Six Sigma for BPO and Customer Contact Centers

What is Six Sigma?

Six Sigma is both a management practice as well as a capability measure.

The fundamental definition of Six Sigma capability refers to a process where "the center of the process is away from the nearest specification limit by six standard deviations of the process". The customer of that process determines the specification limits within which the process has to perform. Sigma capability of a process is a measure and therefore can assume any integer value - "doing six sigma" implies that we move towards this level of sigma capability, not as a pre-requisite, but more as a target destination on a journey.

Six Sigma as a management practice refers to the business initiative undertaken at an enterprise to systematically enhance the capability of its business processes to better meet/exceed customer specifications, resulting in a tangible business gain. This simplified definition describes the implication of "doing Six Sigma".

Why Six Sigma for BPO and Customer Contact Centers

The IT enabled Services Industry: Strategic Imperatives

Some key reasons why ITeS organizations should implement Six Sigma include:

• Faster route to process maturity in a less mature industry: The ITeS industry in India is still a nascent one, and in the process of ramping up their capacities and building delivery capability. However, the 'Key Business Processes' that they are handling for their customers are mature and stable. ITeS providers need to bridge this gap, and need to stay focused on quality and process management even as they grow at a frantic pace.
• Metrics-based management: Operating in an environment where multiple 'moments of truth' occur with the clients every single minute and span of controls in the management structure are very high, it becomes imperative for the industry players to have a robust metrics system for measuring, tracking and managing the business.
• Process control: ITeS providers need to maintain very tight control over their processes, for ensuring consistent customer experience.
• A disciplined improvement path: Continuous process improvement is a key imperative in order to enhance service and quality at lower costs. SLA's often demand year on year improvements in process metrics and cost reductions.
• Customer orientation: Capturing the Voice of the customer
  - both the client whose process you are handling and
    the end customer.
  

What does it mean for BPO and Contact Centers
Some of the big Ys for this sector are:

• Customer Satisfaction
  
• Cost
  
• Employee Satisfaction

Although a lot of factors influence customer satisfaction, accuracy and on-time service seem to be the two most important variables. Accuracy, at a simple level, may be measured as First Time Resolution. On-time, particularly in non-phone modes, suffers from being measured from an internal perspective - rather than a customer perspective.

Accuracy measure is primarily derived from Transaction Monitoring. It is then further drilled down of adequacy of training, conformance with analytical and research approach and use of knowledge database.

On-time has a major influence of staffing and schedule adherence.

Costs can be drilled down to productivity (measured as handling time) and utilization.

Each of the above parameters can be improved by acting upon the huge database generated.

The above illustrates how the Six Sigma approach can be deployed to drill down a major business variable into a statistical framework and derive business benefits.

QAI has seen this approach create very significant improvements.

QAI Methodology

Six Sigma as a framework is apt for practically any business function across industries.

However, QAI has strongly believes that Six Sigma consulting or training has maximum impact only if it is imparted without a suitable industry context.

QAI provides customized interventions of training, consulting, mentoring for Six Sigma deployment in BPO and Customer Contact Centers.

Consultants who have a rich experience in Six Sigma and are well versed with the operational issues in BPO and Contact Centers provide the services.

The trainings use operational case studies from BPO environment to facilitate learning for e.g. Gauge R&R for calibration in context of Transaction Monitoring, Design of Experiments for improving 'On time' etc.

QAI Roadmap for Six Sigma deployment
The steps involved Six Sigma deployment are as follows.

• Perform a Diagnostic Assessment
  
• Synchronization and Planning
  
• Establish Business Process Management System
  
• Training (Champions, Black Belt, Green Belt…)
  
• Project Selection
  
• Project Support for first wave of Projects
  
• Roll out Six Sigma at a large scale