The main objective of this paper is to review the case study and critique the different six sigma approaches and methods used by the call center to improve their efficiency. The case study has given a detail insight on the different obstacles being faced by the call center and also addresses the concerns on the implementation of the six sigma in the service industry. This paper is an extension on the various techniques used and a few suggestions that would in turn increase the customer satisfaction which is a key success factor in the service industry.
General Electric company terms six sigma as [1] “a highly disciplined process that helps us focus on developing and delivering near-perfect products and services”. Six sigma has originated for use in the manufacturing industry however, in recent years it is being implemented in typically all IT business structures. Six sigma is the new quality management metric. The quality control checks made by the organizations have helped them in achieving a certain degree of efficiency, however adapting to the six sigma methods can help the organization unleash their full productivity potential. Six sigma is all about achieving quality check in every step of the business process. Six sigma focuses on achieving the highest level of quality right from the start without losing a level of precision and accuracy. Implementing six sigma in a service sector environment reaps several benefits (Jiju Antony, 2007)
1. Improving service quality
The driving factors for a success or failure of implementing Six Sigma is largely dependent on the inputs set forth at the conception and duration of the integration. This whitepaper will compare and contrast these critical inputs for a successful deployment. In order to accomplish this five various companies: GE Electric, W.R. Grace, Royal Chemicals, Diversified Paper and Lemforder. Some of these organizations had very successful results while others failed to reach their full potential. What is clear is the similarities of those that succeed and those that failed.
There are always pros and cons to any quality improvement methodology. For instance, the pros of Six Sigma tend to place extreme importance on leadership and its support for the success of the project. Another pro is the integration of different human elements, which include cultural change, and focus on the customer and their needs. “By using the concept of statistical thinking, Six Sigma encourages applications of statistical tools and techniques that reduce variability” (Harry, 2000). The cons of Six Sigma include, not having the quality data available, especially when a new process has been implemented without having the data available. Often the solutions that Six Sigma proposes can be costly and only a small
Six Sigma is a measurement based strategy for process improvement and problem reduction. It is completed through the application of the Quality Improvement project and accomplished with the use of two Six Sigma models. One model is DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control), which is designed to examine
The concept of Six Sigma is completely consistent with the aims and objective of many healthcare organizations. At times it is very challenging to attain an excellent Six Sigma accomplishment level in real life. A good example is, a health organization that has 100,000 surgeries annually, apparently it would be allowed only one undesirable occurrence for every three years, which is not very sensible. Nevertheless, the concept behind it is still beneficial and significant, and in
The concept of Six Sigma was developed in the early 1980’s at Motorola Corporation (Harry and Schroeder, 2000). Six Sigma can be defined as a statistical measure of the performance of a process or product (Kumi et. al., 2006). It is used as a quality control mechanism, which seeks to reduce defects or variations in a process to 3.4 per million opportunities thereby optimizing output and increasing customer satisfaction (Sambhe, 2012). Sigma is representing the standard deviation, a unit of measurement that designates the distribution or spread about the mean of a process (Six Sigma Academy, 2002). In addition, the Six Sigma uniquely driven by close understanding of customer needs, disciplined use of fact, data, and statistical analysis, and diligent attention to managing improving, and reinventing business processes (Pande, P., et. al. 2000). The Six Sigma methodology uses statistical tools to identify the factors that matter most for improving the quality of processes and generating bottom-line results. The Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure,
Six Sigma is a systematic and a disciplined approach, a strategy for eliminating the defects in any process like manufacturing, transaction etc. from product to service.
Background to Six Sigma The contemporary business environment is rapidly evolving. With the increased impetus toward globalization, organizations are undergoing continuous and rapid change driven by increased consumer expectations, the advent of new technologies, and the very real prospect of global competition (Bendell, 2005). This has resulted in a dramatically different business environment in which the modern business, in order to survive and prosper, is forced to evolve and regularly revise their internal and external business processes. One of the tools that was developed to aid in this change process was Six Sigma.
Supply chain specialists, however, will have the training and expertise to give proper focus and attention to improving processes and managing quality. Several approaches may be used when implementing a process or quality improvement initiative. Some of these approaches include Accelerated Improvement, Business Process Improvement (BPI), Process-Oriented Architecture (POA), Rummler-Brache Methodology, Helix Methodology, and Six Sigma. In this report, the Six Sigma approach will be examined, including benefits of the Six Sigma approach, implementing the Six Sigma approach, costs to consider, and risks and cautions of the Six Sigma approach.
The whole idea of Six Sigma is if you measure the amount of defects you have in one single process. You’ll have to figure out how to get rid of them and get them as close to "zero defects as possible”). For any company to fully achieve the
One of the common methods of sustaining quality while managing a project is the Six Sigma process. The Six Sigma system improves products or services by increasing shareholder value, refining quality, promptness, and cost, along with customer satisfaction (Laureani & Antony, 2012). The system is a business strategy that is driven by distinguishing the causes of errors or failures within business processes, and eliminating these causes to produce products and services that meets the client’s requests. The focus of the method is to uncover and resolve the root cause of an issue within an organization prior to issue influencing defects within the product or services being produced (Hunold, 2014). By eliminating the root cause of a problem, an organization can increase the quality of the products or services that are created, decrease cost to the organization, and increase customer satisfaction.
Lean Six Sigma should be seen as an integrated framework now to initiate the change in culture and operations, leading to business and operations improvements. Organizations should try to become lean as much as possible and should leave a space for Six Sigma methodologies and should move forward to other philosophies such as agility and innovations. Every lean or Six sigma tool is not suitable for each company but most suitable tools and techniques should be identified and implemented in Lean Six Sigma frame work to get the competitive position in the
The goal of Six Sigma is to increase profits by eliminating variability, defects and waste that undermine customer loyalty. (iSixSigma, 2016)
Six sigma intention is to eradicate wastage, ineffectiveness and in efficient processes and to increase customer satisfaction by facilitating customers in a way they expect.
A Six Sigma case study has been performed on an IT call center by the author David L. Hallowell. The primary focus of the project is to increase the profitability of the company by using the DMAIC methodology. IT businesses these days realized that the best way to get in contact with its customers is by improving their call center customer care services. That is why the senior managers of the company have decided to tackle the issues faced by the call center by giving their Six Sigma DMAIC group a suitable project to take on. A lot of data has been gathered by the company after performing the project and the assessment of the data can be done to improve on their services. For any company to perform well in the market, it has to be at least on par with its competitors, if not better. The DMAIC technique is a powerful tool to get important information about the company and using these details, appropriate changes can be implemented.
According to the dictionary, six sigma (sometimes stylized as 6σ) is a set of management techniques intended to improve business processes by greatly reducing the probability that an error or defect will occur. It is becoming a well know and useful strategy worldwide. Every company who needs an excellent management will pay more attention at Six sigma. This essay aims to analyze the case which named Tutorial for IT Call Center and using 10 criteria ways to evaluate six sigma projects.