New Year Wishes

An unprecedented amount of information flows through organizations every day. But to what effect? A recent study by The Nair Consulting Group shows that that most contact center managers have little or no confidence with the information they rely on to assist them in critical decision making especially in a dynamic environment like a contact center. Without the right approach or strategic thinking coupled with precise business intelligence, most of these managers struggle to turn all that noise, sound and superfluous information into sound decisions. Using Lean Six Sigma tools and a empowered leadership team that is driven by the voice of the customer, an organization can access the right information within a reasonable amount of time to make wise decisions that impact the overall customer experience. Lean Six Sigma has helped many organizations within manufacturing over the last two decades and is making significant strides in the past few years within services primarily contact centers which rely on accurate and meaningful data. The key topics of the current business environment is about mitigating risk, making better decisions in real-time faster and most importantly increasing market share in a global marketplace. It is crucial for managers to harness the power of this unique and powerful philosophy of continuous improvement in which the voice of the employee and the customer is not muted. As we head into the next decade and into the new year, there is a lot of hope for technology and innovative solutions within the realm of the contact center environment. Lean Six Sigma is one of the critical solutions that can assist many managers on their way to innovative solutions. Good luck and happy new year!

Coaching and Leading LEAN teams...

There is a growing concern these days in contact centers about sustaining quality improvements after they are made. How to maintain the gains from those improvements and build on them is the burning question for many organizations and their leaders. The fact that has been overlooked by many leaders is that while facilitators and team supervisors are invaluable resources for introducing and implementing tools, training and deployment projects, it is the role of managers and executives to create an environment in which employees can and will take responsibility for the practices, behaviors and thinking that achieve, sustain and build on improvements made. Drawing on observations, practices and values from high performance organizations, a good project leader should be able to examine the role of managers and executives in the development of people and operations capable of a successful performance. This where where LEAN leaders are created in the organization. 

Lean change agents generally have to implement improvements through the work of people they don’t manage. They have responsibility but little authority to accomplish their goals. Getting people to complete the tasks they assign or meet the schedules they set requires constant attention, encouragement, cajoling, and often taking the lead on the activities themselves. There is a better way. Switch from trying to be the person out front leading the charge to being someone with knowledge and experience who’s by the side of implementers coaching when needed. In other words try the "sensei" approach to coaching and leading. What does it mean to be a coach using the sensei approach in LEAN Six Sigma? 

Coaches in athletics do not compete in the sporting events themselves. They have to achieve success through four basic activities: preparation, practice, adjustment, and review. Do these methods work in situations where you’re responsible for lean improvement projects but others have to implement the changes? The answer is yes, if one key condition is achieved and maintained: responsibility for making the changes is given to and kept with the people who have to implement and maintain the improvements. That’s the key to the sensei approach. This approach is to help lean leaders and change agents understand the importance of the role of coach in improving value-stream performance and developing the basic skills and perspectives to function effectively in that role. Over time, the Lean methodology relies heavily on the people to execute the DMAIC framework effectively and without good coaching skills, one will not be able to begin, sustain and complete the journey to Continuous Improvement.