Newsroom

13 Jul 2005

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 become 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.

Case Study: Carlson Leisure Travel Services successfully uses certification to the COPC-2000® Standard as a framework for improvement together with Six Sigma.

To view case study on-line, go to: http://www.copc.com/CLTSCaseStudy/

COPC, in partnership with ICMI (Incoming Calls Management Institute), offers an intensive, five-day training program focused on applying Six Sigma tools and methodologies in the contact center environment.

For more information, go to: http://www.copc.com/SixSigmaRegistration/