Six Sigma in Call Centers

[Lo Monte]

I would like to hear from anyone who has experience with Six Sigma in call centers. The issue has not been discussed here since a May 2002 posting. I am hoping that more people are able to give input on their successes & failures.

[Patti Scott]

I am currently taking a Green belt certification class but so far I am disappointed because it seems focuses on manufacturing. if any one has any successful applications in the call center environment, i would love to hear about it.

[JoeB]

This is a common observation and source of trepidation. The strong manufacturing background of Six Sigma and it focus on statistical process control is indeed a concern when trying to apply this methodology in a human-centric process environment that has a significant level of natural variability.

While there is no practical way to reach six sigma (probably not even three sigma) in a call center, understanding the impact of process variability on customers and on the bottom line, and applying objective and consistent measurements as defined in Six Sigma, has a tremendous value. I use this approach (whether I apply “real” Six Sigma methods or just a “Six Sigma Culture”) to define business and customer goals, determine process components that cannot or should not be a target for improvement, and to establish specific measurable goals for continuous improvement.

These are summarized in http://www.diagnosticstrategies.com/six-sigma_1.htm. Post specific questions concerning the “mapping” of Six Sigma principles to call center processes and process improvement activities, and I’ll try to answer them here.

[Jumanji]

Hi Guys,

I would agree with all you guys on the fact that Six-sigma began with a focus on manufacturing industry and then was adopted in different fields.

Patti, do not be disappointed with the fact that Six sigma is oriented towards manufacturing. It is a data based methodology and once you know the tools that are employed, you can use them in your call center as well. After all call centers are about numbers ( where else can you come across so much of number crunching as in a call center).

The Fish bone diagram with KPIVs & KPOVs will defenitely help you define your objectives. You need to first know what you Big Y is and what are the f(x)s.

You can visit http://www.isixsigma.com/ and search for an article by Prakash Roshan on how to improve sales using Six Sigma methodology. Well this is in an outbound call center scenario. And Roshan is a Black Belt holder.

We at our center have employed Six-sigma tools (Pareto Charts) to identify the maximum number of errors of a certain type being committed on a call which resulted in Bad Call Quality. By this we were able to determine the 80% of errors happening due to improper log notes by our agents. Once we re-trained our guys on the same call quality increased dramatically.

We have also used six-sigma tools to find the cause of High AHT which was a burning issue. We have found that certain call types were resulting in the High AHT and also that a certain set of agents were contributing to high AHT. Once you have identified that you can then work towards resolution.

One thing needs to kept in the mind. Six sigma is an on-going process and does not give you a set number of formulas to have problems resolved. It speaks on solving your issues with a data driven, statistical approach rather than a gut-approach which we keep doing everyday in our lives.

Kudos to you Patti for having taken up the Green Belt Program. Dont give up. All the best.

Regards

[NBosch]

I think that to completely copy and implement something like six sigma is not the way to go for any call center.
The most important reason for this is that we work in a relative "young" branch, and that these methods were developed for "older" branches.
However, there are a lot of good ideas and basic principles to find that can be adopted, improved and executed.

I would recommand reading some quality books about Jack Welch and then distillate a custom approach based on his principles, if you are serious about implementing six sigma in your call center.

[Jay Allen]

I agree that all of the tool in the six sigma tool are not proctical in the call center environment. I agree that six sigma was originally developed for the manufacturining environment. But, more and more service and non manufacturing industry segments are adapting six sigma practices.

I am currently taking my six sigma black belt course. 3 of the 4 case studies in that course relate to "transactional" industry segments rather than manufacturing.

My recommedation is use what you.