VRU, Messages, Literature HR Training Scheduling Catalog Forecasting Materials Manpower In-House Training Recruitment

31. 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. DMAIC Step 4

32. 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. DMAIC Step 5

33. Six Sigma Call Center Examples Case Study

34. Recommended Reading: What is Six Sigma by Pande and Holpp Demystifying Six Sigma by Alan Larson Customer Surveying by Fred Van Bennekom Resources

35. For More Information Penny Reynolds 615-812-8400 penny.reynolds@thecallcenterschool.com