This document discusses how contact centers can apply Lean Six Sigma methodologies to improve processes and customer satisfaction while reducing costs. It covers preparing a contact center for Lean Six Sigma, applying the techniques, challenges to avoid, and success factors. Case studies show how Lean Six Sigma helped reduce nuisance calls, streamline customer onboarding, and improve a new online payment feature launch. Training employees, executive support, and viewing the contact center holistically are emphasized as critical success factors.

1. 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 Centers
Autonomy eTalk User Conference
La Jolla, California
April 2008

2. © Copyright 2008. Alvarez & Marsal Holdings, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 2
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

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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 to
minimize the variation in a process which in
turn will allow you to trust that the processes
will produce a defect-free output, increasing
customer satisfaction while decreasing cost
 Define the goals for improvement based on
strategic plans
 Measure process performance and collect
data
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

5. © Copyright 2008. Alvarez & Marsal Holdings, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 5
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

6. © 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 Call
Wait Time
Total Cost of
Customer 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 are
not 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

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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

14. © Copyright 2008. Alvarez & Marsal Holdings, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 14
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

15. © 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 Consulting
3399 Peachtree Road, Suite 1900
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
ahall@alvarezandmarsal.com
Direct: 404-260-4152
Mobile: 404-759-9158
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