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Six
Sigma in Transactional and Service Environments Hasan Akpolat
In 1987, Motorola developed Six Sigma out of a need for improvement
in their pager manufacturing processes. Since then, Six Sigma has been
implemented by a number of manufacturing companies, predominantly in the
USA. In the late 1990s, however, Six Sigma gained wider and
international popularity due to successful implementation at General
Electric. Six Sigma has now become one of the integral aspects of
manufacturing, as well as non-manufacturing businesses worldwide. In
recent years, many books have been published on Six Sigma, mainly on its
application in manufacturing and product development. This book, by
contrast, focuses specifically on the application of Six Sigma in
service and transactional environments.
The book comprises two parts. Part One provides the necessary knowledge
for understanding the Six Sigma methodology and its underlying concepts.
Part Two consists of practical examples of Six Sigma application to
transactional and service environments which have been provided in the
form of real world case studies written by internationally successful
companies, to complement the reader's knowledge of Six Sigma and to
increase comprehension of issues surrounding Six Sigma implementations.
It has been written for newcomers as well as for experienced
practitioners who are interested in improving processes in everyday
business operations. The focus is on the implementation of the Six Sigma
methodology rather than on the statistical tools and techniques. The aim
of this book is to provide the reader with some practical and useful
guidelines for Six Sigma deployment and its application to transactional
and service processes.
Reviews
'With this book, Hasan Akpolat has recognized the increasing importance
of services in national and global economies. He has demonstrated the
applicability of what is seen as a traditional manufacturing concept -
Six Sigma, in a service environment. In a clear and simple way, the book
explores the key questions of "what six sigma is" and "how it can be
implemented" in service environments. With a good balance of theory and
case studies, this book would be an invaluable guide for operations
managers in service environments, students and researchers of operations
management.' Dr Adegoke Oke, Fellow in Innovation and Operations
Management, Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield, UK
'With his book Six Sigma in Transactional and Service Environments, Dr
Akpolat has produced an excellent practical guide for the Six Sigma
applications. It provides great insight to the Six Sigma concept and
focuses on the critical issues surrounding its implementation rather
than simply listing its numerous statistical tools. Although, the
emphasis has been put on the transactional and service processes, it can
be easily used as a guide for the manufacturing processes as well.
Overall, Six Sigma in Transactional and Service Environments provides an
excellent mix of theory and practical examples without requiring a
statistical degree from the reader to understand its content.' Gary
Helou, Chief Executive Officer, SunRice, Australia.
'...this book is an original analysis of the much-discussed quality
tool.'
Quality World, December 2004
Contents
Part I Six Sigma Methodology: Six Sigma overview; Foundations of Six
Sigma - customer and processes; Six Sigma projects; Six Sigma teams and
training; Six Sigma toolbox. Part II Case Studies - Applying Six Sigma
to Transactional and Service Environments: Pursuing customer service
excellence, Mr Derek Horner, Sony Australia, Australia; Implementing Six
Sigma in an airline operations environment, Dr Amin Khan, Malaysia
Airlines, Malaysia; Building an effective internal customer service
focus and relationship, Ms Vanessa Craig, Queensland Rail, Australia;
Six Sigma in the customer service industry, Mr H.S. Kim, Samsung
Everland, Korea; Six Sigma in the banking business, Dr Uwe H. Kaufmann
and Ms Amy Tan Bee Choo, AON, Singapore; Glossary; Index.
Measuring Customer Service Effectiveness
Sarah Cook
Good customer service may be seen as a crucial asset for most organisations.
But how do you know that you are delivering good customer service both
externally and internally and, more importantly, delivering it to meet and
exceed your customers' expectations? Customer service is an intangible thing, it
is perishable and it is personal, so measuring it can be complicated and less
than straightforward. Help is at hand.
Sarah Cook's down-to-earth guide provides the rationale behind measuring service
effectiveness externally and internally and explains the measurement process,
from preparation to managing the results.
The book also includes an exploration of the various techniques open for
measuring effectiveness and how to use them. Utilising her consultancy
experiences the author has ensured that there is plenty of ready-to-use
materials to enable you to start measuring your own organisation's service
effectiveness straight away.
Reviews
'Anyone wishing to know how to approach the introduction of measurement within
their business, could pick up this book and with the assistance of the useful
checklists and toolkits , immediately start implementation.' Tracey Orr, Culture
and Service Manager, Midlands Co-operative Society Limited, UK.
'...his book explains how to put the customer at the centre of our decision
making to avoid costly mistakes and deliver meaningful business results.' Mandy
Spooner, Head of Organisational change, RAC plc.
Contents
Introduction; The business case for measurement; Preparing to measure customer
service; Qualitative customer service measurement methods; Quantitative research
methods; Measuring internal service quality; Benchmarking; Analysing and
communicating the results; Acting on results; Recommended reading; Index.
Best
of Energisers and Pacechangers 100 fun and
quick activities for getting and keeping participants in a great learning
state!
Energisers and
pacechangers are essential craft tools for the trainer. Effective mastery
of these tools helps distinguish between a novice and a more seasoned
operator.
Energisers revitalise jaded and weary participants, allowing them to
use their minds and bodies in a different way, and thence to return to the
programme refreshed and more receptive to learning.
Pacechangers may either speed up or slow down the tempo of the session.
As with energisers, they allow a smooth transition between activities of
different types and styles.
The
100 activities in Best of Energisers and Pacechangers are a
collection of top exercises from nine Fenman resources, providing a
comprehensive and valuable resource of tried and tested materials. The
activities are diverse in nature and reflect the different philosophies of
their authors. They have been chosen for their different types of appeal
and their appropriateness across a wide range of training situations.
All the activities are very simple to run, and most require no handouts
or specialist props, so they can be used anytime or anywhere even if you
hadn't planned for one, just browse through the contents page either in
the pack or on the CD-ROM. You will be excited by the choice and the ideas
of when and where to use them will just start to flow.
Save up to 80% of your preparation time Why re-invent
the wheel? Why spend extra time and effort preparing training when
much of the work has already been done for you?
Written by trainers and proven to work Best of
Energisers and Pacechangers is written by Sarah Cook, David Cotton,
Eddie Davies, Alan Margolis, Mary Richards, Keith Tanner, Beverley
Williams who has developed and fine-tuned these sessions in real
organisations, so you can be absolutely sure that they work
effectively.
'OK to copy' pages mean no copyright hassles Once
purchased, the 101 'OK to copy' pages can be photocopied as many
times as you like, within your organisation.
This collection of
activities is an absolute must-have for any trainer. It gives you a
powerful resource of tools to use with any group, whether you need to
re-charge them after lunch with a quick energiser, or bring them into a
reflective mood after a particularly lively session.
What managers and their teams can do
Improve attendance and reduce
absenteeism in your organisation
Author: Hugh Murray and Pat Mitchell
Being absent
from work might not always be an employee's fault but it should be
seen as their responsibility. Improving Attendance: What managers
and their teams can do portrays characters and workplace situations
that you will identify with. It shows competent managers dealing
with four quite different types of absentee:
- The genuinely sick
employee
- The stressed out
employee, who is a single parent taking time off to look after a
sick child
- The demotivated, disabled employee who
feels left out
- The employee who regards sick leave as
part of his holiday entitlement.
Improving Attendance: What managers and their teams can do
explains how the Return to Work Interview works for everyone
(managers included), every time someone returns from a period of
absence. This is a supportive meeting, approached in a genuine
spirit of enquiry. It is not part of a disciplinary process, but
part of on-going performance management.
Welcome them back; tell them they were missed.
Absence. Discuss the absence; are they fit to return?
Responsibility. Explain that being absent means they have a
problem; talk about how they are going to solve it
Move on. Focus on getting back to work; end on an upbeat note
Clearly structured learning
concepts and skills explained simply, using Fenman expertise in
instructional design.
Examples of best practice and how to make sound judgements when there is no 'right' or
'wrong' way.
Positive models, realistic situations situations and characters we can all identify with.
Exercises to ensure transfer of learning to every day work learners examine the effects of their own behaviour at work, and
identify where they can improve their performance.
Detailed trainer's / user's guides with useful background information and ready-made participative
exercises to practise the skills presented in the video.
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The telephone is a vital tool in any business. For many organizations it's
the primary means of contact from their customers. Use the phone well and it
will enhance reputations and deliver world class customer service. Use it poorly
and it will damage reputations and undermine the performance of your
organization.
The Telephone Business is a popular and effective learning system that gets
to the heart of basic customer service skills, motivates learners to apply these
skills and gives them the opportunity to practice and review performance.
The system includes Amtek's unique built-in content editing tools that allow
trainers to input scenarios and terminology specific to your organization. The
Telephone Business also includes a voice-recording feature allowing learners to
practice key phrases such as greetings and introductions. Trainers can access
these recordings using the administration functions for voice assessment.
This combination of innovative features and high quality training has made
The Telephone Business a popular choice for telephone skills training in both
commercial and not-for-profit organizations.
Measuring Customer Service Effectiveness 
