Using 6 Sigma Tools for Customer Excellence

The story of 6 sigma begins in 1980’s when Motorola developed it as a set of tools and techniques for process improvement. It came in lime light in 1995 when Jack Welch successfully used it at General Electric.

To understand how 6 Sigma tools can help your organization, let’s consider an example of a firm that is facing challenges with customer services. For the past few months you are observing that your Churn ratio is increasing, and you need to figure out the exact cause which will then help you take corrective actions to get back on track.

So what do you need to do? Here is what Six Sigma suggests, a methodology that can save you. To resolve any issue your firm is facing, one must take these 5 steps:

1- Define the Problem:

The first step is to clearly define the problem statement. Clearer the statement easier it would be to help you resolve it.

To help you define a problem clearly, 6 Sigma offers tools like:

• Voice of Customer (VoC)
• Tree diagram
• Include/exclude

Problem statement in our scenario could be something like “Customers churn ratio in product ABC category increased from 1% to 3% in the last three months.”

 

2- Measure Current Data:

Since we have clearly defined the problem, now it’s time to understand where we exactly stand in terms of problem severity.

To rescue us during this phase, we have:

• Fish-bone diagram
• Voice of Customer (VoC)
• Brainstorming

With the help of above mentioned tools we evaluate how severe is the current churn issue. We will get to know the exact figures; hence enabling us to plan the next step accordingly.

 

3- Analyzing Current Issues:

We now know the severity of churn in terms of numbers; so we start focusing on understanding the root cause of it. Finding the root cause of a problem requires both in and out of box thinking; therefore it’s important to be prepared mentally to have an open mind and heart.

Tools that could help us in finding the root cause:

• Brainstorming
• Fish-bone Diagram
• Benchmarking

The point to remember while using these tools is that many a times we come across root causes that are beyond our control (financial or policy restrictions etc.) and we are forced to not touch them. However, if we brainstorm on them, we will realize that these limitations could be either of the three:

1. Some are Control able (mark them Cs)
2. Few could be experimented with (mark them Xs)
3. Some are Noise, or uncontrollable (mark them Ns)

Now we need to start with Cs first, and most of questions will be answered. Then we should focus our energies on Xs, these are the ones we can experiment with in order to reach an answer (Open mind & heart is prerequisite).

Focus on Cs and Xs, and we have the root causes of increased churn.

 

4- Improving the Service/Product/Process:

Now that we know what is causing increased churn, we are ready to address them in order to resolve the issue. We start with improving Cs and move towards Xs of Product/Service/Process, while continuously evaluating how each potential solution is bringing results. One of the challenges that need to be addressed during this is the ability to implement solutions that will not just help improve Product & Services, but will also be sustainable.

Tools that could be used during this phase:

• FMEA (Failure Modes & Effects Analysis)
• Pareto Analysis
• Anti-Solution

With the help of above mentioned tools we will be able to improve on churn; implementing the most effective solutions that will respond to high churn.

 

5- Controlling the Improved Service/Product/Process:

Since we have improved on our services/products/processes, it’s time to make sure that the improvements keep on working all the time without any errors. In other words, we have to make sure that the reasons that caused high churn initially don’t come up again.

This could be done by using tools like:

• Poka-Yoke
• Control charts
• Process maps

If you have a Customer Service issue at hand, use 6 Sigma DMAIC Model to help you improve service, reduce churn and have loyal customers that are your raving fans J

How is Competence Developed?

In today’s busy world everyone wants to become an instant success; not realizing that success isn’t an instant coffee, ready in 2 mins 🙂 During my training sessions many participants have been asking me the very same question ‘How to become competent at workplace?’

So to understand how one can become competent, I would like to share a model with you. This model was developed at Gordon Training International by its employee Noel Burch in the 1970s.  It talks about 4 steps in which one becomes competent:

1. Unconscious Incompetence
   
2. Conscious Incompetence
   
3. Conscious Competence
   
4. Unconscious Competence
   

So how does it work? Let’s try to understand this with the help of a simple example, instantly 🙂

Let’s assume that Mr Sam is a sales professional who is good at his work, so how did he become good at it? The process of becoming competent begins with incompetence, remember that!

Unconscious Incompetence -Stage 1:
When Sam started his career in sales, he thought he knew everything about it, since he had studied sales in college. However, his belief didn’t last long and soon reality struck him. He was not achieving his targets and didn’t know the reason either. He still believed that he is the best, and knows everything about sales but something was not working (Unaware of his incompetence).

Conscious Incompetence – Stage 2:
He discusses this problem with one of his gurus, who helps him understand the root cause of the problem, his incompetence in sales. This was a shock to Sam because for the first time he realized how little he knew about sales. His morale went down and he started thinking if he even has what it takes to be in sales?

Conscious Competence -Stage 3:
Sam’s guru guides him throughout the process and asks him to work upon certain areas (some of which Sam doesn’t even like) . Sam starts striving on his areas of improvement and with the passage of time his performance starts improving, he starts meeting his sales targets, customers are happy with his services, company is making profit, his confidence is sky-high and now he knows that he has what it takes to be in sales.

Unconscious Competence -Stage 4:
Time flies and with it Sam’s knowledge of sales further increases and now he is considered as one of the most acknowledged sales gurus himself. The person who once had doubts about his own skills is now the champ of the trade. He now guides other sales professionals on how to become best at sales, and when someone asks him how does he do it, he simply says ‘It’s common sense, I believe’ 🙂

Sam has reached a point where he is competent at what he does, without even consciously striving for it. This is the stage where he is unconsciously competent.

What happens in each stage?

It’s important to remember what happens in each stage of this process and one must not stop the process until it is complete:

Stage-1: You would believe that you know everything, and don’t need any guidance or help. DON’T believe that you know everything. Socrates once said “I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.”

Stage-2: Once you realize the fact that you lack competence, chances are that your morale will go down drastically, you might even feel depressed, however that is normal. DON’T stop the process here and think about improving yourself, even if it requires taking baby steps towards your goal.

Stage -3: Now you are striving to achieve your goal and your morale is also high. Keep on improving yourself, and DON’T assume/believe that you know everything; else you will again reach stage-1

Stage -4:
Once you become Unconsciously Competent, make sure you keep your eyes and mind open, for this very stage may turn into Unconscious Incompetence, if you stop sharpening your saw.

 

Law of Seed

Take a look at an apple tree. There might be five hundred apples on the tree, each with ten seeds. That’s a lot of seeds. We might ask, “Why would you need so many seeds to grow just a few more trees?”

Nature has something to teach us here. It’s telling us: “Most seeds never grow. So if you really want to make something happen, you better try more than once”

This might mean:

You’ll attend twenty interviews to get one job.

You’ll interview forty people to find one good employee.

You’ll talk to fifty people to sell one house, car, vacuum cleaner, insurance policy, or idea.

And you might meet a hundred acquaintances to find one special friend.

When we understand the “Law of the Seed”, we don’t get so disappointed. We stop feeling like victims. Laws of nature are not things to take personally. We just need to understand them- and work with them.

IN A NUTSHELL

Successful people fail more often. They plant more seeds.

When things are beyond your control, here’s a recipe for permanent MISERY:

a)      Decide how you think the world SHOULD be.

b)      Make rules for how everyone SHOULD behave.

Then, when the world doesn’t obey your rules, get angry!

That’s what miserable people do!

Let’s say you expect that:

Friends SHOULD return favors.

People SHOULD appreciate you.

Planes SHOULD arrive on time.

Everyone SHOULD be honest.

Your spouse SHOULD remember your birthday.

These expectations may sound reasonable but often, these things won’t happen! So you end up frustrated and disappointed. There’s a better strategy. Have less demand. Instead, have preferences! For things that are beyond your control, tell yourself: “I WOULD PREFER “A” BUT IF “B” HAPPENS, IT’S OK TOO!” This is really a game that you play in your head. It is a shift in attitude, and it gives you more peace of mind.

You prefer that people are polite… but when they are rude, it doesn’t ruin your day. You prefer sunshine.. but rain is ok!

To become happier, we either need to:

a) Change the world, or

b) Change our thinking

It is easier to change our thinking!

It’s not what happens to you that determine your happiness. It’s how you think about what happens to you 🙂

PS: This article is not my property & the due credit goes to the author who wrote this. I read it somewhere few years back & found it very interesting so sharing with you.

Level 5 Leadership

Few months back I came across an article by HBR talking about “Level 5 Leadership”. To be honest with you my first thought was that it’s going to talk about the traits like goal oriented, risk taker etc etc… the usual stuff but to my surprise it had more to offer then routine stuff 🙂

The best trait that it talks about is “Humility”. As per Jim Collins, he studied Fortune 500 companies’ executives over a period of five years and only 11 of them achieved Level 5 Leadership. So what are these leadership traits that Jim talks about?

The simplest way to describe is:

HUMILITY + IRON WILL = LEVEL 5 Leadership

It made me think for a while if we even consider humility as something that could bring miraculous results? How many of our CEOs or top executives consider this important?

Have a look at the article and suggest how we can develop Level 5 leaders in our society?

The article by HBR could be accessed via:
http://hbr.org/2005/07/level-5-leadership-the-triumph-of-humility-and-fierce-resolve/ar/1

Happy Learning 🙂

I, The Failure-09

Mishaps, incidents, bad decisions, mistakes, bad luck, economic crisis etc. are the words we all are familiar with, right? 🙂 Let’s use a generic term for all of the above as FAILURE for the time being.

I love to FAIL & therefore today I would like to share with you my failures of 2009. You might be thinking “This guy is definitely crazy. Why would we be interested in listening to his story, his Failure story???” Well just bare me for next 10 minutes & maybe you will change your mind. I must mention here that you may call it Failure but I call it MIIS (Most Important Ingredient of Success).

So let’s start with my Failures aka MIIS (personal as well as professional) of 2009 but let me tell you this, 2009 has transformed my life significantly & I am happy that I failed so many times 🙂

• Quit job, tried to work out job along with studies but Failed
• Tried to move to US to be with my family but Failed
• Applied for my dream job but Failed
• Tried improving my professional network but Failed
• Tried to manage personal relationships but Failed

It took me a long time to understand what failure really means? For some it’s a loss, for others it’s nothing but an obstacle in their way of success. Some consider it to be part of life & accept it while others try to figure out why did they fail? I have learned to look at failure (MIIS) from a different perspective. I consider failure as a necessary ingredient of the recipe we call SUCCESS. One can never experience & appreciate the flavor of success until he has come across failure.

People might say it’s all bookish (accepting failure, being optimistic etc.) but I have learned from my own experiences that if you are ready to accept failure whole heartedly your chances of being successful increases dramatically. If I look at my failures of 2009, I realize that I wouldn’t be what I am today had I not failed & accepted failures whole heartedly.

Had I not quit my job I would not have thought about being an entrepreneur & doing what I love to do. I failed managing some personal relationships but it also taught me lessons about relationships that I never knew before. I failed to get my dream job but it educated me that I need to enhance my intellectual capabilities in order to get there. So whatever the reasons are, it is important to realize that WE ALL WILL FAIL & it’s a natural phenomenon that we must accept joyfully 🙂

Optimists are people who look at failure as an opportunity to grow & therefore accept it contentedly. We need to remind ourselves that everything happens for a reason & therefore accept MIIS with open arms. It will make our lives much easier if we just realize the fact that “Failure is nothing but a step towards success”

Please share your point of view on this so that I could learn from your experiences.

Be optimistic & lead a happy life 🙂

Thanks,

Sahib Karim Khan