The significance of understanding any Lean Six Sigma approach is to understand Human and Leadership Behaviors within an organization and consumer behavior towards an organization, how it complements teams focused on improving their business processes as compared to the traditional leadership models of resisting change. 

The question most strategic thinkers and change management professionals ask is if they can both co-exist and deliver results in the frenzied digital era where responsiveness and innovation matter. In my personal opinion, therein lies the challenge for organizations wanting to make a difference in the new economy. 

An unprecedented amount of information flows through organizations every day. But to what effect? A recent study by The Nair Consulting Group shows that most contact center managers have little or no confidence with the information they rely on to help 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 Leadership Tips

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 Quality 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 Senior Managers and C-Level Executives to create an environment in which staff take responsibility for the practices, behaviors and thinking that achieve, sustain and build on improvements made. Drawing on observations from high performance organizations we can confidently say that a good project leader should be able to examine the strategic role management plays in the development of their people for a successful outcome.

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 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 leaders understand the importance of the role of the coach in improving value-stream performance while at the same time developing the basic skills and perspectives to function effectively in that role. Over time, the Lean methodology relies heavily on competent and qualitiied 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.

Life in the fast lane...focus on the worthy...

It's the ultimate dilemma these days, in finding and keeping a job. It is an art and science of turning your education, skills and knowledge over the span of a career especially in the contact center. Today the job market is becoming even more competitive than it did, say 5 years ago. We're not going to tell you it's easy. But it is important nevertheless. There is no shortage of high performers in today’s knowledge economy. QA, WFM, CRM, Cloud Computing and other tools provide a multitude of rewarding careers! So how does a contact center professional sort through the myriad of metrics that will allow management to drive true performance improvement? What are the roadblocks that need to be eliminated? What skills do they need to be ahead of the curve while coaching their teams to manage and adapt to change? And that's just the tip of the iceberg. It's not an exaggeration to say that the coaching and leading is what everyone talks about but rarely focus on. Virtually every topic comes back to coaching and leading. These things are all obvious today than before as the war for talent has begun, when you put them in these terms.

But most new managers, because of their inexperience, sometimes don't see all these issues as part of a whole, or see the common thread — the process for a productive and effective employee — someone who makes a difference to an organization’s bottom line. It's the forest/tree dilemma — they are so busy looking for a job that the big picture takes a back seat. Depending on what you are looking for, that's either a lot of money saved, or a lot of opportunity squandered. Can agents in your center make the most of that opportunity by talking with a customer effectively on the phone or do a presentation with clarity? Or sell them something that they might not have thought of? Do you even know what they are capable of? If not, then you're looking at the question of value through the wrong end of the telescope. When you properly identify your strengths and reasons to learn continuously and embrace knowledge, you can more effectively work for the benefit of the company as a whole by being an effective coach and mentor.

Depending on what you are looking for, that's either a lot of money saved, or a lot of opportunity squandered. There are many ways to find one who can fine tune your skills. Like the popular Eastern saying goes, "When the student is ready, the master appears." Let your next objective be - to seek that knowledge and who knows, your teacher will appear sooner than later. Contrary to popular belief, "Personal development" isn't a category of product all by itself. Few, if any, would identify themselves as being in the career or personal development marketplace. Instead, it's more helpful to think of personal development as a super-category into which you learn more about yourself as you grow. This includes both products and services, and cuts across different technologies — what binds them together is the fact that they work toward a common set of goals: better performance, more effective management, leading to better interactions and a healthier balance sheet for your team and yourself.