L E A D E R S H I P P R O B L E M SO L V I N G V A L U E C R E A T I O N
© Copyright 2008. Alvarez & Marsal Holdings, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Lean Six Sigma and the Impact on Contact CentersAutonomy eTalk User ConferenceLa Jolla, California
April 2008
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Agenda
I. Preparing Your Contact Center for Lean Six Sigma
II. Applying Lean Six Sigma to Contact Centers
III. Challenges and Obstacles to Avoid
IV. Success Factors
© Copyright 2008. Alvarez & Marsal Holdings, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Preparing Your Contact Center for Lean Six Sigma
Contact Centers are not only ubiquitous, but also a hot bet for customer dissatisfaction
The main business imperative for most contact centers is cost control
Developing a culture that supports continuous process improvements, standardization and training is critical to success
Can Lean Six Sigma Help You Do More With Less?
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Six Sigma Methodologies
DMAIC – Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control
DMADV – Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify
Core Elements of Six Sigma
The goal of a Six Sigma project is tominimize the variation in a process which inturn will allow you to trust that the processeswill produce a defect-free output, increasingcustomer satisfaction while decreasing cost
Define the goals for improvement based onstrategic plans
Measure process performance and collectdata
Quick Six Sigma Primer
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Analyze statistics and other data to isolate aspects of the process that are causing defects
Focus on voice of the customer
Fact-based decision making
Comprehensive training
Rigorous statistical modeling
Defect avoidance
Elimination of rework, inspection and error costs
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Agenda
I. Preparing Your Contact Center for Lean Six Sigma
II. Applying Lean Six Sigma to Contact Centers
III. Challenges and Obstacles to Avoid
IV. Success Factors
© Copyright 2008. Alvarez & Marsal Holdings, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Start with a Process that Unnerves Your Customers
Give Prominence to Capturing and Acting on the Voice of the Customer
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Customer Satisfaction Average CallWait Time
Total Cost ofCustomer Support
In a recent benchmarking study, contact centers focused on providing customers an “experience” versus treating customers as a “transactions” measured “Customer Satisfaction,” “Total Cost of Customer Support” and “Average Call Wait Time” as the main key performance indicators (KPI)
“The Conflicted Call Center: Customer Experience versus Transactions” Aberdeen Group, March 2007
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Excess Calls / Month
Cost per Call
Profitability Impact (per quarter / per annum)
The Potential Costs of Customer Churn arenot Factored into This Equation!
Quarterly Impact of Repeat Calls on Call Center Profitability
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Calls to Resolve Overall Calls (%) Problems Calls Offered
1 60% 60,000 60,000
2 20% 20,000 40,000
3 15% 15,000 45,000
4 5% 5,000 20,000
40% 100,000 105,000
5,000
$5.00
$525,000 / quarter or $2.1M / annum
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Case Study 1: Reduce Nuisance Calls
Overview
Determine types of call drivers and improve customer experience
Benefits
Reduce SG&A and contact center expense base
Improve customer and employee satisfaction
Improve communication to customers
Impacts
Improved self-service delivery
Redesigned policies and procedures
Transitioned outsourced customer service in house which resulted in a savings of $40K/month in total contact center support
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Case Study 2: Customer Onboarding Process
Overview
Streamline the new account opening process by eliminating unnecessary application pages
Benefits
Reduced new account abandon rates
Improved customer acquisition
Faster new account opening
Impacts
Project took 4 months from conception to realization – minimum disruption to the enterprise
Integrated chat during the new account opening process which reduced calls to the contact center
Improved cross-sell ratios during the new account opening process
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Case Study 3: New Online Payment Feature
Overview
Predict and eliminate potential calls from customers about feature changes in a new online payment module
Benefits
Proactive communication to customers demonstrated an understanding by the organization that we were concerned about them
Reduced long queue and email response times
Training and change management were administered across several centers empowering contact center agents on potential failures and relevant fixes
Impacts
Only 9% of all customer calls were related to the implementation
Only 1 critical issue impacted customers post-implementation (but we had a plan to address that was identified during the Lean Six Sigma project)
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Agenda
I. Preparing Your Contact Center for Lean Six Sigma
II. Applying Lean Six Sigma to Contact Centers
III. Challenges and Obstacles to Avoid
IV. Success Factors
© Copyright 2008. Alvarez & Marsal Holdings, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Types of Challenges That I Faced
Executive sponsorship required at all levels despite fluctuations in quarterly earnings and EBITDA
Lean Six Sigma project is viewed as “Another Flavor of the Month” quality initiative
Previous negative experience with Six Sigma gives management a jaded view of the value of the discipline
Absence of an uniform methodology across the enterprise
Using DMAIC as a Six Sigma Program not as an approach to solving problems
A culture that supports “hip shooting decision making” versus fact-based decision-making
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Case Study 4: Cultural Integration at a Major Bank
Over 50 Employees Received Formal Lean Six Sigma / Quality Training
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It is critical that adequate resources are allocated to training employees on the approach and how it can be applied.
Successful implementation begins with executive management support and cascades down to offer appropriate levels of training and communication to all employees.
Quality Initiative Champion
Black Belt Training
Green Belt Training
Employee Communication
Communicating cross-functionally to the organization is a critical success drivers.
Things that I have seen work are:
Dedicated Intranet or SharePoint site
Town-Hall Meetings
Manager Meetings
Lunch and Learn Sessions
Executive Meetings
Company Newsletter
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Agenda
I. Preparing Your Contact Center for Lean Six Sigma
II. Applying Lean Six Sigma to Contact Centers
III. Challenges and Obstacles to Avoid
IV. Success Factors
© Copyright 2008. Alvarez & Marsal Holdings, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Success Factors
A shift is needed in how contact center operations is viewed – the contact center should be viewed as “an end-to-end process perspective” versus “a process within a segment”
Develop a Six Sigma Scorecard that captures specific & objective measurements assigned to various processes along the continuum
Don’t underestimate the investment in training and change management – this will make or break your adoption!
Invest in hiring or training the right talent
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Let’s Keep in Touch
Art Hall
Alvarez & Marsal Business Consulting3399 Peachtree Road, Suite 1900
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
Direct: 404-260-4152Mobile: 404-759-9158
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